In Reply to: Cori Close prior to today was essentially where JH was pre-95 posted by NorthBruin40 on March 30, 2025 at 14:37:13
Harrick Bashers Are Out in Force
Memo to Coach Jim Harrick: You
could probably do best to avoid
the Letters section this week.
STEVEN HALPERN
Beverly Hills
#
Bill Walton is right.
ROY SEERY
Los Angeles
#
Do you suppose that "student-
ahletes" Tyus Edney, Ed O'Ban -
non and Charles O'Bannon know
that Tulsa is in Oklahoma now?
HOWARD COHEN
North Hills
#
Jim Harrick's only response to
those of us who have criticized his
repeated failure to produce a team
that is competitive for an NCAA
championship has been to state:
"It's hard, real hard to win an
NCAA title." Correction, Jim. With
you coaching, it's impossible.
LEONARD B. LEVINE
Los Angeles
#
You have Ed O'Bannon, who
played his heart out, sounding like
a coach and apologizing for the
way UCLA played against Tulsa.
Meanwhile, the coach, Jim Harrick "
doesn't seem to be concerned.
After all, it's just another game.
It's March Madness, all right.
Madness to let Jim Harrick contin -
ue as coach. It's time for Chancellor
Charles Young and Peter Dalis, the
athletic dlrector, to give Harrick
the compensation he deserves, as
coach of a Division II team that he
MAY be able to coach.
RON VALENCIC
Studio City
#
Jim Harrick should feel
ashamed. A coach's singular role
should be to assist his or her
athletes in achieving their highest
potential. Through remarkable
non - coaching, Harrick has denied
his UCLA basketball players, some
of the best athletes in the country,
the chance to achieve their true
potential.
Nobody can deny that this
UCLA team has the talent to beat
any team in the nation on any
given day. But to watch these great
athletes game after game achieve
astonishing mediocrity is as tortur-
ous to Bruin fans as it must be to
the players themselves.
Harrick should either start
coaching or get out of the way.
Anything less just isn't fair to the
players.
JAMES A. PARSONS
Palos Verdes Estates
#
How long will UCLA allow Jim
Harrick to embarrass the universi-
ty? How long will the coaching
staff be allowed to cheat these
talented but uninspired athletes?
How long will sportwriters in this
city make excuses for Harrick?
The truth is that Harrick needs
no one to make excuses for him. He
is pretty good at it himself. Here
are some of my favorites: 1) Most
of my losses are on the road. 2) The
referees have no guts. 3) Bill
Walton hurt my feelings. 4) My
back - up center hurt his back. 5)
They won't pay me as much as Bob
Knight. 6) I just can't seem to get
my half-court offense to work.
Instead of making excuses, why
can't he just say, "I can't coach,"
and then utter those two magic
words that all UCLA alums are
dying to hear: "I quit."
IAIN HAMILTON
Northridge
#
I have never bad-mouthed
Coach Jim Harrick. I have been
patient with him and his team in
hopes that the real Bruins would
show up for March Madness.
However, after the loss to Tulsa,
I find myself exacerbated. There is
no doubt UCLA has the talent to
play with any team in the nation.
The question now is finding a
coach to properly motivate that
talent.
GREGG M. GOO
Rowland Heights
#
Please have your readers send
donations to the Jim Harrick Fund,
which will enable us to buy out his
contract at UCLA. For some rea-
son, Pete Dalis is reluctant to spend
the money, and it is painfully
obvious that UCLA needs a new
basketball coach.
DAVID B. RADDEN
Los Angeles
#
The awful truth is now undeni-
able. As long as Harrick is at
UCLA, the team will go nowhere.
The great recruiting class coming
up will be wasted on a program
that is doomed to mediocrity before
the first game is played.
JOHN J. GOTTES
South Gate
#
The UCLA men's basketball
team had many turnovers this
season. Now that another unfulfill -
ing season has passed, it's only
appropriate that one more turn-
over occur - that of the head
coaching position.
It's time to make room for Bill
Walton, a man knowledgeable
about basketball who is also a
leader, a motivator, a winner and
who has high expectations.
RONALD T. FOGEL
Thousand Oaks