By Chris Umpierre
Daily Bruin Staff
UCLA Head Coach Steve Lavin was placed on probation for the
remainder of the season by the Pac-10 late Monday for his tirade
toward an official during Saturday’s game against Oregon
State.
On several occasions, Lavin shouted and made gestures toward
Pac-10 Coordinator of Officiating Lou Campanelli, who was sitting
nine rows behind the Bruin bench, regarding calls by referee Craig
Grismore.
A couple of times in the game, Lavin motioned with his thumb,
saying “get him out of here” to Campanelli. On another
occasion, he turned around, faced Campanelli and made a
throat-slashing gesture.
Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen said the conference nearly
suspended Lavin for Thursday’s game against Cal.
“His comments about the officials were prohibited by
conference rules and inappropriate,” Hansen said in a
statement. “The officials worked a fine game.”
The league decided on probation after a meeting with Lavin, who
flew to the bay area to meet with Hansen and Campanelli, Monday
afternoon.
“Basically I wanted to express to them that I’m
sorry for my actions,” Lavin said. “It reflected poorly
on the Pac-10, on our university and on our program.”
The unusual measure of placing Lavin on probation ““
ordinarily the Pac-10 suspends or fines coaches for such behavior
““ means that if the head coach were to get in another similar
incident with officials, he could face a suspension. However,
technical fouls are not part of the equation.
“I asked them “˜What is probation?'”
Lavin said. “I said what if I get a technical foul. They said
“˜No, technical fouls have nothing to do with
it.'”
UCLA Athletic Director Pete Dalis, who just last week said Lavin
is starting to turn into a coach who “goes nuts on the
sideline,” said he almost missed Lavin’s outburst
because rain had damaged the reception on his television.
“Initially I thought he was doing something up in the
crowd like a lot of people thought,” he said. “And then
when the camera focused on Lou (Campanelli), I put two and two
together.”
Naturally, Dalis was concerned with his head coach’s
actions.
“I think (arguing with referees has) become the culture of
college basketball,” he said. “I’m so
old-fashioned, I’d not like to see any of that
happen.”
This is not Lavin’s first encounter with referees. Just
last Thursday against Oregon, he received a technical foul for
arguing a call and had to be physically restrained by assistant
coach Michael Holton.
Two seasons ago in a game at Washington, Lavin was ejected after
committing two technical fouls. He had to be held by players and
coaches from going after official Terry Christman.
“I think this is a good wake-up call,” Lavin said.
“(It) reminds you what’s really important, which is
setting a good example for the young people in our program and
behaving in a manner that a head basketball coach at an institution
like this should.”
Towards the end of his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Lavin
joked about how he’s recently being perceived as a very vocal
coach.
“Before, I was a cheerleader and too positive (and) now
I’m moving into the angry demonstrative salty coach,”
he said. “My first year I was a good defensive coach but a
horrible recruiter. Then I became a great recruiter and a bad
coach.”
“To me, I’m doing the same thing every year,”
Lavin added. “People that are close to me don’t see a
dramatic change.”