tWWL & Lavin Himself Float His Name As A "Candidate" For DePaul's Headcoach
by Nestor on Feb 9, 2010 7:02 PM PST
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PrintDePaul athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto said one of the qualities she's looking for in a new men's basketball coach is the ability to win on a big stage, and one such qualified candidate said Tuesday he would listen to Ponsetto if contacted.
"Oh absolutely," former UCLA coach Steve Lavin said on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "I'd be intrigued."
Lavin led the Bruins to five Sweet Sixteen berths and one Elite Eight appearance. Lavin and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski are the only two coaches to guide their teams to the Sweet 16 five times in six seasons.
After his only losing season in 2002-03, Lavin was let go and joined ESPN as an analyst. He sounded open to the possibility of returning to coaching, and he said DePaul is an attractive proposition.
"It's a program that's got great history, great tradition," he said. "I know they're going to do a thorough, national search.
Uh yeah. This seems to happen a lot whenever a job opens for a mid-major or a low profile D-1 college basketball program. Somehow tWWL never wastes an opportunity to float or to serve the name of Duke Vitale's heir apparent as on-air idiot as some kind head coaching "candidate."
For some reason these predictable trial balloons (that's what they basically are) of floating Lavin's name as a "candidate" never mentions why he is a joke (or why we have dubbed him the Blagojevich Of College Hoops) as a "coach" and insult to the legacy of UCLA basketball. All this is basically done to puff up this clown's shallow and empty resume as some kind of college basketball "analyst."
Of course Lavin is not even going to sniff a real interview. If any AD is stupid enough to waste his time to bring this clown in a for a cup of coffee, that university president should fire him on the spot.
GO BRUINS.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.
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Going OT a bit here
because I think N hit all the obvious points on Lavin. Why isn’t DePaul better? Now that it is a member of the Big East, you would think that they are primed for a major step up. Chicago churns out star after star and while Illinois gets some of them, schools from around the country go in there and snatch up guys regularly. It’s not like anyone has a lock of Chicago and that’s blocking DePaul. I’m not too familiar with the program, but from the outside it looks as if they should be able to make a dramatic rise.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
Geezers will remember that DePaul had its day
and was a force for a while. You are right, all the parts are close at hand.
But, the lizard? No way anyone is that stupid.
And, I don’t think he’d take the job. He knows he can’t coach.
sjh
right
and there is no-one keeping track of wins and losses as an announcer…
CHP is stupid, but he's not that stupid
All the talk about his returning to coaching is just more fluff for the network to tout when it is trying to sell the gullible public on the notion that CHP is an actual expert analyst.
He knows he never has been and never will be an actual coach, and why would he want to be? In coaching, there are measurable statistics, which we lawyers sometimes describe using the technical legal words “Wins” and “Losses.” He knows he is not capable of generating more “Wins” than “Losses,” so he knows that the day he got a head coaching job would be the first day to a countdown to when he would be fired. In his current gig, he can say whatever he wants with no fear of criticism because he’s an “expert.” You know he’s an expert because the TV network says he is (pretty much like they say pro wrestling is real.) The network also realizes that some people never actually hear the words he says because they keep the volume off.
Why should he give up a gig where he has zero pressure and never really has to actually work for a job that he can’t do and from which he would be quickly fired?
Well, British, thanks for stealing my thesis
That’s what I get for writing 10 lines while you were writing one.
roffle-mayo
unlike you fellas, i do see the lizard/blagojevich coaching again. i do think he is that stupid.
"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are." --John Wooden
I guess I'm officially a geezer
I have no idea why, but when I was a wee lad, my favorite college basketball team was DePaul. That was back when Terry Cummings and Mark Aguirre were on the squad. (I’m not geezer-y enough to have been around for the George Mikan days). They were a pretty fun team to watch, but once Ray Meyer retired and they gave the gig to his son Joey, things pretty much fell apart.
by insomniacslounge on Feb 9, 2010 9:25 PM PST up reply actions
Why the hate?
Hi fellow Bruin fans,
I just recently joined this site and this is my first post, so try not to be too mean :) Anyway, I read this article and the links provided in it, as well as the comments above. I’m just wondering why there is so much vitriol towards Coach Lavin? He was a major part of the coaching staff that brought the only national championship to Westwood in the last 35 years! Shouldn’t that get him some measure of of respect? He also won at least 20 games every single season as coach until the brutal ’02-03 season, and he was subsequently immediately fired. And as that 3rd paragraph in the quote above states, his performance in March Madness was pretty impressive.
I realize that the ‘02-03 season was just terrible, but isn’t Coach Howland experiencing a similar type season this year? I don’t think anyone is advocating for his firing? And certainly there isn’t as much hatred towards him. I personally find this season’s team to be far less likeable and far less promising for the future than that ’02 team.
I think DePaul could not hire a better coach than Lavin. He’s proven that he is a more than competent recruiter, and Chicago has a huge recruiting pool of players. Also, DePaul has been pretty irrelevant since the ‘80s, so I don’t think any hire by them could be classified as “stupid,” especially not a hire of someone who has the name recognition of Steve Lavin.
I hope someone can shed the light on the unmitigated hatred towards Coach Lavin, and I look forward to reading more from you guys. I was born in Los Angeles, but now reside in Illinois, so it’s not easy staying on top of UCLA news, so I really enjoy this website. Thanks! Go Bruins!!
In brief, those teams won in spite of their coaching, not because of it.
With the immense amount of NBA-level talent Lavin had during the first 5 years or so of his stay, it is not unfair at all to say that his teams constantly underachieved. Baron Davis himself would later say that UCLA would have won a national championship if they’d had a real coach.
by insomniacslounge on Feb 9, 2010 9:29 PM PST up reply actions
I'd write more, but I'd really rather not re-live the debacle that was the Lavin era
It’s taken years of communal therapy to get to the point where I can even mention his name without throwing up in my mouth a little bit. Nope…wait…there’s some coming up right now. Time to call my sponsor.
by insomniacslounge on Feb 9, 2010 9:31 PM PST up reply actions
+1
The talent he had was AMAZING, so even though they did a decent job, for that group it was an underachievement. Glad you joined, 1983, but you’re starting a firestorm asking what was so bad about Lavin. LOL! Welcome to BN! :)
GO BRUINS!!!
"The entire world that bleeds blue and gold ... they have been dying for this." - Coach Rick Neuheisel
Actual quote
“We should have a banner up there: the only team to make the tournament without a coach.”
1983, Your question is going to get a hundred responses.
First Lavin was not a major part of the 1995 Championship. Lorenzo Romar could make that claim, but it is pretty widely accepted that Lavin was a clipboard holder for that team. by taking over the year after the NC, he was assured a steady flow of talent with which he underachieved annually. He proved he was unable to coach by his inability to make in game adjustments, which was why he could not get past the Sweet 16 despite often facing inferior teams. Once it became apparent players where not getting any better under his tutelage, the recruiting suffered and his true colors came to light.
CBH gets the benefit of the doubt because he has proven he can coach. The debacle that is this year has caused no small amount of head scratching and finger pointing around here. We know he is better than this which is why we can demand more of him.
Of the Lizard we could only ever demand he go away.
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
Two quick items
Baron Davis said, as he looked at the banners in Pauley, “We would have had one of those if he had had a coach.”
He had to have one of his players tell him when the other team went to a zone.
There is more. Take some time to do some research and read some of the threads (if you have several weeks.) It’s all in here somewhere. Or as many of our local MSM writers say, “Trust me. I have it from several unimpeachable sources who actually did the research and analysis, CHP was a horrible coach and a pretty disgusting person, too.”
LMAO -- East Coast and Midwest Bruins
logging in at about the same time and posting similar content.
So, Good Morning to Nestor and Fox.
sjh
I actually miss that
When we lived in Wisconsin, we lived on a farm outside Madison. I had a big tractor with a bucket and a blade and would get to plow out. Very manly.
There is nothing more wonderful than a heavy snowstorm that stops all movement in an area — I’d never really heard silence until my first heavy storm. Everything is so still and beautiful.
On the other hand, there is something to be said for being able to have one “wardrobe”, wear t-shirts year round, and not have to worry where your missing mitten is.
Do you get to stay home, today? Of course, I guess the electronic office has destroyed the “Gee, I can’t come in and work.” excuse.
With all the snow we’d get in Madison, during my 20+ years of teaching there, the UW closed one day — and that was for a devastating ice storm that made it impossible (as opposed to difficult) to drive and knocked out major power lines. Driving in deep snow was one of life’s great thrills.
sjh
It is awesome
I get to work in a virtual office setting a lot. So this doesn’t impact me much except to enjoy the morning … over coffee and snow. It is really wonderful and it’s perhaps a big reason I haven’t been able to leave East Coast ever since I moved out here 14 years ago.
Absolutely beautiful outside right now.
I can't explain that to people here
I miss the East Coast so much that it makes me wonder why I ever came here. Oh wait, I got married or something.
I see all the pictures my friends and family send and I can’t tell you how jealous I am. I would love to be walking around Central Park right now. If I sent you a picture from here, you’d never know what time of year it is…
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Hi class of 66, my fellow Madisonian
“Everything is so still and beautiful” is the precise phrase to describe the snowy scene in the aftermath of an overnight blizzard.
I was a teaching assistant there while doing my graduate work. Often time, during early Sunday mornings in winter, I found myself being the only person slowly trekking towards the Humanities building where my office located. Everything around me was exactly the way you put it.
You know the funny thing is when I left my department office toward noon time, my footprints in the snow along the path I took were still the only ones visible. Apparently, everyone must still be recovering from their morning hangovers or something.
Wesley Matthews, then a highly touted guard on the Badgers team that turned pro and played a couple of years with the Lakers even during its Magic Johnson heydays in the mid eighties, enrolled in our course that spring semeater and I was his TA. He never showed up nor did anything. Instead of an F, I was told to give him an " incomplete " grade. I suppose the current coach, Bo Ryan would never tolerate any such shenanigans by his players.
Incidentally, I watched the Badgers played several times this year on DirectV’s Big Ten Network. They are good, really, rather physical at both ends of the court and shoots extremely well too. Even Bobby Knight, one of the color commentators at particularly game, complimented Wisconsin’s tough and aggressive team plays and fluid ball movements.
I don’t think Dragovich, keefe, Bobo and their likes would ever make the team there.
When were you a TA?
Were you there for the strike?
I represented all of the TA’s during the strike, much to the displeasure of my Dean and colleagues. I got every criminal charge against every TA dropped. Not great lawyering — just a very good DA, who is now Governor.
Those were very interesting days.
Madison was a vibrant college town and one of the best places to live in the States.
Jen, my 18 year old, has been accepted there and is taking the school very seriously. I’d prefer she go to a UC — but I don’t get to choose (and she hasn’t been accepted in one, yet.)
sjh
Hi Class of 66
I was doing my doctoral program in Educational Administration and interestingly enough, because of the funding, the intricacies of which I still could not understand to this day, my teaching assistantship was assigned to the Department of Educational Policies, affiliated then with the Department of History. That’s why my TA office was in the Humanities Building.
I took the offer and the scholarhip money, not much in today’s world, finished my program and left. That was 1987.
When Gerry Brown campaigned in Madison, and held his rally right before the Memorial Library, he brought along director Francis Ford Coppolla ,
whatever the rationale and I happened to be elbowing my way towards where Brown stood. That’s when I came face to face with the legendary filmmaker. We had an interesting conversation about his just released Apocalyse Now . I believed I got under his skin when I casually commented that Michael Cimino’s Deer Hunter, 1979’s Academy Award winning movie, produced with less money and time than Apocalyse Now did, was a better movie depicting the horrors of Vietnam war and its untold socio-political impacts on our society.
Did I get the man upset ! Very soon, others joined in our heated conversation and he almost forgot he was there to make speeches for the famous Governor Moonbeam. Those were the days of my graduate studies at Madison.
Later when Wisconsin beat us twice in Rose Bowl, I really felt like " I was torn between two lovers ".
I Was There, Too
On the square for that incredible night. It was pure Madison and justified the famous t-shirt “Madison — An Alternative to Reality”. Governor Moonbeam was a perfect fit.
I had started making films, around that time, and had done live TV producing and multi-camera directing. I always thought that Coppolla screwed up that broadcast because he had no idea how to do “live” TV — no retakes and quick camera calls. The broadcast was a technical disaster. And, now I know the backstory. You had him so upset he simply couldn’t do his job.
I agree with you about the Deer Hunter. I met Michael Cimino, during my LA “film maker days” in the 90’s, after Heaven’s Gate — while he was free falling from grace. He would have fit Madison, perfectly. A bit weird but incredibly creative.
And I, too, attended both Rose Bowls with Wisconsin. I wore my red Badger t-shirt under my Bruin clothing, fully expecting to win and fully expecting to be a magnanimous victor. However, in both games I became a very partisan Bruin. And, I cannot tell you how mad I remain, to this day, that so many of my Bruin brothers and sisters scalped their tickets to Wisconsin fans. Going to our home, the Rose Bowl, and seeing a sea of red is one of those bad memories that even in my Geezer years will not go away.
sjh
Hey class of 66, it seems like we do have plenty of stories
to trade about our Wisconsin days.
I hate to bore our fellow bruin partisans here in BN about them, but I do have plenty to share with you. If it’s okay with you, can you possibly email me at Htse005@aol.com. We can then swap some more tales within our own space.
'83 -- Do a search here -- your question will be answered hundreds of times
One of the great things about BN is a reader’s ability to search the archives for relevant posts.
There are tons on the lizard — on his lack of coaching skills (things like having to ask an assistant whether an opponent was playing man or zone against us) and on his post firing posturing that denigrated UCLA and its fan base.
None of us really want to answer your question, completely, because it has been answered here so many times and because reliving that time period is incredibly painful. For me, it’s worse than CTS reign because CTS was a Bruin and has done nothing to embarrass the program since leaving.
sjh
Failing memory--thank God
But didn’t a Lizard team with Baron Davis, Earl Watson, and Matt Barnes lose in the first round to Detroit-Mercy?
Thanks
Thanks everyone for their responses. I didn’t intend for my first post to cause such a stir. Thanks to ‘Class of 66’ for giving advice on how to search the site, too.
And let me be clear, there is no doubt he underachieved as a coach. I guess I just was wondering why there is so much hatred to a member of the Bruin family for 10+ years, especially one who had at least some role in a national championship. But it seems like from the responses it was a combination of his underachievement as well as some of his post-firing actions that leads to his dislike here. I guess maybe living in Illinois after his firing, I missed out on some of those actions.
Speaking of living in Illinois, I was awoken this morning to a 4.3 magnitude earthquake. I felt like I was back in Los Angeles again. And maybe that was god’s way of telling me never to bring up Steve Lavin again, haha.
Thanks again everyone for their comments, and look forward to reading/commenting further. Go Bruins.
He is not a member of Bruin "family"
Especially considering how he continued to trash Bruin “family” while stealing millions from it posing as a “head coach.” Again read the links in the original post that provide full details on this scumbag, petty con artist.
It's not hatred, it's absolute contempt
I think there’s a difference. I don’t hate CHP, but I think he’s a horrible person who could do the world a favor and retire from public life.
And he continues
to denigrate Bruin fans by saying that we have “unreasonable” expectations, and that that was the reason for his firing.
He’s a fake and a phony.
And do yourself a favor, look up what this jackhole did for his wedding. It’ll give you great insight as to why he is the Lizard.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
The wedding incident
was UNREAL. Who does that? “Hey, sorry too many of you RSVP’d yes, so we are just cancelling and going to Europe” Classless.
"The entire world that bleeds blue and gold ... they have been dying for this." - Coach Rick Neuheisel
I think Lavin was terrible for UCLA
and is certainly not a good coaching candidate, but I wish him well and hope he learns and grows.
Life is too short to hold on to anger towards people, IMHO
by silverlakebruin on Feb 10, 2010 8:48 PM PST up reply actions
Ahh, now things are back to normal -- I disagree with Silver
Life is not long enough for CHP to repair what he did to my alma mater. If a drunk driver plowed into a car load of people, it might be possible at some point to forgive him. But this drunk driver insists that he wasn’t drunk, and that the other car load of people had it coming. And he says that constantly. I understand he’s writing a book about coaching, and he’s thinking of calling it “If I Did It.” He has the same sort of amoral psyche as Hannibal Lecter.
I'm for it!
Anything to get him off my tv as a commentator.
by rocket rod forever on Feb 10, 2010 10:09 AM PST reply actions
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