Ralph has some "highlights" from UCLA basketball's media day. TRA thinks it's "neat" to have the Media Day on Coach's B'day even though he has no clue wrt what it means to represent and lead Coach's program. The official site is pretty disgusting in the way it goes out of it's way to play up the comparisons between a rape apologist and Coach:
on being compared to Coach John Wooden as UCLA's head coach
"I would never distance myself to anyone like that. You can't be compared to that guy. Obviously, we are both from the state of Indiana and we both grew up in Indiana. I would tease him if he were here today that he went to the other school in Indiana, but we grew up in Indiana. I followed him and he was somebody that I looked up to a great deal as an elementary kid, not so much as a player because he was done playing, but that was in his hey-day as a coach. And, as I got into coaching and got to really know John Wooden the man, it just solidified everything I'd known about him as a coach and those types of things because of his character, his integrity and who he was as a person more than just who he was as a coach. When you are the head basketball coach at UCLA, you can't help but to get some of those comparisons. But there is no comparison. Whether it's me, or whoever it is, trying to compare the head basketball coach here to him, that's a really difficult and probably unfair comparison just because of who he is. I just feel honored, and it's a humbling experience - I've said it since day one - that I grew up wanting to play for Coach Knight and to have that dream come true and to be an Indiana boyhood kid growing up I never in my wildest imagination when I took over the head coaching job at Manchester College, a small division three school in northeast Indiana, did I ever think that I'd be coaching at the same place Coach Wooden coached. I feel extremely blessed."
Yes, you should feel blessed Alfie. You should feel blessed to have a crafty agent to get you a job you have no business being at. it also gets ridiculous when he tries to equate a jerk like Bobby Knight (his idol) with Coach:
on comparisons between Coach John Wooden and Coach Bob Knight
"Well, both big-time winners. Obviously, there are differences in style and that type of thing. The comparisons are the likenesses that I've been able to see in my playing career and coaching career and knowing them both. They knew who they were. They were very comfortable with who they were. They taught that system. They really believed in their system and because of that, their players believed in that. The outside can disagree with why things are being done, or in recruiting with who is being recruited, but they never wavered. They knew their system, their knew their style and who they wanted to coach, and they never wavered from what they believed in. That consistency and fairness to the players really showed in the way the players, if there's another comparison, knowing the guys who played here under Coach Wooden and, obviously, knowing the guys who played under Coach Knight, you'd go through that wall for either man. That's how much the players really believed in the coaches."
Uhm, Alfie they are not "both big-time winners." One won couple of championships and other won 10 and did it by winning with class, grace and without throwing chairs.
Disgusting that we have to hear this guy equate Coach with a jerk like Knight on Coach's birthday, and offer up meaningless soundbites on "character" and "integrity" given his sleazy background from the past. Whatever.
Ralph also has soundbite/PR comments from Kyle Anderson, Jordan Adams, Travis Wear, Zach Lavine, Norman Powell and UCLA's starting pg for the upcoming years aka Alford's son.
The video highlights also include a quick shot of team-picture in which Alford and the players are posing with a coaching staff, which so far has been a total fail on the recruiting trail.
Colored me bored but whatever here is the video. MEH.
GO BRUINS.