Ben Howland and the 'Finale Four'

Ben Howland has now coached the UCLA Bruins to three straight final fours and has experienced the exact same outcome every year.  Both Florida teams of 2006 and 2007 were longer, more athletic and most importantly, were able to take away Howland's stiffling half court defense.  This years Memphis Tigers did the same thing.  How did they both do it? Florida had big enough players to see over the double team and move the ball quickly.   They had bigger, faster guards that could get into the paint easily, and they prevented the UCLA frontcourt from executing its offense.  Florida's punishing half court game was replaced in '08 by Memphis's uptempo transition style, that overwhelmed the Bruins, evidenced by the Tigers staggering fast break point advantage. 

     Defensively, the teams were very similar, which begs the question, why did Coach Howland play the same style of basketball all three years? Surely he knew the Florida team he faced in 2007 was eerily similar to the team a year before. We must assume he watched enough footage of Memphis in the tournament to know what they were going to bring.  So why play a slow down, dribble until the clock almost runs out offense? Perhaps because he choose philosophy over better judgement. What does that mean?  Howland's philosophy has been consistent since day one - everyone plays defense every second they are on the floor and then work the clock on offense. It's the latter that is problematic. The Bruins have very few set plays, so an expiring clock often leads to an improvised shot, not a reliable one.  The Bruins have had very shaky outside shooting; Josh Shipp, one of this years goats, was unable to open up the floor for the rest of the players.  And lastly, point guard, Darren Collison, the frontcourt goat the last two years, dribbles endlessly and fails to get the ball into the post. By holding to the philosophy of working the clock down, (that reasoning remains unclear), Coach Howland eschewed better judgement by insisting his team stick to his style over a better game plan that might have given them a shot at victory. That plan should have entailed running and creating scoring opportunities whenever possible. The Bruins have had amazing athletes and rarely do they run the floor or utilize the bench to their advantage. It most certainly should have included moving the ball around and working for the best shot, even if that meant shooting with twenty seconds to go on the clock.  This year, more than any other, it should have included getting the ball into the post, where Kevin Love was virtually unstoppable.

     Does Coach Howland know how to teach and make set plays?  Does he know how to create space for his shooters so they can get open looks coming off screens?  Does he know how to teach his kids an entry pass?  It's hard to believe he doesn't.  But all year the Bruins escaped by the skin of their teeth against lesser teams and programs.  In the end, his philosophy lost out to an NCAA tournament that is several cuts above the Pac 10 and Howland's extremely weak non conference schedule.  So unless Coach Howland changes his philosophy, despite the incredible achievement of three consecutive 30 win seasons and three final four appearances in a row, come next March he is probably looking at 120-plus wins, four final fours, and still no banner to hang in Pauley Pavilion.