Former UCLA basketball players and staff at Tuesday night's reunion.
Courtesy: UCLA Athletics
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men’s basketball program welcomed over 80 former players and staff at a reunion on Tuesday evening, allowing past players to reconnect and to meet new head coach Steve Alford and his coaching staff.
Tuesday’s reunion was hosted at a private residence in Los Angeles and featured UCLA basketball players spanning from the 1940s through the 2010s. Members of the Bruins’ NCAA championship teams from the 1960s, 1970s and 1995 were present.
“My staff and I have been looking forward to hosting a reunion since we arrived in Westwood,” Alford said. “We were very pleased with Tuesday’s turnout, and I was honored to meet and reconnect with so many great Bruins. Our former players are the heartbeat of this program, and it’s vital that they feel connected to their alma mater.”
Midway through the event, former UCLA standout Mike Warren addressed the crowd before introducing Alford. Warren reminisced about having watched Alford excel as a student-athlete at Indiana in the mid-1980s in addition to helping Team USA capture the gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Alford encouraged the crowd to return to Pauley Pavilion for the upcoming season and to take pride in the program and winning tradition that they helped establish.
“The UCLA basketball family is one of the most unique and special groups in all of college basketball,” said Sean Farnham, who played at UCLA from 1997-2000 and now serves as a broadcaster with ESPN. “Last night, that was on display. Having so many players together, including some of the all-time greats in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Marques Johnson and Lucius Allen, as well as players from my era was fantastic. As an alum, I appreciate Steve’s concerted effort to bring this family together.”
Each member of Alford’s coaching staff was present – assistant coaches Duane Broussard, Ed Schilling and David Grace – in addition to director of operations Tyus Edney, director of administration Doug Erickson, video coordinator Kory Barnett and administrative assistant Arielle Moyal.
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