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UCLA Basketball: Steve Alford’s discrepancy in wins and the NBA Draft

By Mike Regalado

TUCSON, AZ - FEBRUARY 25: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins reacts during the first half of the college basketball game against the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Center on February 25, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ - FEBRUARY 25: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins reacts during the first half of the college basketball game against the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Center on February 25, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 10: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins reacts during a semifinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the Arizona Wildcats at T-Mobile Arena on March 10, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 10: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins reacts during a semifinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the Arizona Wildcats at T-Mobile Arena on March 10, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Steve Alford’s discrepancy in wins and the NBA Draft (cont.)

Now to get into the last bit of numbers from Wilner’s model:

Conference Wins Compared to Draft Picks

  • Arizona: 1st/2nd
  • Oregon: 2nd/3rd
  • Utah: 3rd/6th
  • UCLA: 4th/1st
  • Stanford: 5th/T-7th
  • Colorado: 6th/T-7th
  • Cal: 7th/T-4th
  • Arizona State: 8th/T-10th
  • USC: 9th/T-7th
  • Washington: 10th/T-4th
  • Oregon State: 11th/T-10th
  • Washington State: 12th/T-10th

I think it is obvious that the UCLA basketball team has underperformed in their five years with Alford at the helm, though you probably already knew that. Just like the football team, it is apparent that the talent is coming to Westwood, but the collective effort falls short of what is expected.

More from Go Joe Bruin

Another thing that we can take away from this is the fact that both UCLA football and UCLA basketball have nearly the same results, as the football program was 6th in conference wins compared to other Pac-12 schools and 1st in sending Bruins to the pros.

That could indicate that something is wrong in the bigger picture, aka, the UCLA Athletic Department. Whether Mora and Alford are viewed as originally being bad hires or simply lost control and the AD failed to take action, there is obviously something wrong here.

The good news is, the AD has started to correct this behavior as they did one hell of a job landing Chip Kelly to lead the football program into the future. Replacing Mora was a bold move, one that shows the AD is committed to winning. The question now is, can they do the same for the basketball  program, the most decorated program in NCAA history?

Last Second Shot

Clearly, Arizona and Oregon have their stuff together (well, sort of, the FBI investigation notwithstanding), but the team that sticks out as one of the more successful is Utah who has only sent three players to the pros in the last five years, but has been the 3rd most victorious in conference. Well played, coach Larry Krystkowiak. After that, there is a whole lot of mediocrity in the conference of champions, especially from Cal and Washington, who each had four players head to the pros, yet drastically underperformed.

Next: The UCLA Basketball All-Time Team

The only difference between the Huskies and Golden Bears compared to the Bruins, is that UCLA has not made a coaching change, whilst the other two have already moved on from their underperforming head coaches.

P.S. Once again, thank you to Jon Wilner of the Mercury News for the idea and the model for this article. Go and read his stuff, you will not regret it.