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UCLA Basketball: Is there an ultimatum for Steve Alford to keep his job?

By Mike Regalado

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 15: Head Coach Steve Alford of UCLA Men's Baskeball speaks to the media during a press conference at Pauley Pavilion on November 15, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Team members LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill have been suspended from the team after allegedly shoplifting while on a school trip to China. (Photo by Josh Lefkowitz/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 15: Head Coach Steve Alford of UCLA Men's Baskeball speaks to the media during a press conference at Pauley Pavilion on November 15, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Team members LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill have been suspended from the team after allegedly shoplifting while on a school trip to China. (Photo by Josh Lefkowitz/Getty Images) /
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Bruin Report Online writer Tracy Pierson said on the the BROCast podcast that UCLA basketball head coach Steve Alford needs to meet a certain criteria to keep his job past the 2018-19 season.

There could be a condition UCLA basketball head coach Steve Alford has to meet to keep his job, a least that is according to Tracy Pierson of Bruin Report Online (part of the 247Sports Network) said in a recent episode of the BROCast.

RELATED: Alford’s Discrepancy Between Wins and the NBA Draft

Pierson essentially dropped a “nugget”, as he called it, with information from “sources” about what Alford needs to do next season to keep his job as the head of the Bruins.

Around the 8:45 minute mark, Pierson says:

"From what I am hearing from people in and around the program, and this isn’t just like one source, this is a lot of people who are kind of repeating and saying this, included people within the program saying that it is kind of accepted that Steve Alford needs to go to a Final Four next year or he will be fired."

Now that is quite the bombshell (kind of).

Pierson and co-host David Woods added that Alford has never been to the Elite Eight, so making it a round past that to the Final Four will be even more difficult. Though they also said that a combination of things could help Alford keep his job if say, he won the Pac-12 and went to the Elite Eight.

Related Story: UCLA’s big recruiting day and needs for the future

In the last five years, Alford has been to the NCAA Tournament four times (three if you do not recognize the 2018 play-in game as an actual tourney appearance) and has only gone as far as the Sweet Sixteen in three seasons (2014, 2015, 2017).

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This past season, Alford barely made it into the tournament as they were one of the last four in and had to participate in the play-in game against St. Bonaventure. It did not go well.

The loss to the Bonnies was an underwhelming end to an up-and-down season that ended with a 21-12 record. Because of that, fans were once again calling for Alford to be fired. Woods was especially vocal (on Twitter) about the underachieving ways of Alford as he posted various statistics about Alford’s tenure and how he has been one of the least successful coaches UCLA has employees since the John Wooden era.

Though UCLA failed to pull the trigger immediately after the 2017-18 season, it seems as though they are expecting Alford to finally come up with some results if he plans to keep one of the most coveted head coaching gigs in college hoops. If true, and Pierson says in the podcast, its good to see the UCLA Athletic Department holding the coach accountable.

It is unknown what UCLA basketball will look like next season as Aaron Holiday, Thomas Welsh and Gyorgy Goloman have moved on and Jaylen Hands, Kris Wilkes and Cody Riley are “testing the waters” of the NBA Draft. Despite who returns, UCLA brings in a top 5 recruiting class which includes 5-star C Moses Brown, 4-star PG Tyger Campbell, PF Shareef O’Neal, SG David Singleton III, SG Jules Bernard and 3-star C Kenny Nwuba.

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Though they have talent and are one of the front runners to win the Pac-12 next season, getting to the Final Four will be quite the accomplishment. But does Alford have the ability to get the Bruins there?