Nothing wrong with the program I am tired of
hearing about the problems with our school’s athletic
programs, especially basketball. Last year UCLA brought five
national championships and nobody even noticed. It’s always
basketball this, Lavin that … but there hasn’t been
anything positive about the program until they do well in the NCAA
tournament. Last year, for example, every article I read was about
how UCLA isn’t going to make the tourney and this year I have
heard some say (on the radio) that they should deny going to the
NIT if it comes down to it. What is this coming to? Did John Wooden
take over UCLA and win a national championship in his first year?
No, it took time to build. So why aren’t people giving Lavin
a chance? He turned this team around 180 degrees in the last month.
At the beginning of the season we had shoot-outs with Kentucky and
Kansas, splitting the two because we just tried to score as many
points as possible. Since then, it’s amazing that defense
actually wins games, and what do you know, we are actually winning
ball games against good opponents. So when I read articles and
letters like those that appeared in the Jan. 16 Bruin, I kind of
laugh and wonder if our school’s basketball coach even reads
the paper. I think it’s just a bandwagon that most haters are
jumping. Aren’t we supposed to support our program? I’m
sure that half the people who say something bad haven’t even
gone to a game. Where do you get off saying that Lavin
doesn’t know how to recruit, when UCLA has had one of the top
recruiting classes in the nation for the last four years (why is
Kapono here) and next year’s incoming class is ranked third
in the country. So for all of you couch potato critics, be patient,
the title will come (unless stars keep going pro, which is really
one of the main reasons why we haven’t had great success).
Until then, quit you’re whining and get to Pauley. We have
only had one sell-out.
Doug Silva Fourth-year Mathematics
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