Pitino Is Hot Topic on UCLA Campus

Rick Pitino was everywhere at UCLA on Tuesday, yet he never set foot on campus.

He was on the lips of Athletic Director Peter Dalis, who told reporters he has had two telephone conversations with Pitino in the past month--although “none of them had anything to do with the UCLA job in particular.”

Basketball Coach Steve Lavin was also talking about Pitino, who resigned this week as coach of the Boston Celtics and has long been rumored to be interested in the UCLA job.

“Pitino is an opportunist,” Lavin said. “He’s trying to capitalize on a tremendous opportunity.”

It’s unclear what that opportunity is, considering the job currently belongs to Lavin. But judging by the comments of Dalis, who is normally tight-lipped about such things, the school is taking a hard look at its basketball coach, and making a change isn’t out of the question.

“There are a lot of people that feel the program ought to be at a level that it isn’t right now,” Dalis said. “That will always happen at any institution, wherever it is. But you never know who your next head coach might be. You never know whether someone might leave, someone may be dismissed. So the more information you have, the better off you are.”

The news that Dalis and Pitino have talked came as a surprise to Lavin, who was informed of the conversations by reporters Tuesday evening after practice. He said Dalis told him Monday that he had spoken to a representative of Pitino, not Pitino himself.

“That’s all new knowledge to me,” Lavin said. “It’s unfortunate. Obviously, he’s my boss, so I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt that there was some misunderstanding.”

A few minutes later, Sports Information Director Marc Dellins called Dalis at home to clarify the matter. Dalis said he didn’t tell Lavin he actually spoke to Pitino because the conversations were not specifically about the UCLA job, so he didn’t want to worry him.

Still, the timing of Dalis’ disclosure was strange and triggered speculation as to why he volunteered the information now. Was he clarifying a recent TV report that Pitino was interested? Was he putting Lavin on notice? Was he laying the groundwork to fire Lavin, no matter how his team performs this season?

If he were fired “without cause” this season, Lavin would receive a severance package worth roughly $700,000--or five years of his $135,000 annual base salary.

This much is known: UCLA is heading into a showdown Thursday against No. 18 USC. Although they have won five of six games, the unranked Bruins had a bumpy start to their season, including losses to Cal State Northridge and Georgia Tech.

“I’ve been very pleased with the last few games,” Dalis said. “I think there’s an energy there and things going on that are pleasing. [But] what I’m not happy about is our attendance. Our attendance is down and I’ve been through that before. That becomes troublesome, because you like to have as many people in the place as you can.”

Dalis made it clear he’s not judging Lavin entirely on how many games he wins, but how his players perform in the classroom and in society.

It’s no secret the UCLA basketball program has had its share of academic problems, although Lavin insists things are straightened out and that his nine juniors and seniors are on track to graduate. Lavin said grades are not a problem, although a team source said the UCLA administration is taking a hard look at the situation.

“From my perspective, assessing any sport, only about 50% of it has to do with wins and losses,” Dalis said. “There’s another dimension to being a UCLA coach and providing the kind of leadership and foundation for what we would like to see for our program and our student-athletes. So if someone wins 18 or someone wins 14, it doesn’t necessarily mean that one would make a change in the program. One hopefully takes the long view of where they are.”

Dalis said he constantly keeps a list of available candidates for coaching jobs, even if he doesn’t plan to make an immediate change. He said that’s why he honored a request to contact Pitino.

Pitino’s name has surfaced at several schools, among them Kentucky and Michigan. Already, he has been formally contacted by Nevada Las Vegas.

“I had a phone conversation with UNLV,” he said in Tuesday’s edition of the Boston Globe. “I basically told them that I’m going to take some time off, then I’m going to look at some situations. Pretty much that’s it. There’s no openings other than UNLV. That’s the only opening in college basketball. There’s been no contact with anybody other than UNLV.”

There is widespread speculation that UCLA could not offer the type of salary Pitino would command. After all, his deal with the Celtics made him a multimillionaire. By contrast, Lavin earns roughly $500,000 a year in total compensation.

If the Bruins are going to be successful over the long haul, Dalis said, they must be competitive when it comes to paying coaches.

“It’s like doing business,” he said. “If you’re not going to step up, you’re not going to be successful after a while.”

Lavin, who has led the Bruins to the Sweet 16 in three of his four seasons, called the Pitino news “disheartening and disappointing.” He also attributed the lower attendance numbers to the fact the Bruins have not hosted high-profile opponents for nonconference games--only North Carolina was a sellout--students have been on holiday break, and there are plenty of competing interests in Los Angeles.

“When you’re on top and you’re winning championships, everyone will be there,” Dalis said. “And they won’t be on their cell phones. But if you’re not, in the particular culture we live in here, there’s a certain yawn effect.”

As things heat up with the basketball program, nobody’s yawning now.

Staff writer Eric Stephens contributed to this story.