Ugly myths of coach grossly unfounded

Wednesday, October 14, 1998

Ugly myths of coach grossly unfounded

COLUMN: Lavin’s attitude, youth, help – not harm – basketball
team’s legacy

The sky is falling. Steve Lavin is the head coach of UCLA
basketball. Unfortunately, there are lost souls out there who
presume these statements to be true.

Believe it or not, I actually joined the Daily Bruin because of
a now infamous column that ran last spring torching Lavin worse
then Baron Davis toasted that defender from Michigan in last year’s
NCAA tournament. (To this day that guy still hasn’t found
Baron.)

What was that ridiculous piece about? Mainly it said that Lavin
was too young to be coach. OK, that’s great, let’s go get that guy
who plays guitar in front of the restaurant formerly known as
Buck-Fifty’s. I think he’s older then Coach Lavin.

There are many "myths" about Coach Lavin circulating out there.
The first one is by far the most ridiculous. Try not to laugh so
hard that you have a stroke, but there are actually people out
there who think that Lavin can’t coach. To dispel this – the most
ridiculous of rumors – I point you first to the graphic
accompanying this column. Then I remind you of Lavin’s first season
as head coach.

Here’s a recap: Lavin takes over head coaching responsibilities
after the firing of previous coach Jim Harrick with only days’
notice. Lavin, with no head coaching experience mind you, leads his
first team, a team that he had no hand in putting together, to an
Elite Eight appearance. Plus, anybody who saw the game will tell
you without a doubt that if Jelani, our only center, does not get
injured, we are in the Final Four. Not bad for a first season, one
which many thought had "failure" written all over it before it even
began.

Now I shall summarize last year’s campaign. Before the season
begins, the turmoil that wreaks havoc on our basketball program
continues. Two of our best players, junior center Jelani McCoy and
senior shooting guard Kris Johnson, are suspended for undisclosed
reasons. J.R. Henderson and Toby Bailey are left as the only
upperclassmen who have any real previous experience. Johnson and
McCoy eventually make it back onto the squad, but McCoy later
leaves the team for good.

Here is where Lavin-bashers have all their fun. "Lavin couldn’t
even win with a team that had Kris Johnson, Toby Bailey and JR
Henderson." That is my favorite line.

Examination of the starting line-up reveals that 6-foot-6-inch
Henderson is playing center in a conference inhabited by the likes
of 7-foot ogres Tim Young and Todd MacCullogh.

I doubt Wooden could have won with a lineup of Henderson at
center. Kris Johnson, at 6-foot-4, was actually playing power
forward (please name the all other 6-foot-4 power forwards in the
country). And Bailey was at small forward (Toby’s a great player,
but forward just isn’t where he should be playing). Plus we had a
backcourt of true freshmen. And don’t forget that "deep" wouldn’t
be exactly the right word to describe our bench.

By the time the third round of the NCAA tournament rolled
around, Lavin actually led this undersized team to two victories,
including one against Michigan. Michigan had beaten the powerful
Duke contingent earlier, and many experts had picked the Wolverines
as a possible Final Four contender.

Then the Bruins met eventual champions Kentucky – without Baron
Davis. The Wildcats had a roster that shamed every other school in
the country, running two or three deep at every single position.
Our team leader was out with a serious knee injury, and we didn’t
even have one center. Maybe we should have fired Lavin right there
at that game.

This will be Lavin’s first year of college basketball without a
bunch of non-basketball diversions. Junior Sean Farnham summed up
the feelings of the team best. "All those people who say Lav can’t
coach are ridiculous. Give the guy a chance. His reign has been
marked by scandals and distractions that he had nothing to do with.
This season will be the first season he coaches without
distractions."

The second "myth" is that Lav is too young. As far as I am
concerned, one’s birth date should not be a qualification for a
head coaching job. For those out there who wonder about where
Lavin’s experience came from, I’ll drop a few names for you. Lavin
has spent years working with – and under the tutelage of – some of
the very best college coaches of our generation. I doubt there are
many NCAA coaches out there who have had the opportunity to work
under Indiana coaching legend Bobby Knight, Duke great Mike
Krzyzewski, Fresno State leader Jerry Tarkanian, former Seattle
Supersonics defensive wizard Tim Grgurich, big man guru Pete Newell
and have three years as an assistant under the dean of Big-10
coaching, Purdue’s Gene Keady.

Color me impressed by the number of wins those guys have racked
up in their careers. And don’t forget that Lavin was an assistant
coach during the Bruins’ national championship run of 1995.

Being young, compared to other basketball coaches, can be an
advantage, not an obstacle. Lavin outlined one overlooked point
recently. "The fact that right now that I’m not married, helps
because it allows me to put 24 hours, seven days a week into the
job. Right now, my basketball players are my family."

Secondly, his youth has helped immeasurably to get some of the
best recruits Westwood has seen in a while. Imagine what a recruit
thinks when the white-haired Lute Olson, who was coaching in
Arizona before Los Angeles was even a city, shows up to schmooze,
and the next day the energetic and upstart coach from UCLA shows
up. This brings me to my next point.

When Lavin first took the job, there were a few Pac-10 analysts
who figured the rest of the conference’s coaching ranks would be
licking their chops at the opportunity of recruiting against the
youngster from UCLA. That thought has turned out to be the joke of
the century. Lavin not only out-recruited every Pac-10 coach, he
out-recruited every single head coach in the country. Lavin even
out-recruited the NCAA by signing Schea Cotton (who was later
declared ineligible by the NCAA). Lavin, hands down, has had the
best two year period by any coach this decade. Last year’s list
included Baron Davis, Earl Watson and Schea Cotton.

But this year’s class is the prize of all prizes. This year’s
freshmen include center Dan Gadzuric, power forward Jerome Moiso
(this guy has more skills in the shadow of his left pinky than two
Tim Youngs put together), small forward scorer extraordinaire JaRon
Rush, forward Matt Barnes and shooting guard Ray Young.

We would also have 6-foot-8 Patreck Ceresa also on the roster if
the NCAA had not found yet another way to job UCLA. This time the
NCAA has determined that if you go to school in Europe, it actually
does not count. Either way, we now have 20 feet and seven inches of
starting front line. And believe me, there is, amazingly enough,
more talent in those three players than height.

The third myth commonly perpetuated against Coach Lavin is that
he lets the players run the show – that he has no control of the
program. This is truly ridiculous. If you think that Jelani McCoy
left the program voluntarily, I have some beachfront property in
Arizona I’d like to sell you. I wonder, could the presence of
somebody over 6-foot-6 have helped our team at all last year?
Probably not, basketball is a short man’s game.

Last year, Baron Davis’ car broke down, and he ended up five
minutes late to a 6 a.m. practice. The following game was the only
contest all season that a healthy Baron Davis did not start. I
remember watching a few practices last season where a certain
superstar (who shall remain nameless) was relegated to riding the
exercise bike during scrimmages.

Coach Lavin has also instituted the "Bruin Attitude." The
Attitude is a list of 23 rules that his team must follow on and off
the court. First and foremost is reason No. 1: Excel in the
classroom. Here’s a few more examples:

– Listen

– Run to the bench when substituted

– No swearing on court

– Never quit on a play! Never!

– No pointing fingers (Unless for a good pass)

– Cheer for your teammates when on the bench

– Study during study hall

– Attitude of gratitude: Say "Thank you"

– Be a role model off the floor

– Be humble in victory, gracious in defeat

About his list, Lavin said, "I believe a disciplined team will
be a more successful team. That’s what our Bruin attitude is about.
It’s about standards."

Finally, I want to point out some of the intangibles that make
Lavin the perfect choice for our beloved basketball team. The guy
is humble. Too humble. He treats everybody, and I mean everybody,
with the utmost respect. Once, I was hanging around the Morgan
Center around closing time and spotted Lavin talking hoops with the
Morgan Center custodian.

The first time I ever talked to him, he had no idea who I was,
but nonetheless treated me like a Pulitzer Prize-winning
journalist, answering even the most intrusive of my questions with
unusual candor. His friendly and open demeanor are a full
turnaround from some of the previous UCLA head coaches. Find Lavin
on campus and he will make you, too, feel like a genuine UCLA
basketball insider.

With all the great potential, and all the great talent our
basketball team undoubtedly possesses, this year will probably
decide nothing.

At a recent luncheon, Lavin joked about winning the next three
national championships. (For all you national media types, he was
joking.) Unfortunately, this is what too many people expect. No
other coach can win three championships, why should Lavin have
to?

If we should not do as well as we hope in the tournament this
year, logic dictates that Lavin be given at least another year to
prove his worth. The team, after all, is made up almost entirely of
freshmen and sophomores. Talent without experience can only get you
so far. A glimpse of the future was offered last season, watching
Baron and Rico Hines bark at anybody who dogged it in practice.

This is the kind of motivation and attitude that Lavin instills
in his players. Give Lavin time to make the Bruins his team. I
think Bruin fans will be quite happy with the outcome.

Lewis is the men’s basketball editor and gives major props to
assistant coaches Holton, Spencer and Saia, as well as Lavin. Send
proclamations of undying Bruin devotion to [email protected].

Greg Lewis

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