I didn’t watch UCLA Basketball lose to Stanford. I’m not even going to look at the box score. I don’t need to. It went exactly as I expected it would. Be honest, it went exactly as you expected it would, too.
The Bruins didn’t rebound or play defense. They allowed a poor-shooting team to shoot lights-out. They took poor shots and didn’t play with any cohesion or coordination on offense.
It’s the same story as the last three years. It’s exactly what anyone who’s paying attention knew they would do.
Hoo, boy, Mike made a mistake allowing me to do the recap of tonight’s game.
If you want a fuller recap, keep an eye out for Jack Wang’s from the LA Daily News or Matt Joye’s from the Daily Bruin. They always do a good job.
I’m going to take this opportunity to direct your attention to the petition that’s going around online.
Full disclosure: I signed the petition. I won’t go so far as to ask you to do the same; that’s not the editorial line of Go Joe Bruin, and you can make your own decision. But do click through and read the case that’s being made. Unlike most of these types of things, it’s respectful and well-reasoned. It makes a genuine effort to reflect the broad array of views from among the fan base.
I’ll only add one additional point. Contrary to what I’ve heard people argue, the imminent arrival of TJ Leaf and Lonzo Ball is not a reason to keep Head Coach Steve Alford. The argument that it is presupposes that this year’s team is well-coached but under-talented, which is clearly not the case.
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In fact, I remember people who argued last year that getting rid of Alford would be a mistake because of the influx of talent that was coming into this year’s team in Aaron Holiday and Prince Ali.
‘Ben Howland left the cupboards bare,’ they said. ‘Just let Alford get in some real talent, and you’ll see what we can do.’
Yeah, I see it all too clearly. Just like the previous year when Jonah Bolden and Kevon Looney were going to be the highly-touted recruits that Alford would build around.
How many chances does he get? It’s not as if he’s building something incrementally and people are just getting impatient. No, this is a team that has played worse as the talent has gotten better.
Can you imagine insanely talented stars like Leaf and Ball being squandered by Alford’s roster mismanagement and listless locker room culture? If he returns as coach next year, you won’t have to imagine it. You can tune in twice a week and catch it live on CBS/ESPN/FS1. The likelihood that Alford stops running the offense through his son in Bryce‘s senior year is nil.
No, the time to act is now. Don’t let Alford waste the surely one-and-done college careers of these kids while he flails around in a doomed attempt to save his job. Qualified coaches will jump at the chance to coach those guys next year and harness their talent to make a mark in their first year on the job.
Whether you think Alford needs to go or not, the incoming recruiting class is not an argument in his favor. It’s an argument to cut him loose sooner than later. Three wasted years is enough; it’s time to cut losses.
Next: UCLA Bruins at the NFL Combine
Go Bruins.