Bruins and Trojans: Apples and Oranges

In J.A. Adande’s March 11 column, he states that Los Angeles has not embraced UCLA’s resurgent basketball program in the same manner in which the USC football program was celebrated. There are a couple of reasons for this.

USC’s program had just wrapped up 1 1/2 championships prior to this season. Two years ago, UCLA had begun rebuilding its basketball program after years of neglect. In addition, USC football is personified by glamour and show, appropriate to its proximity to the entertainment industry. UCLA basketball is characterized by teamwork, fundamentals, toughness and defense, more evocative of America’s heartland.

I believe that in due time, the UCLA basketball program will separate itself from the pack, just like USC football has. Except that I expect that UCLA basketball will not be discussed in annual blurbs in the L.A. Times about players failing to qualify academically, facing criminal allegations or staging childish pranks in practice to stir up publicity.

ANDREW OSHRIN

Long Beach

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Now that three seasons have passed since Steve Lavin was given his walking papers, please stop comparing him to Ben Howland.

There is a laundry list of reasons why Lavin doesn’t deserve such distinction, but I will stick with the most indisputable: the contrasting path he took to becoming head coach at UCLA.

Coach Howland led two losing teams to the NCAA tournament before coming to Westwood. Lavin, on the other hand, was an assistant with no head coaching experience who capitalized on Jim Harrick’s firing by somehow maneuvering his way to the helm.

Howland is a proven coach who, because he worked his way up the ranks, earned the job as well as the respect of basketball fans and his coaching peers. Lavin was an opportunist whose lack of merit prior to taking over at UCLA continues to cloud his credibility (as either a coach or an analyst) for anyone who loves college basketball.

NIKKI GILBERT

Venice

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Should the Bruins go on to win it all, will the Trojans be calling it a repeat?

BILL CONNELLY

Los Angeles