Even with Steve Lavin in town, it’s another yawner for the Bruins

I just wanted to say hello to Steve Lavin.

I didn’t know I’d have to attend a high school basketball game with amateur referees and kill off a perfectly nice Saturday morning to do so.

UCLA and St. John’s are so awful, I don’t think anyone in Los Angeles would have to worry about the Lakers losing to them. And you know how well the Lakers do against crummy teams.

Throw in Pac-10 officials, who made no secret of their desire to make sure UCLA won on its home court, and that explains why the Bruins had 41 free throws while Lavin’s team had seven. Welcome home, Lav.

For the last three years, I’ve done everything I can to avoid UCLA basketball. Stopped in twice at the Honda Center to chat with John Wooden during the Wooden Classic, but I can’t recall the last occasion where I chose to waste time in Pauley Pavilion.

There’s only one reason to watch sports, and that’s to be entertained. Never happens at UCLA. A UCLA basketball game since Ben Howland arrived is more coach’s clinic than entertainment.

Someone is probably getting ready to send off an e-mail disagreeing, but if so, explain why the mighty, storied UCLA basketball program is averaging 7,904 fans a game this season.

The Los Angeles Sparks averaged 9,468 fans last season.

And it’s not something that’s just started to happen. A year ago UCLA averaged 8,081. The year before that, 9,843.

It is true Pauley is undergoing a renovation, but inside the building no one would ever know it. It’s the same building it has always been — only with fewer fans.

UCLA’s commitment to being dull has pulled in a crowd above 10,000 only once this season — for USC earlier in the week.

In Howland’s eight years on the job stressing defense in the entertainment capital, the Bruins have averaged more than 10,000 fans a game for an entire season only twice. And he has taken UCLA to the Final Four three times.

In Lavin’s seven years on the job, the Bruins averaged more than 10,000 four times. He never made it to the Final Four as head coach without buying a ticket, but he made UCLA basketball compelling.

I never did think the folks at UCLA had him pegged correctly. They saw the slick-backed hair and thought him kind of greasy. They listened to his gift of gab and thought him more snake oil salesman than basketball coach. They thought him fortunate for falling into the job, more punk kid than Wooden heir.

I guess they never met his parents. He came from good stock, did nothing wrong other than be there when the UCLA job came open and understood L.A.’s desire for showmanship more than most.

He took the Bruins to the Elite Eight once, four times to the Sweet 16 and six times to the NCAA tournament in his seven seasons. The first time his team suffered a losing record, they ran him out of town.

Most folks would agree Howland is a great guy and the better coach. But apparently most folks who would say so don’t seem to think it’s enough to buy a ticket to watch him work.

Even Lavin’s return wasn’t enough to jolt Bruins fans into caring anymore about their basketball program.

Saturday’s game drew 8,592 — two of those paying customers the daughter and granddaughter. Someone suggested the early hour kept folks away, as if there’s any better time to beat L.A. traffic, attend a game and still have the whole weekend remaining.

“I was so focused on the game itself that I didn’t notice if the environment was at high level or disappointing,” said Lavin, the crowd dozing off until the final minutes. “I did notice that some of the upper-tier seats weren’t filled.”

Had UCLA been averaging 7,000-plus fans for basketball games while he was on the job, what would have happened?

“Oh, I’m not getting into that,” Lavin said.

There were no boos upon Lavin’s return to Pauley, and more than an hour after losing to UCLA and the referees, Lavin remained surrounded by Bruins fans who wanted to wish him well.

“Distance makes the heart grow fonder,” Lavin cracked.

When the game ended, he greeted each coach and each Bruins player as if he had hired or recruited them. Few people seemed to take note, but he always handled things with class.

“Coach Wooden would say be humble in victory and gracious in defeat,” said Lavin, who hired his former mentor, former Purdue coach Gene Keady. “I’ve been lucky, my parents have been the most influential people in my life, married going on 60 years with six children. Then I was blessed to be around Coach Wooden and Coach Keady.”

No one has ever given it a second thought because Howland strung together three straight Finals Fours. But what about Lavin — does he think he deserved the chance to remain on the job as UCLA basketball coach?

“You understand when you coach UCLA it’s for the short term,” Lavin said. “There’s only one pope, and that’s John Wooden.”

So then Howland has no chance to remain on the job?

“Ben Howland has done the best job of any coach following John Wooden with three Pac-10 championships and three consecutive Final Fours,” Lavin said. “They’d be hard-pressed to find a coach who could deliver better results than that.”

How about one with an eye for entertainment here on the outskirts of Hollywood?

“I think at the end of the day, UCLA fans want to win,” Lavin said. “Because if you have an exciting brand of basketball but don’t win national championships, then you’re going to get fired for that. It’s about hanging the banners.”

The Bruins committed 22 turnovers against St. John’s. Hardly banner material. But they won, and ugly as it was, it’s probably good enough for the few who still follow the program.

t.j.simers@latimes.com