UCLA Basketball in trouble!

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Wed Mar 20, 2019 2:14 pm

ChooChooCat wrote:
MrBug708 wrote:
Bear Down Vegas wrote:Calipari would be some move.
That's the rumor for a bit. Seth Davis was the first to report it a few days ago
You guys upping your investment ten fold now? If you guys get Calipari I'd immediately fire Miller after the season and pursue a better coach than recruiter.

I don't know. Miller is one of a short list of coaches that can recruit anywhere close to Cal. Cal would be a crazy upgrade for UCLA, although I'd tend to think this is more about his UK salary.

I'd at least like someone who might be competitive vs Cal because Cal would kill recruiting at UCLA.

Beachcat97 · Post by **Beachcat97** » Wed Mar 20, 2019 3:06 pm

Gonna be funny when UCLA fans are left standing at the altar with someone not named Calipari. He's said repeatedly that UK is his dream job.

UCLA's list of realistic "gets" is nowhere near as sexy as they think.

baycat93 · Post by **baycat93** » Wed Mar 20, 2019 3:23 pm

Not saying Cal at UCLA would not be formidable. Still, he can only take 5-7 kids a year. Doubt he is going to stop chasing all of the best kids from across the country. Might put him in a precarious position with local talent who might get turned off when he takes national kids over LA basin kids.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Wed Mar 20, 2019 3:24 pm

Cal at UCLA would be awesome. Arizona, UCLA, Gonzaga, and maybe Nevada would be very good for West coast basketball.

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Wed Mar 20, 2019 3:30 pm

baycat93 wrote:Not saying Cal at UCLA would not be formidable. Still, he can only take 5-7 kids a year. Doubt he is going to stop chasing all of the best kids from across the country. Might put him in a precarious position with local talent who might get turned off when he takes national kids over LA basin kids.

One and done is likely over in the near future and not every kid he could recruit at Kentucky is recruitable by UCLA, though I would imagine he would be given a lot of leeway. But I'm pretty sure Cal could probably soothe over the scorned LA kidsiff need be

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Wed Mar 20, 2019 3:37 pm

As a college basketball fan I would love cal at UCLA.

As an Arizona fan I would hate it.

Both of those feelings are good for college bb and west coast bb INO.

pc in NM · Post by **pc in NM** » Wed Mar 20, 2019 3:41 pm

Cal would be a great fit, and a savior for the uclans; he'd love the secondary perks...

... OTOH, I believe Cal would be a fool to leave UK - minimal to accomplish, lots of room for falling off.

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Wed Mar 20, 2019 3:59 pm

I've seen mention that he wants a perfect season, SEC is a lot harder to do that in than the PAC-12

UAEebs86 · Post by **UAEebs86** » Wed Mar 20, 2019 8:34 pm

Beachcat97 · Post by **Beachcat97** » Wed Mar 20, 2019 8:44 pm

He’s not going anywhere. Why would he? Seriously?

There are some lovely consolation coaching candidates for UCLA to consider.

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Wed Mar 20, 2019 8:46 pm

UAEebs86 wrote:

UCLa's search committee really messed it up, but at least it got possible pay information out there

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Thu Mar 21, 2019 5:51 am

You guys need to shit can Guerrero

Seriously, you just hire a brinks truck and send it to cal if you want him. How hard could it have been?

Beachcat97 · Post by **Beachcat97** » Thu Mar 21, 2019 7:33 am

In the modern era, jobs in true college towns (ie: not sprawling metropolises with several pro teams) will always be the best ones out there. So this means UK, Kansas, Duke, UNC, Indiana, AZ, Syracuse, Oregon, Florida, et al....all end up being better jobs than UCLA, USC, St. John's, and Illinois. Maybe I'm just pointing out the obvious. UCLA might be worst of all because they have impossible expectations and terrible fan support, along with that historic legacy. How many other teams with such incredible histories have their home games so lightly attended? You can't even name one.

So it makes sense for former Bruins like Earl Watson and Tyus Edney and Cameron Dollar to have interest, and it makes sense that Alford and Howland (older guys who actually grew up watching Wooden) would too. Calipari would fit that latter group except he already has the best job in basketball, and one of the best in all of sports.

UCLA's best bet is a former Bruin or an up-and-comer who wouldn't be able to refuse the huge pay increase.

UAEebs86 · Post by **UAEebs86** » Thu Mar 21, 2019 7:48 am

Illinois is in a college town. Champaign-Urbana ain't no sprawling metropolis.

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Thu Mar 21, 2019 7:50 am

UCLA needed a search committee to figure out they should offer Calipari?

Beachcat97 · Post by **Beachcat97** » Thu Mar 21, 2019 7:53 am

UAEebs86 wrote:Illinois is in a college town. Champaign-Urbana ain't no sprawling metropolis.

Isn't there a UI campus in Chicago?

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Thu Mar 21, 2019 7:58 am

Chicat wrote:UCLA needed a search committee to figure out they should offer Calipari?

No kidding.

It’s like the 10 walking up to you at a night out and you have to confer with your friends about the value proposition and opportunity costs of taking her home for the night.

UAEebs86 · Post by **UAEebs86** » Thu Mar 21, 2019 8:22 am

Beachcat97 wrote:
UAEebs86 wrote:Illinois is in a college town. Champaign-Urbana ain't no sprawling metropolis.
Isn't there a UI campus in Chicago?

Yes, with their own basketball team.

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Thu Mar 21, 2019 8:49 am

UCLA fan and possible booster in my office says he didn’t want cal and all the notoriety that comes with him.

Also, “he’s only won one championship”

Lol

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Thu Mar 21, 2019 8:51 am

Chicat wrote:UCLA needed a search committee to figure out they should offer Calipari?

To keep DG from offering it to Billy Gillespie

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Thu Mar 21, 2019 8:59 am

UAEebs86 wrote:Illinois is in a college town. Champaign-Urbana ain't no sprawling metropolis.

Longhorned may not agree, but college towns are known to be fantastic to live in, esp. in red states.

Longhorned · Post by **Longhorned** » Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:51 am

UAEebs86 wrote:
Beachcat97 wrote:
UAEebs86 wrote:Illinois is in a college town. Champaign-Urbana ain't no sprawling metropolis.
Isn't there a UI campus in Chicago?

Yes, with their own basketball team.

And their own campus.

Longhorned · Post by **Longhorned** » Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:53 am

Merkin wrote:
UAEebs86 wrote:Illinois is in a college town. Champaign-Urbana ain't no sprawling metropolis.

Longhorned may not agree, but college towns are known to be fantastic to live in, esp. in red states.

What do I know? I just wanted to come home. Santa Barbara is home, too, but I'll never be able to afford it, and my quaker parrot would be illegal.

Beachcat97 · Post by **Beachcat97** » Thu Mar 21, 2019 11:56 am

Merkin wrote:
UAEebs86 wrote:Illinois is in a college town. Champaign-Urbana ain't no sprawling metropolis.

Longhorned may not agree, but college towns are known to be fantastic to live in, esp. in red states.

Yep. I think there's also something about the status enjoyed by coaches of major programs in these towns. Self, Calipari, Williams...each is the most beloved person in their town. Lute had this too, and while not at the same level, Miller's even experienced it.

It just isn't the same coaching a school in L.A., NYC, Boston, Chicago, etc.

Imagine how far Calipari's salary goes in Lexington. He probably feels like freaking Warren Buffet.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Thu Mar 21, 2019 12:49 pm

Beachcat97 wrote:
Merkin wrote:
UAEebs86 wrote:Illinois is in a college town. Champaign-Urbana ain't no sprawling metropolis.

Longhorned may not agree, but college towns are known to be fantastic to live in, esp. in red states.
Yep. I think there's also something about the status enjoyed by coaches of major programs in these towns. Self, Calipari, Williams...each is the most beloved person in their town. Lute had this too, and while not at the same level, Miller's even experienced it.

It just isn't the same coaching a school in L.A., NYC, Boston, Chicago, etc.

Imagine how far Calipari's salary goes in Lexington. He probably feels like freaking Warren Buffet.

Mark Few too.

It has probably been 20 years or more, but recall one of the TV announcers said there are only two coaches in college ball who could walk into a restaurant and everyone stops talking. Lute Olson, and Bobby Knight when he was at Indiana.

Beachcat97 · Post by **Beachcat97** » Thu Mar 21, 2019 1:12 pm

I'm sure this has a lot to do with why Few has stayed put over the years. I mean, if Duke or UNC came calling, you gotta think he'd listen. But he's set up as well in Spokane as he could be anywhere else, maybe better.

Sorta think if Few were going to leave, he'd have done it already. By the time he's done at Gonzaga, they'll name their arena after him.

Even in retirement, even over a decade after he last coached at AZ, I'm sure Lute still has that effect when he's out and about in Tucson. Lute is the biggest figure in the history of AZ athletics, and it's not really close.

I feel like what Calipari has going for himself at UK is the closest hoops equivalent to what Saban has going at Bama. Calipari isn't going to win as many titles, obviously, but he gets virtually every player he recruits and is a national contender every year. UK and Bama are also not academic powerhouses, so it's not hard getting guys admitted. This is an advantage Calipari has over even Coach K and Roy, whose schools are much harder to get into.

MrMeow · Post by **MrMeow** » Sat Mar 23, 2019 10:13 am

Merkin wrote:
Beachcat97 wrote:
Merkin wrote:
UAEebs86 wrote:Illinois is in a college town. Champaign-Urbana ain't no sprawling metropolis.

Longhorned may not agree, but college towns are known to be fantastic to live in, esp. in red states.
Yep. I think there's also something about the status enjoyed by coaches of major programs in these towns. Self, Calipari, Williams...each is the most beloved person in their town. Lute had this too, and while not at the same level, Miller's even experienced it.

It just isn't the same coaching a school in L.A., NYC, Boston, Chicago, etc.

Imagine how far Calipari's salary goes in Lexington. He probably feels like freaking Warren Buffet.
Mark Few too.

It has probably been 20 years or more, but recall one of the TV announcers said there are only two coaches in college ball who could walk into a restaurant and everyone stops talking. Lute Olson, and Bobby Knight when he was at Indiana.

I forget who the reporter was, but the comment was something like, "Lute Olson is one of few people I know who can silence a room just by walking in". Not only is Lute a man of tremendous accomplishment, but as Mike Montgomery once pointed out, Lute has an imposing physical presence.

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Sun Mar 24, 2019 7:38 am

Just need some of these college coaches to have their seasons end.

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Sun Mar 24, 2019 11:36 am

MrBug708 wrote:Just need some of these college coaches to have their seasons end.

Bill Self’s season is done.

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Sun Mar 24, 2019 4:29 pm

Not a bad option. Maybe after Calipari stuff is done

Beachcat97 · Post by **Beachcat97** » Sun Mar 24, 2019 6:34 pm

Gotta love UCLA fans' unrealistic list of coaching candidates. Good luck with that.

midnightx · Post by **midnightx** » Mon Mar 25, 2019 8:47 pm

Beachcat97 wrote:I'm sure this has a lot to do with why Few has stayed put over the years. I mean, if Duke or UNC came calling, you gotta think he'd listen. But he's set up as well in Spokane as he could be anywhere else, maybe better.

Sorta think if Few were going to leave, he'd have done it already. By the time he's done at Gonzaga, they'll name their arena after him.

Even in retirement, even over a decade after he last coached at AZ, I'm sure Lute still has that effect when he's out and about in Tucson. Lute is the biggest figure in the history of AZ athletics, and it's not really close.

I feel like what Calipari has going for himself at UK is the closest hoops equivalent to what Saban has going at Bama. Calipari isn't going to win as many titles, obviously, but he gets virtually every player he recruits and is a national contender every year. UK and Bama are also not academic powerhouses, so it's not hard getting guys admitted. This is an advantage Calipari has over even Coach K and Roy, whose schools are much harder to get into.

Coach K can get anyone into Duke.

midnightx · Post by **midnightx** » Tue Mar 26, 2019 1:22 pm

Calipari is not going to UCLA. It is a lateral move under the most liberal circumstances, and in 2019, Kentucky is the better job. UCLA also could never raise the funds to pay him what he earns at Kentucky. Still, anything is possible, and if for some reasons Calipari wants out of Kentucky, he could consider it, but it seems unlikely.

CatsbyAZ · Post by **CatsbyAZ** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 9:07 am

The nest of negativity that is Bruin Nations sure isn't pleased with how the coaching search is going:

"This is ridiculous. This indicates that the UCLA Athletic Department learned ABSOLUTELY NOTHING from the hiring of Steve Alford.

Why is the athletic department imposing an arbitrary timeline, instead of waiting until after the Final Four to interview Tony Bennett? This is exactly the same thing which happened after the firing of Ben Howland.

Instead of waiting until Wichita State had exited the tournament, UCLA panicked an made an obvious mistake of hiring Steve Alford.

Well, it looks like that’s about to happen again. There is absolutely no reason why UCLA cannot wait until Tony Bennett’s Virginia Cavaliers to finish playing in the Final Four."

https://www.bruinsnation.com/ucla_baske ... ball-coach" target="_blank

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 9:14 am

Oh Bruins nation. Pretty sure that going to the final four killed UCLa's chances there. They could have landed him last year but DG thought we had a Elite 8 caliber team and kept Alford around for another year

midnightx · Post by **midnightx** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 8:39 am

They might get Jamie Dixon. He was a hot commodity for a time, but flamed out at the end of his Pitt tenure and hasn't set the world on fire at TCU. Still, it wouldn't be a bad hire. If Alford could recruit at UCLA, certainly Dixon will be able to.

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 8:57 am

Mick Cronin come on down!

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 9:01 am

The purpose of a buyout is to make it unattractive to leave. Why would TCU negotiate that if they want him to stay?

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 9:42 am

midnightx wrote:They might get Jamie Dixon. He was a hot commodity for a time, but flamed out at the end of his Pitt tenure and hasn't set the world on fire at TCU. Still, it wouldn't be a bad hire. If Alford could recruit at UCLA, certainly Dixon will be able to.

TCU hadn't been to the tournament since 1998 and Dixon got them there in year 2.

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 9:44 am

Chicat wrote:The purpose of a buyout is to make it unattractive to leave. Why would TCU negotiate that if they want him to stay?

I'd assume having a coach who agreed to leave and then you don't let him go, is bad for business. The buyout is a deterrent from sniffing around but once the coach wants to leave, it's tough to keep him there. I'd imagine they will work out a payment plan. I'd expect an announcement tomorrow or possibly Monday.

https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/co ... 73269.html" target="_blank

midnightx · Post by **midnightx** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 10:28 am

MrBug708 wrote:
midnightx wrote:They might get Jamie Dixon. He was a hot commodity for a time, but flamed out at the end of his Pitt tenure and hasn't set the world on fire at TCU. Still, it wouldn't be a bad hire. If Alford could recruit at UCLA, certainly Dixon will be able to.
TCU hadn't been to the tournament since 1998 and Dixon got them there in year 2.

Well, TCU not being in the tournament for 20 years is not a surprise because it isn't a particularly good program, and Dixon is a good coach, so it is no surprise he got them to the tournament. Clearly UCLA is a better job than TCU, at least on the surface, so if Dixon wants a shot at the big-time, he will take the job. I also expect that Dixon will do well at UCLA, although, if UCLA can run Howland out of town a few years after making three straight final fours, one suspects the program has unrealistic expectations which Dixon will have to deal with.

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 10:40 am

We kept Alford and Lavin for too many years. Having unrealistic expectations is a lazy comment. Howlands tenure was unfortunate but the program wasn't in good shape when we parted ways.

U.P. Zona Fan · Post by **U.P. Zona Fan** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 10:44 am

Well then tcu will have 8mil to buy out the muss buss

ByJoveByJingle · Post by **ByJoveByJingle** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 10:44 am

It’s gotten to the point that calling the unrealistic expectations trope a lazy comment has become the lazy comment. Basketball Inception—mind explodes.

Beachcat97 · Post by **Beachcat97** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 10:49 am

ByJoveByJingle wrote:It’s gotten to the point that calling the unrealistic expectations trope a lazy comment has become the lazy comment. Basketball Inception—mind explodes.

There are no valid criticisms of UCLA for Bug, Jove. Just trolling.

You and others have been spot on your comments about Dixon and UCLA in this thread.

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 11:03 am

ByJoveByJingle wrote:It’s gotten to the point that calling the unrealistic expectations trope a lazy comment has become the lazy comment. Basketball Inception—mind explodes.

I figured if you can't do the actual effort to point out unrealistic expectations, I shouldn't have to do the work for you to disprove something 30 years out of date.

I'm always up for discussions though.

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 11:28 am

Jeff Goodman has ripped UCLA for aiming to high (Calipari) and too low (Dixon), thought it was appropriate to put his take on the UCLA job in context. Who was his Goldilocks hire? Bobby Hurley.

He should stick to trailing Lavar Ball across the world

midnightx · Post by **midnightx** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 1:02 pm

MrBug708 wrote:
ByJoveByJingle wrote:It’s gotten to the point that calling the unrealistic expectations trope a lazy comment has become the lazy comment. Basketball Inception—mind explodes.
I figured if you can't do the actual effort to point out unrealistic expectations, I shouldn't have to do the work for you to disprove something 30 years out of date.

I'm always up for discussions though.

Um, the unrealistic expectations have been pointed out. Howland made three straight final fours, consistently recruited top-tier talent, and arguably supplanted Arizona as the top Pac-10/12 program for a few years during the mid-2000's. That was not enough for UCLA, hence the unrealistic expectations. Yes, the end of Howland's tenure was a bit messy, with the coach losing control of some players and striking out on some recruits, but nothing that could not have been overcome over time. It isn't as if UCLA had a better option waiting in the wings, ultimately settling on Alford, one of the most mediocre coaches in the entire country. UCLA would have ran Tom Izzo out the door, a guy with eight final fours, several conference championships, and a national title. Dixon will be a good hire, but what does UCLA expect from him? One suspects he won't reach three straight final fours.

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 1:51 pm

He also hired an AAU coach to land that talent, got dinged by the NCAA on it, and the relationship issues with AAU have been long pointed out. He wasn't fired just because he was struggling but because of the culture that was allowed to fester. The SI report was a scathing indictment on what had transpired under Howland. Here is the link in case you forgot.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.si.com ... 02/29/ucla" target="_blank

I don't speculate on things like Tom Izzo because they are unrealistic comparisions that cannot be proven or disproven.

zonagrad · Post by **zonagrad** » Thu Apr 04, 2019 3:24 pm

MrBug708 wrote:He also hired an AAU coach to land that talent, got dinged by the NCAA on it, and the relationship issues with AAU have been long pointed out. He wasn't fired just because he was struggling but because of the culture that was allowed to fester. The SI report was a scathing indictment on what had transpired under Howland. Here is the link in case you forgot.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.si.com ... 02/29/ucla" target="_blank

I don't speculate on things like Tom Izzo because they are unrealistic comparisions that cannot be proven or disproven.

Culture in a program is a precious and fragile thing. When it's good -- it defines a program. When it's bad, watch out. One bad apple...

I know Lute used to have current players essentially vote up or down on a recruit during or after their visit. If the recruit wasn't right for the culture of the team, the current players would let them know. That's not a fool proof system but it helps. Lord knows Arizona has had a few bad apples over the years. It happens. But damn, Howland's handling of Reeves Nelson was ridiculous.

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