Harrick Still Has His Supporters

Something was missing for UCLA basketball fans and alumni at the annual Blue-White intrasquad game Thursday at Pauley Pavilion.

And it wasn’t only Jim Harrick, who was dismissed as coach Wednesday because of a falsified expense report.

Several fans said they thought part of the story is missing from UCLA administrators as to why Harrick was fired.

And, as might be expected, some thought the firing was unfair.

Trent Covington, a fan from West Los Angeles who says he attends five to 10 games a season and never misses UCLA basketball on TV, said he thinks the punishment exceeded the crime.

“It’s a witch hunt,” Covington said. “He was wrong, and he definitely could have been fired for his actions, but in this day and age--after what other coaches have done, after winning a national championship--they could have waited.

“They could have put him on probation or reprimanded him. If there was more to it, fire him for that.”

For Randy Brust, a 1980 graduate and a 10-year season-ticket holder, it’s not a question of fairness.

“Why was he really fired? He wasn’t fired for a dinner,” Brust said. “I don’t think the truth is anywhere but in Peter Dalis’ and Chuck Young’s heads.”

Covington said the rumored amount of the meal wasn’t really worth questioning.

“A thousand dollars or so for what, eight people? I’m in catering. I book meals all the time where you can easily spend over $100 a person. So when I heard about it, I figured he probably went to one of the finer restaurants.

“If it’s a recruit, why would you take him to McDonald’s?”

Hub and Marie Russell have been season-ticket holders for UCLA games since 1966 and said they think the firing was not only justified, it was to be commended.

“As a UCLA alumnus, I’ve never been prouder,” said Hub Russell, a retired rancher who graduated from UCLA in 1939. “They couldn’t do anything else [but fire him]. I doubt that there was anything else [involved with the firing]. It’s going to send a message to the whole program that they better be on their toes.”

The message might be lost on two of UCLA’s most recognizable fans and Harrick supporters: Ed O’Bannon Sr. and his wife, Edna.

“We were very shocked,” the father of senior forward Charles O’Bannon said. “Charles called us [Tuesday night] and said he thought something was going on. But we didn’t know the whole story. When they tell you something is going on, you naturally turn on the radio. It was just a shock and very sad.”

“It’s very upsetting,” Edna O’Bannon said. “We came in with Harrick and we thought we would go out with Harrick.”

Covington said it was Harrick’s landing of Ed O’Bannon that turned the tide for UCLA and kept Los Angeles prospects at Los Angeles colleges--but the timing of the firing could set UCLA back again.

“He had finally exorcised the ghost in blue,” said Covington, gesturing across the arena to legendary coach John Wooden. “This could set the program back 5-10 years. You’re looking at virtually everyone leaving the program after next year.”

Wooden declined requests to speak about Harrick’s firing.

Said Brust: “I think a lot of UCLA fans were [angry] about the [Times] article [about possible recruiting violations by Harrick]. Now we just want the truth. But in big programs like this, it’s sometimes hard to find the truth.”