Ben Howland = Donald Sterling?

Things are not going so well in Westwood. Yesterday, I read an article praising UCLA for its impresive win over Utah, a team that has won a total of 5 games this season. The Bruins are led by the Wear twins (softies who supposedly transferred from UNC because they were homesick) and Josh Smith (fattest player in basketball) and will probably be lucky to make the NIT this year. How the mighty have fallen.

Is Ben Howland having trouble bringing talent to UCLA? Quite the oppposite. Howland brough in 3 consecutive top 20 recruiting classes from 2008-2010. However, Howland has done his best Donald Sterling impression and driven five guys out of Westwood who are proving to be quite the players. (Note: for those of you who do not know Donald Sterling, he is the controvercial owner of the L.A. Clippers who has been notorious over the last 2 decades for refusing to pay a market rate to his best players to keep them in town.)

Below is a list of guys who have transferred from UCLA and would currently be on the roster:
Chace Stanback (#15 UNLV) - 14.7ppg, 4.6rpg
Mike Moser  (#15 UNLV) - 14.2ppg, 11.7rpg (3rd in the nation)
Drew Gordon (New Mexico) - 12.7ppg, 10.7rpg (11th in the nation)
Matt Carlino (BYU) - 12.2ppg, 4.5apg
J'Mison Morgan (Baylor) - 6'11" 250lb monster who is redshirting
* UCLA's leading-scorer Reeves Nelson left the team in December to play pro ball in Lithuania.

That squad would be, without a doubt, a top-25 team and a group that would be undefeated in the pathetic Pac-12. Instead, UCLA is struggling to get wins. It makes you wonder whether Howland has lost his ability to manage his players and evaluate the talent on his own roster.

Howland had a great run in the mid-2000's when he took his teams to 3 consecutive Final Fours, so the program is going to give him some leeway. But if he can't start producing in the next two years (the #2 player in the nation Kyle Anderson is a UCLA commit), the UCLA AD needs to bring in some new blood. It's time for UCLA to get back to where it should be.