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UCLA Basketball: Can Steve Alford win a regular season title?

By David Goldman

Mar 23, 2017; Memphis, TN, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Steve Alford speaks during a press conference the day before the South Regional semifinals of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 23, 2017; Memphis, TN, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Steve Alford speaks during a press conference the day before the South Regional semifinals of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports /
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UCLA Basketball has been up and down through Steve Alford’s first four years in Westwood. Does he have what it takes to win a Pac-12 regular season title?

Steve Alford‘s first four years with the UCLA Basketball team have been a roller coaster ride for fans, to say the least. In his first year in 2014, he won the Pac-12 tournament title in dramatic fashion upsetting Arizona, and then advancing to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament.

He also had one of the worst seasons for UCLA Basketball in recent memory in 2016, finishing under .500 for just the fourth time since John Wooden retired in 1975.

Many questions about Alford’s coaching ability still remain. He has never advanced past the Sweet Sixteen and he has not won a regular season Pac-12 championship.

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Last year, with arguably the most talent UCLA has had on a roster since Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook donned the blue & gold together, Alford and the Bruins finished 3rd in the conference, behind both Oregon and Arizona.

Though it may seem bleak, there is a reason to believe that Alford will be able to get over the hump during his time on the sidelines at UCLA: recruiting.

After a relatively slow start, Alford has been pushing hard in recruiting over the past few seasons and the team is set up nicely for the next few years.

According to 247 Sports, the Bruins bring in the third best recruiting class next year, and already have secured top recruits for the 2018 and 2019 recruiting cycles. If Alford can get some of these players to stay on campus for more than one season (and that’s a big if), the Bruins should be in good shape.

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Though it may not come to fruition next season, with the caliber of players he is bringing in, it seems inevitable that Steve Alford will win a Pac-12 regular season championship during his time at UCLA. The only question that remains is when. Lets hope its sooner rather than later.