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UCLA Basketball: Bruins introduce new assistant coach Murry Bartow

By Mike Regalado

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 18: Head Coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins reacts during the second half of a game against the USC Trojans at Pauley Pavilion on February 18, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 18: Head Coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins reacts during the second half of a game against the USC Trojans at Pauley Pavilion on February 18, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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The UCLA basketball program has introduced Murry Bartow as the new assistant coach to the Bruins, replacing David Grace.

UCLA basketball has just announced the hiring of their newest assistant as long time basketball coach Murry Bartow will be joining head coach Steve Alford in Westwood next season.

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If the name sounds familiar it is because Bartow is the son of former UCLA basketball head coach Gene Bartow who led the Bruins from 1975-77.

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Bartow comes in replacing lead assistant David Grace who was relieved of his duties as he apparently did not see eye-to-eye with Alford. Alford acknowledged this and stated, “As head coach, I am responsible for evaluating our season and determining what I feel will make us better as we move forward.”

As for Bartow, he comes to Westwood with 18 years of head coaching experience, making stops at East Tennessee for 12 seasons and UAB for six. His collective record as a head coach is 327-248. Most recently, Bartow was an assistant at the University of South Florida.

Bartow comes in with a huge task at hand as he has to help take over the duties that Grace held at UCLA, the biggest one being recruiting. The Bruins have been doing an excellent job on the recruiting trail as of late. Their incoming freshmen class consists of one 5-star, four 4-star and one 3-star players, good for the 4th best recruiting class in the nation, according to 247Sports.com.

With Grace ties gone, can Alford and Bartow make some of their own? One advantage the current Bruin coaches have is connections in the midwest and the east coast. If Alford and Bartow can build off of that, they could be in good shape, but they also need to stay close to home and create/strengthen the ties to the Southland and the West Coast.

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It will be interesting to see what Bartow brings to the table, but hopefully it helps the Bruins go in a positive direction. Welcome to Westwood, Coach Bartow!