This Peter Principle Has Really Sunk Bruins

Diane Pucin’s column on UCLA basketball [Dec. 24] was right on the money and clearly pointed out who is to blame for the mess the program is in. And it’s not Steve Lavin. It’s the athletic director who hired him in the first place. What major corporation would promote an inexperienced mail clerk to CEO? My only fault with Lavin is he didn’t realize--and still doesn’t--that he does not have the God-given talent to coach at this level.

Peter Dalis took the easy way out and didn’t perform even the most rudimentary requirements of his job, namely to seek out the best-qualified person for one of the top positions in basketball coaching. This is the person at whom we should be directing our anger.

RAY BLANCO

Nipomo, Calif.

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Amen to Diane Pucin. The comparisons between Steve Lavin and North Carolina’s Matt Doherty were right on.

While North Carolina assured itself of maintaining its traditional excellence in basketball with a coach with proven credentials, UCLA is saddled with a cheerleader who has turned a storied program into an embarrassment. The Bruins cannot even attempt to enhance their record or national rankings by scheduling small local colleges (which must be salivating to join Cal State Northridge as conquerors of mighty UCLA).

The real question is, how much longer will it take for Pete Dalis to see what is arguably some of the best talent in the country floundering aimlessly on the basketball court without a clue, looking like, “What do we do now?”

What we do now is hire someone to restore this ailing program to its previous luster, before those 11 national championship banners hanging in Pauley Pavilion become dust rags for a half-filled arena.

STAN RESHES

Whittier