In Reply to: Re: No one wants to play in an empty gym posted by Cachorro on January 27, 2026 at 15:14:43
a highly coveted job, but lately every time there's an opening UCLA has a tough time filling the job. That should tell you something. I don't get it but it seems to be a reality.
Back in the day when UCLA was winning every game and every national championship Pauley wasn't always filled. To be honest there were many sellouts. But none the less in an era when everybody was chasing the Bruins and the Bruins were almost always prevailing, tickets for the games weren't the hottest thing in town. Theoretically anyone could have walked up to the ticket office right before tip off and get a ticket. That also has to tell us something. In 1974 when Wooden failed to win the national championship and then won it the next year, a donor walked up to him and told him they can now forgive him for '74. Perhaps it was just a bad joke, but it does speak to an attitude that still lingers and raises it's head every now and then in some way or another.
And even though it's been 51 years since John Wooden coached at UCLA and many claim that the UCLA fandom isn't demanding Wooden type success, look at how some reacted to the students rushing the court excited about beating Purdue - we don't do that. Where does that kind of attitude come from? It comes directly from Wooden's and UCLA's halcyon days when they were kings. That's just one recent example that the Wooden days are still impacting the UCLA men's basketball program.
Now, put yourself in the position of an accomplished coach being pursued by UCLA, Texas Tech, Villanova, Ohio State, or Tennessee. The money is astronomical. The perks are mind numbing. Every big time coaching job is going to have its challenges and headaches, but given the above, where are candidates for the job going to place the UCLA job on their list of available jobs?
I think coaching at UCLA would be close to coaching heaven but I grew up a UCLA fan, was born and raised in LA, and dreamed of being good enough to play for Wooden and UCLA. Not everyone is like that and grown men with real perhaps divergent world views and familial and financial concerns may see the job differently.
I can see both sides of the argument. On one hand I can see it as a desirable job. On the other hand I can see the UCLA job as a no win situation and a job waiting for you to fail and be fired.