Two seasons after he was fired by UCLA, Ben Howland is returning to the college basketball sidelines, this time at Mississippi State. Howland was reported to be the Bulldogs’ top choice in their very brief coaching search.
The 57-year-old Howland led UCLA to three straight Final Fours in 2006, 2007 and 2008, including a title appearance in 2006. Mississippi State has one Final Four appearance in their program’s history, in 1996.
In 10 years at UCLA, Howland led the Bruin to four regular season conference titles, and an overall record of 233-107. So, the question was, why was he fired?
Trouble started in Westwood when a Sports Illustrated article detailed apparent disfunction within the culture of the program, including contentions that star Reeves Nelson was physically assaulting teammates in practice with no repercussions. Concerns that dealt with player drug use and off-court behavior persisted as well. Much of that, though, was seemingly forgotten when the Bruins landed the nation’s top ranked recruiting class in 2012.
What wasn’t forgotten was Howland’s poor relationship with the high school basketball community in Los Angeles, and the negative sentiments in the community ultimately did him in.
That won’t be a problem at MSU. While the state of Mississippi certainly has high school basketball talent, it doesn’t have the same drama and pressure that there is in the Los Angeles area. This will allow Howland to focus on what’s happening inside of his locker room, as opposed to one of the AAU offices across town.
Regardless of whether Howland succeeds in bringing MSU back to national relevance, it’s refreshing to see the SEC have some name power in the coaching ranks with the likes of John Calipari, Billy Donovan, Bruce Pearl and now Howland.
