Steve Alford says he isn’t feeling extra pressure after UCLA’s earliest exit from NCAA tournament

Steve Alford sounded relaxed for a coach who recently guided UCLA to its earliest exit from an NCAA tournament.

He chuckled when asked if the way the season ended made him feel additional pressure.

“No,” Alford said Wednesday during a telephone interview with The Times in which he also discussed the Bruins’ signing center Moses Brown and point guard Tyger Campbell to letters of intent on the first day of the spring signing period.

“I mean, pressure is all about what you think as far as an individual. As a player, I didn’t think about pressure and as a coach, I didn’t think about pressure. When I was a player, I worked as hard as I could to be the best player that I could possibly be and perform that way and I do the same thing now 29 years as a head coach.”

Alford said he met informally with athletic director Dan Guerrero after the Bruins lost to St. Bonaventure in a First Four game last month but would not divulge the nature of the conversation.

“Really, that meeting’s between Dan and I,” Alford said, “but there was no earth-shattering news that came out of that meeting.”

Alford is coming off a season in which the Bruins finished 21-12, igniting fan angst and leading to an airplane banner being flown over campus reading “Final Fours not First Fours #FireAlford.” Alford said he was not worried about being on the hot seat.

“No,” Alford said. “It doesn’t matter what job I’ve had all the way back to Manchester College, some 29 years ago, I’ve always thought that the seat was hot the day you get hired, so it’s just what coaching is. It doesn’t change who I am as a person or how I go about doing things, it’s just do what you know, do it the best you can and that’s all you can ask and that’s what I’ll ask of myself again.”

Alford’s next act will involve one of the youngest teams in UCLA history. The Bruins roster is expected to include eight freshmen next season after Brown and Campbell joined previous signees Jules Bernard, David Singleton and Kenneth Nwumba, as well as redshirts Jalen Hill and Cody Riley, who are coming off seasonlong suspensions for their role in a shoplifting incident in China.

UCLA also hopes to sign Shareef O’Neal, a power forward from Santa Monica Crossroads High who is the son of former Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal. Anthony Davis, O’Neal’s high school coach, said O’Neal intended to sign with the Bruins in a few weeks after the completion of a few showcase games.

“I’m really excited about this class,” Alford said.

Alford said Campbell gives the Bruins the point guard they needed after freshman Jaylen Hands declared for the NBA draft without hiring an agent, creating uncertainty about his status for next season. Freshman small forward Kris Wilkes also has declared for the draft without hiring an agent.

Brown is the lone McDonald’s All-American in the class, a 7-foot-2 shot blocker who will help offset the loss of 7-footer Thomas Welsh. Should O’Neal sign with the Bruins, they would have seven players standing at least 6-9 next season, giving Alford the tallest team he has coached.

It’s all part of what Alford described as an upward trajectory for the Bruins heading into his sixth season.

“I like where we’re at and what we’re doing,” Alford said. “Would I have liked to have advanced in the [NCAA] tournament? Absolutely. We weren’t able to do that, but overall I really like how this team grew and the things they were able to do throughout the course of the season and the consistency at which they played, I was very happy with.”

ben.bolch@latimes.com

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