Steve Lavin is going to be fired at the end of the season, if he
makes it that long. Amid a ton of speculation and leaks, most likely
from “The Lavin Camp", Steve Lavin was supposedly thinking about
resigning. When I first read this in many west coast papers a smile
formed on my face. I though to myself, finally the nightmare is over,
the guy, at the very least, turned out to be decent, with the best
interest of the kids in his heart. Wrong again, in his press
conference yesterday he indicated that he never thought about
resigning and would love the challenge of coaching the team next year.
This guy is unbelievable, not only is he ruining the potential
professions and dreams of some of his players by not making them
better over there time at UCLA, but he continues to be selfish and out
for himself. God forbid he resign and start the healing process to a
program that he has single handedly trounced. Throughout his time at
UCLA Steve Lavin has failed to realize why so many alumni and fans
have wanted him out for so long. He thinks and gets most of the mass
media to believe that UCLA fans have unattainable expectations. He
raves about his sweet 16’s and writers compare his results in the
tournament to Coach K. It is time to set the record straight about
Steve Lavin.
Steve Lavin makes over $500,000 dollars a year to coach the UCLA
bruins.
UCLA has not been ranked in the top 10, in the season ending poll,
since 1997.
In the past 6 years he has failed to win one Pac-10 Championship,
the first time in UCLA history.
He has the second worst winning percentage of any coach post
Wooden, after inheriting a team that was one year removed from a
National Championship, Walt Hazzard has the worst .621.
He has not finished higher than third in the Pac-10 conference
since he inherited Jim Harrick’s team his first year.
He finished 6th last year in the Pac-10 the lowest ever at
UCLA.
He has lost the most games at Pauley Pavilion in 20 years.
Steve Lavin has a chance to lose 20 games this year. He needs to
win 5 games the rest of the regular season or 4 and win the pac-10
tourney to avoid the 20-loss mark. The most losses in one season,
since John Wooden, are 14; and that is virtually a certainty.
Steve Lavin will have the first losing season at UCLA in over 50
years.
Steve Lavin has had at least one McDonald’s All-American on his
team every year and at least 3 for the past 5 seasons and has yet to
win a conference championship or make a final four.
Steve Lavin has lost to some bad teams at Pauley Pavilion: Detroit,
Cal State Northridge, Pepperdine, Gonzaga (before they were on the
map) and this year alone to University San Diego and Northern Arizona.
Steve Lavin’s teams have also been blown out of some games: 41
points by North Carolina, 36 points to Duke, 29 points to Pac-10 foes
Arizona St., Cal, and Oregon, 26 points to Kentucky and 24 points to
Iowa St.
I am continually amazed that the mass media continues to defend a
guy who has not accomplished much of anything at UCLA. Zero conference
championships and Zero final fours. The simple fact that he has tried
to make UCLA fans feel satisfied with Sweet 16’s is an affront to all
UCLA fans. Sweet 16’s are fine if that is what your team’s potential
is, but taking a preseason top 5 rated team (2001-2002) to the sweet
16 is a bad job and not one that should be appreciated. This year he
has taken a top 25 rated pre-season team to a 4-7 record with a good
chance to lose their next 5 games. In just 7 years Steve Lavin will
have set almost every negative record in UCLA history since John
Wooden, and that is not something that should be defended or praised.
UCLA fans want a team that plays to its potential, a team that plays
fundamentally sound basketball, a team that displays player
development and work ethic. If these simple goals are accomplished the
accolades of conference championships and final fours will take care
of themselves. The saddest part of the entire scenario is that Steve
Lavin has done a poor job and will be a Millionaire while the kids
that he was supposed to help and mold into successful basketball
players and men have been neglected and not given an opportunity to be
the best that they could be. The only positive is that UCLA fans have
at most 57 days more of Steve Lavin, and the countdown begins.
