 |  |
SAN ANTONIO -- UCLA is going to be fine.
Honest to God, I still believe that -- just like I believe the earth is round and the grass is green and that Madonna will never stop selling albums and being relevant regardless of her age. UCLA is going to be fine, no question. And it's not going to take what Ben Howland said it might take when he was asked what it will take for the Bruins to win their next national title.
|
|
| Don't get down. Ben Howland has done great things during his UCLA tenure. (Getty Images) |
Bologna, I tell you.
UCLA doesn't need a new coach any more than Memphis or Kansas needs a new coach.
Or North Carolina, for that matter.
All the Bruins need is more at-bats, more big swings, more huge cuts. Sooner or later, they'll connect. And when they do they'll cut the nets on the first Monday in April and then all the foolishness will stop, you know, the foolishness about whether Howland is too stubborn to win it all.
That's what I heard late Saturday night and early Sunday.
That Howland is too stubborn and set in his ways to achieve true greatness.
As proof, people pointed out how Howland kept playing Memphis man-to-man and kept making Kevin Love set screens in UCLA's 78-63 loss to the Tigers when what he should've been doing is making Memphis shoot jumpers and making sure the ball was thrown to Love on every possession. For the record, I agree with both theories, particularly the one about making Memphis shoot jumpers because it was clear early on that UCLA could not keep Derrick Rose off the rim. Consequently, the smart thing to do would've been to back off and make him shoot the ball. But UCLA never backed off. So Rose never had to shoot the ball, which is why he finished with 16 field goal attempts, none of which were 3-pointers.
Afterward, he talked about it.
"The whole game I was not going to take a jump shot," Rose said. "It was crazy."
Yes, it was crazy.
And yes, it was a stubborn approach by Howland.
But you know who else was pretty damn stubborn in his day?
Bob Knight.
But he won some national titles, if I remember correctly.
So my advice to UCLA fans is to take a deep breath and relax and look at the big picture. Not long ago you had a program that was slipping under Steve Lavin, that had fallen behind Arizona and Stanford. Now, you've clearly got the best program in the Pac-10 and you've been to three straight Final Fours.
Ask Indiana fans if they'd take that in five years.
I bet they would.
And here's the good news: There's no reason you can't get back next year, even if Kevin Love, Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook turn pro. That's the worst case scenario. But even if that happens UCLA would have Luc Richard Mbah Moute, Josh Shipp and the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation to throw on the court, and that might be good enough if Jrue Holiday, Jerime Anderson and Malcolm Lee develop into the stars many believe they can be.
And what if Westbrook comes back?
Or Collison, even?
Then you can go ahead and make reservations for the Final Four.
And then maybe that'll be the year it happens.
But either way, UCLA is going to be fine.
Honest to God, I still believe that.