Nobody Inspires Readers the Way Steve Lavin Does

Gosh, I can’t wait to see what Steve Lavin does with next year’s team. I mean, look at the long list of great things he has done thus far. He has taken a team picked by a landslide to win the Pac-10 and he turned them into a sixth-place team that flamed out in the first round of the conference tournament. He has taken a team that was picked by most to be a top-five team in the country and he has them right out of the top 25 and headed for a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament. Yet another enthralling Sweet 16 (or Steve 16 as I like to call it) can’t be far behind.

“Coach” Lavin has taken a team with four returning starters, three seniors in the starting lineup, and what he called a monster recruiting class, and he has turned them into a horribly sporadic group that is the third-best team in Southern California behind USC and Pepperdine.

I can only imagine what he will do when he loses Gadzuric, Kapono, Barnes and Knight. The excitement at Pauley next year will really be something else, huh?

Tony Siracusa

Pasadena

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Has there ever been a college basketball team that played with less intelligence offensively and defensively than the current UCLA squad?

Earlier in the season this team excelled at coming from ahead to lose. Now that turnovers prevent them from ever gaining a lead, they’ve lost even that distinction. The fact that UCLA basketball was once coached by John Wooden, whose teams epitomized discipline and intelligence, only serves to emphasize the point. And for those of you who think we should get off Steve Lavin’s back, are we not to assume that he is the one in charge? Or is that too much of a compliment?

Kevin Holten

Manhattan Beach

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UCLA is down three points to Oregon with under 10 seconds and one timeout remaining.

No timeout is called and there is no set play. Who gets the last shot? The second-string (didn’t play in the first half) point guard.

Who’s to blame for this vaudeville act? Lavin. Soon, the once-mighty Bruins will be playing to an empty house. Give him the hook!

Dick Crowell

Woodland Hills

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If ever a picture was worth a thousand words, it was your shot of Steve Lavin watching the Oregon game while crouching in front of the bench in front of his players [March 2]. His expression was one of complete bewilderment. The Bruins were behind and Lavin didn’t seem to have a clue.

Jennifer L. Wood

Bakersfield

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Fear not, UCLA hoop fans. Your great tradition is alive and well in Los Angeles. It’s just that old Bruin Henry Bibby has moved it across town.

Merl Edelman

West Hollywood

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OBITUARY:

Steve Lavin (sixth-year coach, UCLA). Funeral services to be held first round of NCAA tournament. Date and time TBA, Sunday March 10, 2002.

Michael Martin

Los Angeles