That… was fantastic. Forget that Florida said good night and
good luck. The old cliche states “almost” only counts
in horseshoes and hand grenades, but this year, with this group,
“almost” was excellent.
Coach Ben Howland and his kids achieved beyond expectation.
But Howland had better enjoy this now, because he just raised
the bar for years to come. And much bigger challenges lie ahead for
Howland and the man who hired him, Athletic Director Dan
Guerrero.
Two things must happen before UCLA’s basketball program
can reclaim its rightful place among the nation’s elite.
First and foremost is, at the very least, a major renovation of
Pauley Pavilion. It’s a dead building and everyone knows it.
The Galen Center opens at USC next season, and Tim Floyd is already
competing for top recruits. Lute Olson and Arizona will bounce
back. Arizona State just hired one heck of a coach, and Washington,
Cal and Stanford will always be tough.
Howland, Guerrero and their associates in the athletic
department know this is a problem and need to recruit like crazy.
Not just players ““ I’m talking about alumni. Rich
alumni. Hedge fund guys. Industry mavens. Movie moguls. People who
like to see their names on buildings.
Older alums that worry about the Pauley family will have to get
over it. Pauley was dedicated in 1965, the same year a New Orleans
woman named Ruth Fertel bought the Chris Steak House. Today,
Ruth’s Chris Steak House is flourishing.
If we need to call alumna Heather Locklear for $35 million in
Melrose Place residuals, then so be it. We’ll even ask all
the cheerleaders to dye their hair blonde and wear bangs inside
Heather’s Pauley Pavilion.
Secondly, a coach who preaches ferocious defense needs to stop
being defensive about non-conference opponents. Alumni and players
want big games in November and December, home and away.
Participating in season-opening tournaments is a good start, but
this year’s early home schedule was an embarrassment.
Delaware State? Coppin State? Sacramento State? Albany?
The fact that Albany made the tournament supports my point. Why
play a talented no-name school when you risk losing and gain
nothing by winning? You don’t create life memories by edging
Wagner 74-72 with more than one-third of the seats empty.
That’s not elite. That says Howland is a Bruin that hides in
the woods.
Indiana played non-conference heavyweights Duke, Kentucky and
UConn this year. Even Penn, a non-scholarship Ivy League program,
played Duke and Villanova. If Coach Howland wants to sell kids on
UCLA’s return to the big time, then he needs to play the
elite teams. Belly up to Duke and Kansas (USC will play both in
each of the next two years), bring in Kentucky, Indiana, or
Connecticut. Don’t be afraid of your record or tournament
seeding. Just play the games and bring down the house. Then and
only then will someone help rebuild it.
And one last thing. Airline reservations for the 2007 Final Four
in Atlanta will be available May 4th. No pressure, Coach.
Rick Schwartz was an associate sports editor of the Daily
Bruin, class of ’86. Schwartz has worked in television and
radio for 15 years, hosting, reporting and producing at ESPN, NBC,
TBS and FOX.