It’s time for Guerrero to put Lavin, fans out of their misery

By Jeff Eisenberg
DAILY BRUIN SENIOR STAFF
jeisenberg@media.ucla.edu

With every errant pass, every wayward jumper and every chorus of boos, it has become increasingly clear.

Dan Guerrero cannot allow the Steve Lavin era to endure any longer.

Although Saturday's demoralizing loss to St. John's may have sealed Lavin's fate, it is not enough that he be replaced at the end of the season. The imposing mystique that once embodied UCLA basketball has taken more hits than ... well, has Bob Marley ever toured in Amsterdam?

And like Marley, the damage may be irreparable if changes aren't made immediately.

As the Bruins' NCAA tournament prospects continue to grow dimmer than a Chico State cheerleader, the environment at Pauley Pavilion fluctuates between caustic and apathetic. UCLA (4-7) is just 2-5 at home this season, and empty seats – like inexplicable December losses – are now taken for granted.

The Bruins are averaging just 8,000 people per game; only high school sensation LeBron James has played before a sold-out Pauley Pavilion.

Those fans that have chosen to attend have not exactly been supportive. The student section has been dotted with LoseLavin.com T-shirts all season, and the crowd has often booed the Bruins off the court after losses.

The die-hard gravediggers have even openly rooted against the team in hopes that every loss is another nail in Lavin's coaching coffin.

Although Lavin has somehow avoided the unemployment line during each of his mercurial seven years as UCLA head coach, flames have virtually engulfed his hot seat this season.

In the past, the Bruins have rallied around their embattled leader in classic "win-one-for-the-Gipper" style, easing the pain of an early-season malaise by reeling off a winning streak in February or March.

Most of the players on this year's squad appear to enjoy playing for Lavin, but the two notable exceptions could be the most crucial to the future of the program.

According to the Los Angeles Daily News, sophomores Cedric Bozeman and Dijon Thompson are unhappy with Lavin and the direction that the team is headed.

Bozeman considered quitting after the Bruins' second exhibition loss of the season, but decided to remain with the team. Meanwhile, Thompson is the central figure in one of the great unsolved mysteries of our time. How he lost his spot in the starting lineup earlier in the season is as bewildering as trying to figure out who shot JFK.

Despite being UCLA's second-leading scorer on the season, Thompson played just 24 minutes against St. John's, registering five points on two-of-four shooting. He did not enter the game in the second half until only 12:41 remained in the contest.

Just the threat of losing the two most talented players on the squad ought to have Guerrero chasing Lavin through the halls of the Morgan Center, mace in hand. But the first-year athletic director has already stated that he has no intention of making a change prior to the end of the season.

For his part, Lavin appears much like a prisoner on death row who has used up all of his appeals. He has already contacted several friends at Purdue about taking over the program, once Gene Keady retires, and has also expressed interest in working in broadcasting in the future.

Regardless of Lavin's future plans, the facts surrounding this season at UCLA remain as clear as the chants at Pauley Pavilion calling for his demise.

A declining fan base, a diminishing talent pool, and a squad that appears listless and lethargic have exposed all that is wrong with UCLA basketball and appear to have spelled the end of the Lavin era in Westwood.

"I've been here seven years as a head coach, five as an assistant – I know the landscape," Lavin said after Wednesday's loss to USC. "They've lined up to execute me for seven years, but they keep missing."

Here's hoping that it's Dan Guerrero who dons the executioner's hood this time and not the media. And here's hoping he acts quickly.

The regular season ends March 8. That's 61 more days – can you wait?