Go Joe Bruin
Fansided

UCLA Basketball Coach Steve Alford, The Real Pac-12 Coach of the Year

By Mike Regalado

Feb 1, 2017; Pullman, WA, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Steve Alford looks on against the Washington State Cougars during the first half at Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 1, 2017; Pullman, WA, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Steve Alford looks on against the Washington State Cougars during the first half at Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Pac-12 honors were announced today and though Arizona’s Sean Miller won Coach of the Year, the award should have gone to UCLA Basketball Head Coach Steve Alford.

It is the end of the regular season in the Pac-12 and the conference’s annual awards were announced with several members of the UCLA Basketball team receiving honors.

From Freshman of the Year to All-Pac-12 First Team to a couple of honorable mentions, the Bruins were well represented among the top of the Pac.

Though there was one Pac-12 honor that seemed a little out of place.

Related Story: Several Bruins Take Pac-12 Honors

The Coach of the Year honor went to Arizona Head Coach Sean Miller who led his Wildcats to a 27-4, 16-2 record and are co-champions of the regular season with Oregon. Miller, without a doubt, deserved this honor.

More from Go Joe Bruin

Steve Alford deserved it more.

In his four years at UCLA, Alford has been under a lot of scrutiny, though most of that is because of his own actions. He was successful in his first two season, but things came to a head last year.

The Bruins hit a three-year low with a 15-17 record, a Pac-12 Tournament first round exit, three loses to USC and completely missed the NCAA Tournament (as well as the NIT). It was not good as fans were calling for his head.

One year later, you can no longer hear anyone calling for his head because they have been drowned out with cheers.

This season has been completely different for Alford. It was a bit of a revolution, if you will. With the addition of freshmen Lonzo Ball and TJ Leaf mixed with a solid core of veterans, the Bruins were on a much different path than last season.

UCLA had a perfect 13-0 record in the non-conference season which included a beating of #1 Kentucky. Though they hit a bump in the road in the first half of Pac-12 play, which included loses to Oregon and really bad loses to Arizona and USC, Alford changed things up during practice and games and improved the overall quality of play of his team.

Sure, Miller had a good year, but Steve Alford had a better one.

The biggest difference was the fact that defense was made more of a priority. This has helped lead to UCLA’s current 9-game win streak with victories over Oregon, Arizona and USC and have propelled them to the #3 spot in the AP Poll. Not only that, the Bruins are the top scoring team in the nation and #1 in field goal percentage. UCLA also finished the regular season 28-3, 15-3. What a difference from their 2015-16 record of 15-17, 6-12.

Sure, Miller had a good year, but Steve Alford had a better one.

Right now, UCLA is one of the best teams in the country, even better than Arizona, arguably. The turnaround that Alford has brought to Westwood is nothing short of a miracle and because of that, the Bruins could do some real damage in the Pac-12 and NCAA tourneys.

Next: UCLA Basketball's Pac-12 Tournament Schedule and Preview

It has been rough ride, but it has paid off for Alford and even though he was not recognized in award-form, it is apparent that he has done the work to get this team back to elite status. Go Bruins!