Secret of Lavin’s Success Is Dalis’ Incentive Plan

Thursday night he was so proud of the Bruins’ effort in a victory over Arizona that UCLA Athletic Director Peter Dalis went to the locker room after the game and addressed the team.

“I was prepared to go down there, win or lose,” Dalis said. “I had to salute Dan Gadzuric for playing on such a sore ankle. I’ve seen a lot of basketball here in my 46 years and that game was amazing--it had a lot of grit to it.”

Saturday afternoon Dalis was so carried away by Bruin euphoria after a victory over Arizona State that he said, “I’m expecting [Steve Lavin] to be back here next year coaching this team. Yeah, for sure.”

Smelling salts, please, for Rick Pitino.

“That’s certainly more definitive,” Lavin said. “Everyone likes to be wanted by their boss.”

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A LITTLE MORE than a week ago The Times reported that one prominent UCLA booster, who requested anonymity, “guesses it will take a Final Four run to save Lavin’s job.”

As it turns out, all it took was a five-point victory over Arizona State.

In a Tuesday report in The Times, Dalis danced around the question whether he could guarantee Lavin’s return, but after the Bruins had recorded their 13th victory in their last 15 games Saturday, he left no doubts.

“Lavin has done a hell of a job,” Dalis said, while admitting the team’s success this season has exceeded his own expectations. “I think the team has really rallied around Coach Lavin.”

How’s that for a turnaround--Lavin now may be in line for a raise.

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NONE OF THIS, of course, would have ever happened without Dalis.

I would think the ideal spot to place the monument to Peter T. Dalis, a.k.a. “The Great Motivator,” is adjacent to the three flag poles located between the J.D. Morgan Intercollegiate Athletic Center and the Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion.

As most Bruin fans know, ordinarily Lavin’s teams don’t play well until the very end of the season when his job is on the line, but Dalis’

Jan. 9 revelation that he had talked twice to Pitino inspired the players to turn it on early to save Lavin.

If not Pitino, after all, it could be Bobby Knight, and you’d play your heart out, too, to avoid that.

Thanks to Dalis spilling his guts to the media after Pitino became available, Lavin is now a legitimate coach-of-the-year candidate. By the way, is there also an award for athletic director of the year?

I know this. If Dr. Wayne Dyer, known as the “father of motivation,” can appear on “Oprah” and sell VHS tapes of his “How To Get What You Really Really Really Really Want and Improve Your Life Using the Wisdom of Ages” for $34.98, I would think Dalis could get on the radio with Jim Rome and get twice that for “If I Can Make a Winner Out of Steve Lavin, I Can Make a Winner Out of Anybody.”

You know Mike Garrett is going to buy a tape for Henry Bibby, and if it comes out in the form of a book, I think I’ll get it for Phil Jackson. He likes books.

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I THINK IT’S pretty obvious why UCLA is successful in basketball and USC is not. UCLA’s walk-ons are given shoes, sweatsuits, pizza and are allowed to sit on the bench.

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BIBBY WAS QUOTED in The Times Saturday morning saying, “This is big-time basketball.”

I assume he was referring to Arizona.

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THE NEXT TIME your boss says you’ve done a lousy job, tell him to watch the Pac-10 officials at work. He’ll apologize.

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I’M GUESSING HE didn’t have my Orange County address. It’s the only explanation I can think of why I didn’t get an invitation to Ryan Leaf’s wedding.

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HE HAS NOW played in 22 games since he returned to hockey, and each one has been a sellout. Unfortunately, Mario Lemieux won’t face the real test of his popularity--could he draw a crowd to the Anaheim Pond?

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THE DODGERS HAVE 20 players with guaranteed contracts accounting for a payroll of $107,205,955, leaving genuine concern here there might not be any money remaining for F.P. Santangelo.

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DON’T YOU WISH your annual pay raise was determined by a panel of baseball arbitrators?

I can understand Mariano Rivera, the best reliever in baseball, getting a four-year, $39.99-million deal. But a panel of three arbiters determined that Dodger middle reliever Terry Adams would be cheated if he was paid $1.95 million for going 6-9 last year, and decided he should be paid $2.6 million.

When is the last time you rounded up the kids and said, “Let’s go to Dodger Stadium and see Terry Adams pitch?”

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CLIPPER COACH Alvin Gentry said the other night, “I think he’s the best coach in the NBA.” Jackson, his L.A.-mate and winner of seven NBA titles?

No, Larry Brown, who has yet to win an NBA championship.

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TODAY’S LAST WORD comes in an e-mail from Cameron:

“You couldn’t take out the garbage at Salma Hayek’s house.”

Thanks for letting me down easy.

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T.J. Simers can be reached at his e-mail address: t.j.simers@latimes.com.