Howland is at the point now where he is at risk of losing the slim hold he has on the skidding 2-5 Bruins. What message, after all, does it send to the rest of the team when the coach keeps putting up with Nelson’s antics? This isn’t, after all, a guy who is known to be loosy-goosy and relaxed. Howland would script the layup lines if he could.
And now here he is, pretzeling himself, his principles and the very fabric that UCLA likes to say it’s built upon, for Nelson. It’s impossible not to interpret Howland’s inaction as desperation. The wheels are flying off at UCLA in rapid succession and Nelson is, when he’s not nuclear, a critical cog in the Bruins’ machine.
Without him, UCLA has a much slimmer chance of winning. And without winning, Howland has a much slimmer chance of holding on to his job.
But at what price?
6 months ago
Nestor
2 comments
0 recs |
Email
PrintComments
I (tentatively) prefer "indefinite suspension" to dismissal.
Nothing Nelson has done suggests that he is beyond redemption (if anything, that part is played by Anderson). He has a bad temper, and rather than following Howland’s guidance, the problem continued.
Now it’s Howland’s job to teach Nelson, but it’s impossible to teach someone by giving up on them. The time may come when Nelson needs to be let go and forgotten, but the very fact that he hasn’t announced that he’s leaving suggests to me that he still wants to succeed, and that there’s still hope of having a sane and productive Nelson in the future.
Howland’s most important job isn’t to get Nelson into the NBA, it’s to teach him how to succeed in life. This is a step in the right direction, as long as Howland sticks to his decision this time around.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Bruins Nation
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
