LOS ANGELES – Just one day after hopes of an NCAA Tournament run dissolved in Austin, Texas, in a blowout loss to Minnesota, Ben Howland has been fired after 10 years as UCLA's basketball coach, according to multiple reports.
Reports of his dismissal had been buzzing since the Bruins' loss Friday night, and Saturday those rumors seem to reach a head in Westwood. A Yahoo! Sports report initially claimed the longtime UCLA coach had been informed of his dismissal and added that the decision is expected to be announced soon – possibly Sunday. Another report on FOXSports.com also claimed Howland had been fired.
According to multiple sources UCLA has notified Ben Howland that he will no longer coach the UCLA Bruins.
JEFF GROSS, GETTY IMAGES
UCLA officials issued this statement through Athletics spokesman Nick Ammazzalorso late Saturday night: "Contrary to multiple media reports this evening, UCLA has not fired men's basketball coach Ben Howland."
UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero said little in a brief postgame interview Friday with Sports Illustrated, as he told the magazine, "We'll take stock in the next couple of days and talk like we always do with all coaches."
Howland, who has two years left on his contract that includes a $2.3 million buyout, refused to talk about his job status after the Bruins' loss. But as he left the court after the defeat – even after delivering the nation's top recruiting class to UCLA and winning a Pac-12 regular-season title – it was almost certain that after the tournament-opening loss, this was Howland's last moment on the court with his team.
Trailing just the legendary John Wooden in victories as a UCLA coach, Howland took UCLA to three consecutive Final Fours in his tenure. Only two other active coaches – Michigan State's Tom Izzo and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski — can stake such a claim.
But after that magnificent stretch, the Bruins struggled in the next three seasons, finishing 56-52. That span was also marred by a Sports Illustrated article that painted Howland as having a lack of institutional control. The longtime UCLA coach lost multiple players to transfers and was perceived to have a lost a step in recruiting Los Angeles – an integral part of being a successful coach in Southern California.
In the end, it seemed, Howland's reputation and coaching style had soured among the Bruins fan base, and with a first-round blowout in the NCAA Tournament, it seems the athletic department is ready to move fast on making a change coaching change.
Several reports link Virginia Commonwealth coach Shaka Smart's name to UCLA, as it is believed the up-and-coming mid-major coach will be at the top of UCLA's list of potential new coaches. Reports have also mentioned Florida's Billy Donovan, Butler's Brad Stevens, Villanova's Jay Wright and N.C. State's Mark Gottfried (a former UCLA assistant) as possible candidates.
"My focus is completely on our guys, our seniors, our underclassmen getting them ready to be better than they were today," Smart told CBSSports.com. "There's a lot of growth that we need to occur at VCU, and I'm excited to be a part of that."
Howland's players also claimed after Friday's game they're just going to use a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the future of the program.
"It doesn't affect the team," freshman Shabazz Muhammad said. "It's something that is not our business and it's something we have to go by, so we are just going to see what happens."
While Muhammad's career is likely over at UCLA, whomever is hired in Howland's place will need to focus his attention immediately on retaining the talent the Bruins already have.
MUHAMMAD'S AGE
After an L.A. Times report Friday brought to light the strange and shocking fact that freshman phenom and No. 1 recruit Muhammad is 20 years old – not 19, as his family led UCLA and others to believe – Muhammad was standoffish when asked about the story after Friday night's loss.
The report had insinuated that Muhammad's father, Ron Holmes, had lied about his son's age to ensure that he would be showcased against younger, weaker talent in high school.
Holmes initially denied the validity of the claim that he lied about the correct age, only to confess later.
"I don't even know what the big deal was," Muhammad said.
"I'm just worried about playing basketball. ... I don't care about my age. I'm in college. I'm still one of the youngest players in college, so what does it matter?"
Holmes could not be reached to comment.
Contact the writer: rkartje@ocregister.com
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