Bruins Not Part of Exclusive Club

I see that Tim Kawakami [May 15] has taken the latest bit of misfortune to befall UCLA basketball to launch another cheap shot at Steve Lavin. If constant turnover, lots of bright talent but little structure or little reason to stick around are what UCLA got when it hired Lavin, then they are in good company. College basketball is becoming more and more like an NBA farm system and no program is exempt--even Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina have early defections.

The problem is not necessarily Lavin, but the promise of millions of dollars awaiting talented 19-year-old young men who often overrate their abilities. One must be very foolish and naive not to see this.

ANDREW OSHRIN

Long Beach

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Bill Plaschke’s May 14 column on Jason Kapono was well thought out, researched and written. By highlighting the maturity and social factors, he shows that the decision to turn pro by underclassmen can have deleterious effects on their development.

When Kapono says that playing in the NBA is something he has wanted to do “all my life,” I shudder. Playing for a conference and national championship were never his intermediary goals? What’s with this?

It’s getting to be farcical that the NBA continues to encourage these young players. Look at the quality of play in the league. All-time low scores. Poor team play. Growing indifference by the fans. The NBA product is failing, yet the owners cannot make the connection between increasingly poor raw materials (young players) and the final product (poor play).

Maybe the kids and the owners deserve each other. It’s only the fans who deserve better.

NORM LEVIN

San Rafael

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Excuse me, but does anybody buy that load Steve Lavin was passing out this week? “All the guys leaving has helped recruiting,” says the new king of spin.

The fact is, Mr. Lavin, Jason Kapono won’t learn anything he didn’t already know about basketball, so why stay? He was the most fundamentally prepared player on your team last year, and he didn’t learn it during his stay at Westwood. The program is headed for rough times and peddling that silver lining pablum will work only on those people who buy Tony Robbins’ infomercial routine.

Stanford and Arizona are superior programs, and Gonzaga has been better the last two years. Cal and USC will be better next season and if you don’t watch out, Steve Fisher will have San Diego State nipping at your heals soon. Instead of thinking up one-liners, you had better recruit players that can mesh as a team. Now that would be something to talk about.

PATRICK K. GALLAGHER

Long Beach