Upset Has Bruin Fans Sinking Into Valley

I wondered if UCLA wasn’t the second-best college basketball team in town. I never suspected that they might be third best.

PATRICK PASCAL, Los Angeles

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I said it last year and I’ll say it again: The answer to Westwood Woes is at the corner of Nordhoff and Zelzah, in the heart of the San Fernando Valley.

Bobby Braswell is a winner--at all levels--he is proving himself once again.

When the Westwood natives finally get fed up, we can only hope that some other program hasn’t wised up to his potential.

MARTIN L. MORRIS, San Diego

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Here we go again. By having virtuoso players who, year after year, make the spectacular play and then follow it with a careless turnover or defensive lapse, Steve Lavin proves that he’s neither a teacher like John Wooden nor a motivator like Lute Olson, but a well-paid baby-sitter for gifted, undisciplined athletes.

They have a name for that: NBA coach.

DAVID MACARAY, Rowland Heights

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Let’s see if we can guess at all the potential excuses by Lavin for the humiliating loss to Cal State Northridge:

We had too much time off between games. We missed not having Jerome and JaRon. CSUN is a great tournament-type team. We recruited many of CSUN’s players and their program is really on the rise. We have a young team, but we are going to get better and be a good basketball team when the Pac-10 starts. I’ll take the blame for the loss.

Same tune, similar lyrics, new season.

What would be refreshing is if UCLA’s administration finally realizes Lavin cannot coach, funds are raised to buy out Lavin’s contract, Kevin Malone calls Lavin to suggest he resign and Bobby Braswell fills the vacancy.

New tune, new lyrics, new season.

KEITH BERNSTEIN, Santa Monica

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As long as Steve “I can be their friend and their coach” Lavin refuses to get in the players’ faces and make them leave their playground game outside, UCLA will be on the outside looking in every March.

STEVE HITE, La Mirada

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Let’s hope that Cal State Northridge’s win over UCLA doesn’t go unnoticed by the Northridge administrators. As a group, they have rarely supported any of the school’s sports, yet now the basketball team produces a landmark victory. If there was ever a reason for really growing the basketball program--and athletics in general--this is it.

RON EPSTEIN, Woodland Hills

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It is bad enough that Steve Lavin can’t develop or keep players in the program, but a couple of more losses like this one and he won’t even be able to get the players to enroll at school.

Rick Majerus is coming to town for the Wooden Classic. If we can’t hire him on the spot, someone please offer him what’s left of Westwood before we’re too far gone for even a great coach to turn around.

REX PAUL, Simi Valley