[Updated] Stover Publicly Amplifies Criticisms of Howland's Coaching

For a few reasons. First, it’s a selfish move on Stover’s part. This goes back to the discussion of why these kids shouldn’t have twitter accounts. You can’t publicly call out your coach – especially when you’re a bench player. Dumb. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a suspension. More importantly, recruits read this. What do you think Shabazz is thinking if he sees this?

And, of course, it’s a(nother) damning sign that Howland is losing the team. Very disappointing – just bad news all around.

That was my first post. Didn’t mean to come across as harsh, just stating my frustrations with the athletics program as a whole at UCLA.

The very soul of our program is at stake. If Stover is forced out as smith continues to be coddled, it will be a very dark day.

Thanks for posting this Nestor.

At the outset, we must face the ugly scenario that Dan Guerrero may remain as AD for years. This sad possibility that he might be the one making another coaching change cannot be justification for keeping Howland.

But the UCLA basketball program has reached critical mass.

I have the most bizarre, deja vu feeling, that I am witnessing Rick Neuheisel 2.0.

1. being out-coached constantly. finding ways to lose games we should have won.
2. refusing to note the obvious from the first half, and not adjusting after intermission.
3. having favorites. not giving playing time based on merit. I believe this emanates from a similar stubbornness, that says, “I know who best to play, and I won’t listen to anyone else, and I won’t let the facts get in the way.”
4. hence, players “quit” on the coach. they “lose heart”, and / or they transfer.
5. the same, cliche-filled, post game comments: “we have to fix….” “I’m concerned about….” “nobody is more upset than I am ….” blah-blah-blah.

I do not blame the players. kids in little league are perceptive enough to see when the coach keeps letting his kid pitch - and the kid keeps getting hammered, and the coach keeps starting him: “nice try, Jimmy; you’ll get ’em next game.” and at little league level, the kids get disheartened, when they see obvious favoritism, rather than playing time based on merit.

I am absolutely livid at the Howland “Neubs.” If I hear one more time that “OMG — he took us to 3 final 4s !”, I will lose it. These enablers are always quick to say:

1. it’s not Howland’s fault that Josh Smith is out of shape.
2. it’s not Howland’s fault that Reeves Nelson was a selfish jerk.
3. it’s not Howland’s fault that Ray McCallum / Josiah Turner / Dominic Artis ( fill in appropriate name of point guard ) won’t come to UCLA.
4. it’s Jrue Holliday’s fault; it’s Bobo Morgan’s fault; it’s Drew Gordon’s fault.
5. if only Kevin Love, or Malcolm Lee or Luc, or Tyler Honeycutt had not gone early …..

Here’s the point: every coach is faced with the same set of potential problems.

Duke never has a year like this. Never. UNC never has a year like this. Never. Syracuse never has a year like this. Never. Kansas never has a year like this. Never. yet for some reason, we are supposed to give a pass to “poor Coach Howland”, for having multiple years like this? what am I missing?

Think of this as a major corporation. Ben Howland as CEO. The company is losing millions; terrific employees are quitting; the company is getting hammered in the media. what happens? pretty easy one: the CEO gets “shown the door.”

Last point: I hear that Howland cannot be fired because “it will damage recruiting.” This is the wrong way of looking at it. The long-term future of UCLA basketball ( once “the gold standard” of college basketball ) is at risk. when there is cancer, you don’t put a band-aid on it; you cut the cancer out!

Shabazz is not coming to UCLA. He already mentioned, earlier in the year, that he was really concerned, when he saw how poorly UCLA started. If Jordan Adams and / or Kyle Anderson leave, while that is regrettable, the long-term outlook is much more important.

Right now, this team is an embarrassment. National sportswriters, such as Seth Davis of CBS / CNN-SI, are already calling UCLA the biggest disappointment in college basketball this year.

Anthony Stover has actually done the program a big favor, with his tweet. Hopefully, the media pressure will intensify, as nothing else will get the attention of Block & Guerrero.

I apologize for going so long. I feel passionately about this.

and he should be disciplined…how I don’t know, hopefully it is not by having to sit out. Maybe just a stern talk from the coach.

Someone in another thread mentioned that if Nelson did what he did in a business setting, he’d be fired or some such. Same standard should apply in this case. If this were a business setting and an employee called out his boss in a public forum like twitter, there should be consequences. OK, this isn’t a business. But it actually may be a worse setting. Stover needs to know his place and the proper way of airing his frustration.

Another aspect of this tweet is that if left unaddressed, it sets a precedent that any team in any sport at any level just should not have happen. Can’t let the inmates run the asylum. Input, yes…run it, no.

Having said that, I really like Stover’s work ethic and wish he could play more based on his effort. But the fact is that he is simply not an offensive threat. Yes, his defense is great, but think about how Oregon closed the gap so quickly at the start of the second half. Threes. Stover would not have been able to do anything about those shots.

But, OK, I know, the alternative, Smith, has become not much of a threat at either end of the court, which has to just really confound Howland. So maybe Howland will make changes in playing time. I don’t have the answer here. Which brings me back to the light sentence I call for at the beginning of my post.

I wish nothing but the best for Stover because I am a real fan of total effort, even over results.

That is the message Howland sends.

If you fought off campus, decked your live in girlfriend and the police came to cuff you, or stole laptops etc., that gets the coach’s attention. Aha, you da man. I will play you.

If you walk in like fat Albert, wow we need you to take up space.

I didn’t watch the game yesterday and I don’t think I want to anymore. At least it would not depress me. After all, I can’t deal with the Sports Arena either. Every time UCLA solicited, I gave what I could. It may not be anything close to David Geffen’s for instance, but they are no pittance. Eversince last December, I shredded three envelops they sent me. I hope they do not call to follow up

The Dow index looks mighty good lately. I am better off cashing in some of that, go to some more trips and relax. Wake me up when the honorable Mr. David Guerrero leaves down.

I never believed his tweet was intended as criticism of Howland. This is confirmed by a more recent tweet:

“I thought the article talked about me in a positive way and that was my reason for posting. I had no intent on bashing coaches or ucla.”

These kids need to learn to be a lot more savvy about these things. It’s easy for comments to be taken out of context or interpreted in unintended ways.

" It is a joke where even the most loyal players are putting their arms up (online) about their head coach who seems to have lost all his touch."

and

“When you publicly lose someone who I think may be the soul of this program”

etc…

I don’t think those comments accurately represent Stover’s position based on his tweets.