Mississippi State hires former UCLA Coach Ben Howland

[Silver&Black]

Today Mississippi St. signed former UCLA Head Coach Ben Howland to a four year contract. I'm hearing from people that this is a great hire...but I'll be honest...I don't really know much about the guy. I keep hearing that he made 3 straight Final Fours and has 5 Sweet Sixteen appearances. This hire is a definite upgrade over that piece of shit Rick Ray. Just tired of seeing Miss. St. not in the NCAA Tournament every year. The SEC is a weak basketball conference and there is no reason why we can't compete and at least get an at-large bid.

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2015/0323/ncb_g_howland_jv_600x400.jpg
spurraider21 baseline bum

Curious to see what you guys think about the hire....or any other UCLA fan on this site. What is he known for? What kind of offense/defense does he run? I heard his interview today and he said that he loves to "push the ball". He also said he likes to play strictly man-to-man defense but he also plays the amoeba defense like Tark the Shark ran at UNLV.

[Blake]

and there is no reason why we can't compete and at least get an at-large bid.


One reason is you're Mississippi State

[Silver&Black]

One reason is you're Mississippi State

Touche....

[JMarkJohns]

It's a great get and he's already filled his staff with coaches with southern/Addidas connections.

If he avoids the knuckleheads, and gets back to developing talent, he will absolutely succeed.

[JMarkJohns]

Howland is not an up-tempo coach. Not even close.

He's a great tactician and plays an efficient, deliberate, beat em up style. But it works with the right talent. Great defense, great rebounding, and slightly slowed offense, but lots of motion, high/low and tremendous guard play.

[Silver&Black]

Howland is not an up-tempo coach. Not even close.

He's a great tactician and plays an efficient, deliberate, beat em up style. But it works with the right talent. Great defense, great rebounding, and slightly slowed offense, but lots of motion, high/low and tremendous guard play.

Again, I don't know much about Howland or his time at UCLA. But I heard today that he lead the PAC-12 in pace and in his last year he lead the conference in scoring. And he said he contributed that to pushing the ball.

But again.....I'm just going off what I heard today.

[Blake]

Seriously, it looks like a steal for MissSt to get this guy. I'm not sure really why UCLA fired him.

[JMarkJohns]

Again, I don't know much about Howland or his time at UCLA. But I heard today that he lead the PAC-12 in pace and in his last year he lead the conference in scoring. And he said he contributed that to pushing the ball.

But again.....I'm just going off what I heard today.

His last year, maybe, but every other year, his ideal score was 60-50.

[DMX7]

That's a solid hire. It doesn't mean he will be successful but that's still a good hire.

[baseline bum]

Today Mississippi St. signed former UCLA Head Coach Ben Howland to a four year contract. I'm hearing from people that this is a great hire...but I'll be honest...I don't really know much about the guy. I keep hearing that he made 3 straight Final Fours and has 5 Sweet Sixteen appearances. This hire is a definite upgrade over that piece of shit Rick Ray. Just tired of seeing Miss. St. not in the NCAA Tournament every year. The SEC is a weak basketball conference and there is no reason why we can't compete and at least get an at-large bid.

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2015/0323/ncb_g_howland_jv_600x400.jpg
spurraider21 baseline bum

Curious to see what you guys think about the hire....or any other UCLA fan on this site. What is he known for? What kind of offense/defense does he run? I heard his interview today and he said that he loves to "push the ball". He also said he likes to play strictly man-to-man defense but he also plays the amoeba defense like Tark the Shark ran at UNLV.

He is known for a monster trapping defense, kind of lousy offense. He was a tremendous recruiter, but had to get axed for the whole Reeves Nelson situation. Nevertheless, he completely turned around an underperforming program after taking over for Lavin.

[Silver&Black]

He is known for a monster trapping defense, kind of lousy offense. He was a tremendous recruiter, but had to get axed for the whole Reeves Nelson situation. Nevertheless, he completely turned around an underperforming program after taking over for Lavin.

What happened with the "whole Reeves Nelson situation"?

[Silver&Black]

A Sports Illustrated story alleges UCLA coach Ben Howland, seen in 2010, failed to discipline Reeves Nelson for abusive behavior and intentionally causing injuries to teammates in practice.

:lmao

[baseline bum]

What happened with the "whole Reeves Nelson situation"?

Nelson was an asshole who poisoned the team chemistry and Howland didn't do shit to stop it. Even leaving the way he did I still think he's a solid hire for you guys.

[Silver&Black]

Nelson was an asshole who poisoned the team chemistry and Howland didn't do shit to stop it. Even leaving the way he did I still think he's a solid hire for you guys.

:tu Thanks for the input

Yeah I'm hoping he can turn our program around. When we had Rick Stansbury as our coach we would consistently make the tournament...now we can't even sniff a NIT berth. Not expecting miracles...but I like what I'm hearing about the guy. Most (if not all) of the people I've heard say this is a great hire....but that doesn't mean shit. Got to start hitting the recruiting trail now....

[baseline bum]

One big thing I can say for Howland is players improved a lot under him. Westbrook was a nobody who became an insanely good defender under Howland. Darrin Collison developed so much under him. Meanwhile under the previous coach, Steve Lavin, everyone went to the NBA the exact same player they were when they came in even though he'd get really highly regarded freshmen. Guys like Cedric Bozeman and JaRon Rush who were supposed to be stars. The only player I can remember who improved steadily under Lavin was Matt Barnes.

[Silver&Black]

One big thing I can say for Howland is players improved a lot under him. Westbrook was a nobody who became an insanely good defender under Howland. Darrin Collison developed so much under him. Meanwhile under the previous coach, Steve Lavin, everyone went to the NBA the exact same player they were when they came in even though he'd get really highly regarded freshmen. Guys like Cedric Bozeman and JaRon Rush who were supposed to be stars. The only player I can remember who improved steadily under Lavin was Matt Barnes.

I heard him talking about Westbrook and how he matured while he was coaching him. :lmao Said he couldn't even dunk when he was a sophomore.

Goes without saying that he surely helped the kid out...now he is one of if not the best PG in the world.

BTW good luck to you guys....most people said you guys didn't belong in the Tournament...now you're in the Sweet 16. :lol

[Silver&Black]

dirk4mvp

:lmao Coming for you fuckers now. No longer an easy W....

And how does Andy Kennedy keep pulling off these miracles to keep his job?

[JMarkJohns]

18 players from the Howland UCLA era were drafted into the NBA, most in the 1st round.

If he establishes the Georgia/Carolina/Florida/Bayou/Texas connection, there's no reason he can't have success at Mississippi State. Maybe not that level, but close. Lots of good players in that region. With Addidas connections, he should do quite well.

Man even got a Northern Arizona University player drafted when he was coach there in late 90s.

[Silver&Black]

18 players from the Howland UCLA era were drafted into the NBA, most in the 1st round.

If he establishes the Georgia/Carolina/Florida/Bayou/Texas connection, there's no reason he can't have success at Mississippi State. Maybe not that level, but close. Lots of good players in that region. With Addidas connections, he should do quite well.

Man even got a Northern Arizona University player drafted when he was coach there in late 90s.

Gonna be a little harder to recruit at Miss. St. than at UCLA....as if you didn't know that already. But the Northern Arizona University draft pick certainly has me intrigued.

Just finally excited for College Basketball....been too long.

[JMarkJohns]

There's. Lot of talent in the south. He is now centralized. If he can steal a few recruits from the Big12 and ACC, with the assistant coaches connections and Addidas connection, I think he can pull recruits from all over the region. Two of his guys, Parker and Adams, were from South.

[Blake]

Good interview on Jim Rome radio show.

[Silver&Black]

Good interview on Jim Rome radio show.

Sucks I missed it....I'll try to catch the podcast when I get a chance.

What was said?

[Blake]

Sucks I missed it....I'll try to catch the podcast when I get a chance.

What was said?

A lot of coach speak tbh.... He likes the people of Missy, loves the gym, Hump Arena? Proud of Westbrook....etc

But dude is full of energy, very well spoken, appreciates everything.

[Silver&Black]

A lot of coach speak tbh.... He likes the people of Missy, loves the gym, Hump Arena? Proud of Westbrook....etc

But dude is full of energy, very well spoken, appreciates everything.

:lmao Yeah we play at Humphrey Coliseum.

We call it "The Hump".

Thanks for the heads up....:tu

[Silver&Black]

To anybody who wants to hear the Jim Rome interview....

http://jimrome.com/2015/03/27/ben-howland-on-russell-westbrook-hes-actually-capable-of-a-quadruple-double/

[Pelicans78]

One reason is you're Mississippi State

They were a consistent NCAA team in the 1990s and early 2000s including a Final Four run in 1996. They've recruited well with Richard Williams and Rick Stansbury and that's not including guys like Jonathan Bender and Al Jefferson who signed but ended up going to the draft straight from high school.

[Pelicans78]

:tu Thanks for the input

Yeah I'm hoping he can turn our program around. When we had Rick Stansbury as our coach we would consistently make the tournament...now we can't even sniff a NIT berth. Not expecting miracles...but I like what I'm hearing about the guy. Most (if not all) of the people I've heard say this is a great hire....but that doesn't mean shit. Got to start hitting the recruiting trail now....

Richard Williams was an excellent coach before Stansbury and consistently led MSU to the big dance in the 1990s including that Final Four run in 1996 with Dampier and Dahntey Jones.

[Pelicans78]

Stansbury could recruit really well, but wasn't the coach that Richard Williams had been.

[Pelicans78]

Mississippi has enough talent to recruit. Alot of great players have come from that state and MSU would routinely get elite players from the state. Jackson, MS has produced plenty of NBA players.

[Silver&Black]

They were a consistent NCAA team in the 1990s and early 2000s including a Final Four run in 1996. They've recruited well with Richard Williams and Rick Stansbury and that's not including guys like Jonathan Bender and Al Jefferson who signed but ended up going to the draft straight from high school.

Don't forget Monta Ellis.....dude was going to go to Miss. St. but went straight to the pros. People here (me included) think that team could have made a very deep postseason run.

[JMarkJohns]

Don't forget Monta Ellis.....dude was going to go to Miss. St. but went straight to the pros. People here (me included) think that team could have made a very deep postseason run.

You had that transfer forward. What was his name? I remember he chose Mississippi State over Arizona.

[Silver&Black]

You had that transfer forward. What was his name? I remember he chose Mississippi State over Arizona.

What year? Lawrence Roberts?

[JMarkJohns]

2004-05. It was Lawrence Roberts. Arizona had Channing Frye, Ivan Radenovic, and had a highly touted Freshman, Mohammed Tangara.

[JMarkJohns]

Ellis was actually the year after Roberts graduated.

[Silver&Black]

2004-05. It was Lawrence Roberts. Arizona had Channing Frye, Ivan Radenovic, and had a highly touted Freshman, Mohammed Tangara.

Yeah Lawrence Roberts was a beast at MSU. :wow Dat Arizona team would have been SICK with him in the lineup I'm sure.

[JMarkJohns]

RobertS was a transfer from Baylor during the whole Dave Bliss scandal. Roberts chose Baylor over Arizona years prior due to proximity. When he was granted his transfer with immediate eligibility most thought he'd end up at Arizona, but he was transferring at a time when Arizona had a developing Channing Frye and Ivan Radenovic, two eventual All-Pac12 players, had a commitment from Ndudi Ebi, a top-5 PF prospect from Houston (who went prep to NBA and flunked), and had commitments from a borderline 5-star PF/C in Tangara, who then suffered a debilitating back condition.

Roberts on the 2004-05 Arizona team and they have the size to compete with North Carolina for a title. Ended in the Elite 8 with OT loss.

[JMarkJohns]

Yeah Lawrence Roberts was a beast at MSU. :wow Dat Arizona team would have been SICK with him in the lineup I'm sure.


Unfortunately Lute started losing his evaluation skills early/mid 2000s. Took "elite" ranked talent over the gems he was known for finding. I'm sure he regrets Ebi over Lawrence, though in a few rankings Ebi was second in the nation as a prospect to only LeBron, so, tough to say no.

Years earlier he took an imposing 6-10, 230 Dennis Lattimorr and 6-9, 245 Isiah Fox. Both were highly regarded, Fox a 5-Star. He secured their commitments over backup plans. Those backup plans then chose Arizona State and UConn (who was also in it for Fox).

Names were Ike Diogu and Omeka Okafor.

Diogu averaged 21-9 in three seasons at ASU and went Lottery, and Okafor anchored a Title team for UConn, went lottery.

Lattimore got injured and transferred, and Fox got injured and got fat.

Had Lute been himself, Arizona could have had a three year run of Diogu/Okafor/Frye with Like Walton at SF, Iguodala at SG. Nuts what could have been.

[TheCultOfPersonality]

dirk4mvp (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=3863)

:lmao Coming for you fuckers now. No longer an easy W....
Mississippi State has never been an easy win for the Rebels. Outside of this season the Bulldogs have beaten the Rebels every season since 1998.


And how does Andy Kennedy keep pulling off these miracles to keep his job?
B-b-but he wins 20 games every year. :cry

[Silver&Black]

B-b-but he wins 20 games every year. :cry

Dude called a cab driver a "sand niqqer and Bin Laden".

And he still kept his job. Dude is not capable of getting fired IMO....

[Silver&Black]

baseline bum (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=131) JMarkJohns (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=1223)

You guys were absolutely right on Ben Howland being a great recruiter...

Today Miss. St. got Malik Newman (#10 in the ESPN top 100 and the #1 SG) to sign. Everybody here thought he was going to Kentucky or Kansas but he chose to stay in state. Ben Howland is already hitting the recruiting trail hard....and I'm finally excited about Mississippi State basketball.

HAIL STATE!!!

[JMarkJohns]

Howland recruited nationally. As I said, while at UCLa he pulled recruits from Northwest, Southeast, Southwest, Northeast, and transfers from all over, but mainly UNC.

Again, much of it was Adidas connections, and assistant coaches. Most AAU folks hated Howland, as he's gruff, unfriendly, but if you want to go pro, you have a short list of great coaches to get you there and he's on it.

I figure he starts heading into Texas and Carolina regions next.

[baseline bum]

baseline bum (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=131) JMarkJohns (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=1223)

You guys were absolutely right on Ben Howland being a great recruiter...

Today Miss. St. got Malik Newman (#10 in the ESPN top 100 and the #1 SG) to sign. Everybody here thought he was going to Kentucky or Kansas but he choose to stay in state. Ben Howland is already hitting the recruiting trail hard....and I'm finally excited about Mississippi State basketball.

HAIL STATE!!!

Not a surprise at all, considering the monster recruits like Kevin Love, Jrue Holiday, Shabazz Muhammed, Kyle Anderson, and so on he pulled for UCLA. But I loved that these great recruits became better players under Howland too. UCLA's previous coach, Steve Lavin, used to pull incredible recruiting classes too, but then his guys (other than Matt Barnes) would stay the same player they were when they came to UCLA. Westbrook and Darren Collison in particular were just supposed to be supporting guys, but Howland turned them both into big time players.

[Silver&Black]

Not a surprise at all, considering the monster recruits like Kevin Love, Jrue Holiday, Shabazz Muhammed, Kyle Anderson, and so on he pulled for UCLA. But I loved that these great recruits became better players under Howland too. UCLA's previous coach, Steve Lavin, used to pull incredible recruiting classes too, but then his guys (other than Matt Barnes) would stay the same player they were when they came to UCLA. Westbrook and Darren Collison in particular were just supposed to be supporting guys, but Howland turned them both into big time players.

I'm not saying I disagree....but there is a huge difference between getting "insert great players name" to go to UCLA and to go to Miss. St.

This is the first top #10 recruit in the schools history. Color me impressed with the guy already.

:lmao Probably a briefcase filled with cash involved.

Did Howland ever have any recruiting violations tbh ??

[JMarkJohns]

Secondary violations, but none connected to him.

Idiots like Josh Smith got free buffets, Shabbaz got free crap from an agent.

Like I said, he needs more high upside, hungry types like Westbrook, Mbah A Moute, and fewer talented assholes like Tiny Gallon, Nelson, Shabazz.