Ouster of Smith Concerns Harrick : Administration: USC move prompts UCLA basketball coach to ponder his future.

USC’s sacking of Larry Smith touched a nerve in Jim Harrick.

“It was very disturbing,” said Harrick, who is faced with some of the same expectations of alumni and fans as UCLA’s basketball coach that Smith faced as USC’s football coach.

Smith, who had three seasons left on his contract, resigned under fire last week after leading USC to the Rose Bowl game three times during his six seasons.

Calling the UCLA basketball and USC football coaching positions “two of the toughest jobs in America,” Harrick said that Smith’s forced resignation left him wondering about his own status.

“You’re always concerned about your future, most definitely,” said Harrick, who is signed through the 1993-94 season. “I think you become very concerned. Always. He had three years left, so really, years on the contract--to them--weren’t very important.

“Looking at what Larry Smith accomplished--three Pac-10 championships, three Rose Bowls and five bowl games in six years, with the increased academic requirements at SC, with the cuts in scholarships--there seems to be no sensitivity from administrators to coaching today.

“Whatever happened to sharing ideas and sharing goals, communicating? From a coach to a coach, I certainly understand what Larry Smith is going through. I have great empathy for him.”

In 4 1/2 seasons at UCLA, Harrick has led the Bruins back to national prominence. UCLA has won 73.6% of its games during his tenure, reaching the NCAA tournament each of the last four seasons after having made it only twice in seven seasons under his predecessors, Larry Farmer and Walt Hazzard.

Last season, the Bruins were 28-5, their best record in 14 years, and ranked among the top five most of the season. They won their first Pacific 10 Conference championship since 1987 and reached the round of eight in the NCAA tournament, their best showing in 12 years.

Two years earlier, Harrick was given a two-year contract extension after UCLA had reached the tournament’s round of 16.

He was not offered an extension last spring.

UCLA’s football coach, Terry Donahue, was given a three-year contract extension last May, despite losing records in two of the previous three seasons.

“We talked in April of last year, and the chancellor (Charles Young) said he’d get back to me,” said Harrick, whose team is 9-2 and ranked 15th heading into its nationally televised conference opener against Arizona at Pauley Pavilion on Thursday night. “I have not heard from him since.”

Pete Dalis, UCLA athletic director, said Harrick’s contract will be reviewed after the season.

Harrick, who reportedly is paid about $400,000 per year, angered many in the athletic department last season when he complained about his salary.

“I’ve beaten Bobby Knight, Lute Olson and Denny Crum this year,” Harrick said then, referring to the coaches at Indiana, Arizona and Louisville. “You want me to beat those guys? Of course you do. But you don’t want to pay me what these guys are getting.”

Dalis said that if Harrick wasn’t happy, he could look elsewhere.

Harrick also has been criticized for not recruiting well.

The Bruins have not attracted a high school All-American since the summer of 1990, when forward Ed O’Bannon and guard Shon Tarver changed their minds after saying they would go to to Nevada Las Vegas, because of possible NCAA sanctions against the school, and enrolled at UCLA.

Said Dalis: “The one situation that I think needs to be improved is our recruiting, and I think that is something Jim and his staff are working on very hard.”

UCLA landed no players during the early signing period last November, but two of the top prospects in Southern California, 6-foot-6 forward Charles O’Bannon, Ed’s brother, and 6-11 center Avondre Jones, both of Artesia High, remain unsigned. And both are strongly considering UCLA.

“A lot of people talk about the players we missed this year, but we want the best and sometimes you gamble on getting the best,” Harrick said.

“We lost a player to Duke (Cherokee Parks from Huntington Beach Marina High, two years ago) and two to Kansas (Jacque Vaughn of Pasadena Muir and Scot Pollard of Kennewick, Wash.) and a couple to Indiana (Richard Mandeville of La Canada High and Monte Marcaccini of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame).

“You know, (those programs) aren’t chopped liver. . . . We’re looking at the best players in America.”

Harrick said that his accomplishments do not need defending.

“The record speaks for itself,” he said. “When you went to the tournament two out of seven years (before his arrival), obviously you weren’t pleased with that. Now, when you turn around and go four straight years, are you not pleased with that? “