Lavin: Don’t Lose in the First Round

General NCS Basketball Quotes of Note28

“You don’t want to lose in the first round at UCLA because your whole offseason is miserable. Talk Radio. Letters to the editor. Wooo!”

Former UCLA Head Basketball Coach, Steve Lavin on ESPN Television talking about the standards of the great programs. Related Kentucky quotes here. Similar Carolina quotes here.

Lavin was 5-1 in first round games as UCLA’s Head Coach.

Lavin’s quick record:
7 Seasons
6 NCAA Bids
5 Sweet 16’s
1 Elite 8
1 First Round Exit

97 Seed – 2 – Elite 8
98 Seed – 6
99 Seed – 5 – 1st Rnd Loss
00 Seed – 6
01 Seed – 4
02 Seed – 8
Avg Seed – 5.2

Does anyone have any statistics, specifics, or research that they would like to share related to Lavin’s tenure at UCLA?

(In review of this post I just wanted to make sure that nobody FALSELY presumed that I was trying to turn your eye to Lavin in the event that the NC State job every opened. ABSOLUTELY NOT.)

General NCS Basketball Quotes of Note

28 Responses to Lavin: Don’t Lose in the First Round

  1. newswolf 03/16/2006 at 7:54 PM #

    Lavin went to 5 sweet 16’s in 6 years.

  2. Lumberpack 03/16/2006 at 8:02 PM #

    Well, that’s UCLA-here we need to Honor the Process
    We are on the two decade plan. 😉

  3. Jeff 03/16/2006 at 8:25 PM #

    Did Harrick leave their program with any NCAA issues to contend with?

  4. VTPACKFAN 03/16/2006 at 9:06 PM #

    B.C. just made today vs. Pacific, during the first ot I tried to remember years that any of the ACC regular season top three teams lost in first round. I think I remember a Duncan/Childress WF squad being bounced, and who could forget UNC vs. Weber St.

  5. WolfInVolCountry 03/16/2006 at 9:50 PM #

    If this was Case’s, Sloan’s or Valvano’s era, the unending losses to UNC would have never been tolerated. During those years, Duke was essentially an afterthought. A comparable record then that equates to our deplorable performance against them now would have meant the axe in five years and no more.

    What has changed so much, that our AD, the WPC and others would tolerate this type of performance? Were the trumped up charges of V’s time and the caretaker/ineptitude of Les so devistating that Herb’s successes positively glow in comparison?

    Many of us in this blog are not timid or confused about our situation, but others seem gun-shy about trying to return us to greatness.

    Help me understand that mentality.

  6. Lumberpack 03/16/2006 at 9:55 PM #

    Three mentalities:

    (1) The anti-athletic mentality-This is your Bob Kennel, Faculty Senate mentality

    (2) The herb is Jesus mentality-This is a cult, pure and simple based as all cults are on a false prophet

    (3) Money on the loser mentality-This is some of the major WPC members and others folks who stand to lose personally if Herb goes and the nature of the Athletic Department is uprgraded

  7. Lumberpack 03/16/2006 at 10:03 PM #

    The NCSU College of Humanities and Social Sciences has been anti-athletics since the 1970’s – it started with Political Science professor Abe Holtzman’s run-in with Lou Holtz about the use of the track for football practice. Then it escalated due to the envy NCSU faculty have toward Duke and UNC. This is why athletes are so poorly treated in the CHASS.

    Some folks really think that there is something to Herb. I have seen the loser in him for nearly a decade. He may be a nice guy but he is as sorry a game coach as had coached in the ACC. Most of these herb-worshipers are young, too young to remember Valvano and real basketball at NCSU. Afterall it has been 15 years.

    There is a number of NCSU grads, sites and people with a high dollar investment in Herb and Lee. If they go, some of these folks lose their contacts and access. Some lose ego from betting on the wrong horse. No two websites are more protective of a non-performing coach than Packpride and the Wolfpacker. That protection is based on their need to protect their profitability. Profit is not counter-intuitive. When the fiscal tide turns, so will they.

  8. Cardiac95 03/16/2006 at 10:05 PM #

    6 Seasons
    6 NCAA Bids
    5 Sweet 16’s
    1 Elite 8
    1 First Round Exit

    97 Seed – 2 (Elite 8)
    98 Seed – 6
    99 Seed – 5 (1st Rnd Loss)
    00 Seed – 6
    01 Seed – 4
    02 Seed – 8
    Avg Seed – 5.2

    In short….the man would be a demi-god by current program standards.

  9. Cardiac95 03/16/2006 at 10:08 PM #

    I feel certain that there were some lingering NCAA Sanctions from Harrick, but have no idea what the specifics were.

  10. Lumberpack 03/16/2006 at 10:13 PM #

    Cardiac, there were, but I can’t remember them either.

    Gosh does that make UCLA a rouge program?

    A lot of NCSU associated folk would think so. 😉

  11. Lumberpack 03/16/2006 at 10:15 PM #

    I think the PAC 10 assessed a penalty of some sort while Harrick was enroute to UGA

  12. RedFred 03/16/2006 at 10:28 PM #

    ^
    wolfinvolcountry

    It must be my age, but the greatness doesn’t seem that long ago. Getting back there is not at all impossible but some people just can’t grasp that. They don’t have any imagination.

    Wait a minute….lack of imagination?….coach?….AD?….

    We just keep hearing from a lot of people in the general public with the same mindset as those in charge at the university now.

  13. dan 03/16/2006 at 11:45 PM #

    Not to take things off topic, but Lumber got his story wrong. The Holtz encounter was with a PAMS professor, Bob Ramsay (I’ve heard him tell it):

    http://www4.ncsu.edu/~njrose/Special/Bios/Ramsay.html

  14. Reality's Bite 03/17/2006 at 3:20 AM #

    Guys, this is apples and oranges. We are NOT UCLA. We do NOT have 11 NCAAT Titles. We are NOT located in Westwood. We do NOT have supermodel coeds and groupies. We are Moo U. BIG difference. I’m not saying we should keep Herbie—no, I think he should go. But, even Herbie could get top talent and grab S16’s at UCLA. Why beat a dead horse with a club that doesn’t even fit. Damn. Next you’ll compare Herbie to some Kentucky coach. Everett Case couldn’t carry Adolph Rupp’s jock. You think Herbie at State is the same as somebody at Kentucky? The Tiki Girls are nice, but they ain’t Ashley Judd. You get my point? Dang, let’s fire the guy, but why waste time comparing our sour apple to some California raisin or a Florida orange. It ain’t the same juice…LET’S GO PACK GOSH DANG GRAVY DISTINCTLY!!!!! BEAT CAL, FIRE HERB!!!!!

  15. Jeff 03/17/2006 at 6:50 AM #

    The comparison was to the lofty expectations & standards that successful programs construct without apology. Is it chicken or egg? And how some fanbases are not castigated by the media for far more ridiculous behavior and action than we are.

  16. Cardiff Giant 03/17/2006 at 7:36 AM #

    “This is why athletes are so poorly treated in the CHASS.”

    Well, also, many of them are dumb. There’s that, too.

    English 1991

  17. Mr O 03/17/2006 at 7:55 AM #

    Lavin tookover a pretty successful program. He also had the Adidas pipeline lined up from day one as UCLA was probably Sonny Vaccaro’s flagship program.

    Some people were critical of the firing of Steven Lavin. His problem was that he didn’t do all that well in the regular season and then exceeded expectations in the post-season.

  18. RickJ 03/17/2006 at 7:59 AM #

    My favorite UCLA story involves Larry Brown. In his first year he took a bunch of freshman (3 or 4 started) to the NCAA championship game. They lost (can’t remember who beat them) and as he was walking off the court a UCLA fan came up to him and said; “You’re the first Bruin coach to lose a final.” Fans are fans and most of us take this stuff way too seriously but this is what makes it so much fun.

    In terms of personality & style, Lavin is about as different as a coach could be from Herb but I don’t think he would be a good fit for NC State.

  19. class of '74 03/17/2006 at 8:04 AM #

    ^agree.

    Cardiff Giant: I prefer to say they are uneducated rather than dumb.

  20. WolfInVolCountry 03/17/2006 at 8:18 AM #

    Reality, expectation comparisons not program comparisons…

    UCLA expects to win, does win … Fan base is loyal, vocal, supportive and expects success.

    UNC expects to win, does win… Fan base is loyal, vocal, growing and is sees success.

    Duke expects to win, does win… Fan base is loyal, vocal, growing and is sees success.

    State expects to play, does play… Fan base is loyal, vocal, demoralized and sees the exit signs easily as they leave Greensboro Collesium early.

  21. VTPACKFAN 03/17/2006 at 8:45 AM #

    Lavin’s post season success was incredible. I think there were a rash of injuries that may have explained some poor Pac-10 performances, (O’Bannon Bros. seemed to always be limping). I always equated those teams over-achieving success to the coach and players playing with a ton of pride because of what it said on the front of their jersey’s.

  22. RedFred 03/17/2006 at 9:08 AM #

    The more I read here lately, the more I find out that there are few people who think being competitive with Duke & UNC is exactly where we are supposed to be, but we are the exception and not the majority.

    Most of the fanbase is just as PESIMISTIC and UNINSPIRED as the people in charge. It appears most of the fanbase agree with the ones that are keeping the program from getting anywhere close to what it “has been” and could be.

    I have the same expectations as the Duke or Carolina fans, but I happen to pull my guts out for NCSU. A “HAS BEEN” and a DINOSAUR, like the athletics at NCSU, that is what people who think like me are now.

    There is a NEW GENERATION of WOLPACK FAN taking over, drowning in “WE AREN”T WORTHY” and WITH EXPECTATIONS SO LOW that I can’t really relate anymore.

  23. topOtheorder 03/17/2006 at 9:45 AM #

    ^

    I think Jeff’s and O’s pts about Lavin are spot on…He seems like a pretty good guy, and he had some success but would he “fit” what State is all about and how successful would he be away from UCLA which has enjoyed a lot of advantages over the years and never really struggled to get the big recruits? Also, does Lavin have any cache left after being run out of LA and being stuck in a booth with Brent Musberger for a while?

    We need someone who is at the top of his game (on the court and in the media) and fits State this time around. Obviously, I don’t think a coach and program in the country would fit any better than NC State and Rick from Hickory (hopefully he feels the same way), but we’ll see…Lavin might be a desperation call if we fail with Barnes, Calipari, et al…

  24. Cardiac95 03/17/2006 at 10:37 AM #

    Re: Other programs’ expectations

    If UCLA doesn’t float your boat as a good comparison…..look no farther than Wake Forest!

    They forced out their most successful coach ever because the program stagnated. This despite multiple ACC Titles, multiple ACC COY’s, multiple Sweet 16’s, & Elite 8’s, multiple Top 10 final rankings. The year he was forced out they made the NCAA Tournament (after missing several) & flamed out during the opening weekend (not sure which round).

    Now…..why should Wake Forest have higher standards than NC State? The traditions & resources don’t even remotely compare.

  25. class of '74 03/17/2006 at 11:20 AM #

    When we allowed the bolsheviks from Chapel Hill and those on our athletic council to reorganize the athletic department back in 1989 and 1990, that’s when we lost our standards. And we have paid a heavy price eversince. I had a dartboard with Monteith and Turner’s picture that I totally wore out from throwing darts at!

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