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One on One with UCLA coach Steve Lavin

CollegeInsider.Com?s Jim Downs sat down with UCLA coach Steve Lavin and chatted about the ever-present pressures, the zone press, and of course, the FPI. Downs is now in his sixth year covering the Pac-10 for CI.

Jim Downs: How important is it to develop a thick skin at UCLA? You've been in Westwood 11 years as an assistant and head coach, so do you get used to this sort of thing?

Steve Lavin: I think you need to always maintain a sense of humor. You have to keep things in proper perspective in terms of realizing that as much as we want to win the Pac-10 championship and national championship every year, and to go undefeated, that our greater responsibility is ensuring that our student-athletes are making progress toward their college degrees. And that's what I am most proud of, the fact that we have four seniors and five juniors on track to graduate. But like I've said many times, you do need to have a thick skin like an elephant or a crocodile, and keep a balance. As much as I take my work here very seriously, coaching and teaching, I don't take myself so seriously that I can't laugh at the theatre of the absurd or the insanity of it all at times.

JD: Let's talk about the press. Obviously, you press to create turnovers. But what about the added effects, the psychological warfare of getting into guys' heads and affecting other aspects of your opponent's game?

SL: The press has lots of advantages, turnovers being just one of them. When you press for 40 minutes, you control tempo, you keep your players in an aggressive mindset, on their toes both offensively and defensively. We wear opponents out and it allows us to use our bench, which creates a spirit of comradery because more players are involved. There are so many adjustments you can make within the press. You can use it as a way to contain and actually shorten the game, limiting teams' possessions and slow things down, or you can use it to speed things up. You can press to get the ball out of the hands of an opponent's key player, or to disrupt offensive rhythm or flow. There are numerous advantages from a strategic and psychological standpoint that make the press particularly effective with this basketball team.

JD: John Wooden said in "Practical Modern Basketball" that, unlike the the man press, where the defensive team is making affirmative actions against the ball, that the zone press is designed to force your opponent to do the affirmative thing and throw the ball away or make mistakes, thus reducing the risk of fouls associated with a man press. You seem to have elements of both at times.

SL: Our zone press is a solid, contain-oriented press, but within it we can trap and turn up the heat and get more aggressive when we choose to do so. But we don't want to gamble or lunge. We want to move our feet and be fundamentally sound. We want to use the ten-second line as an extra defender and use the sidelines as extra defenders depending on where we trap. And obviously game-to-game, based on the opposing personnel and time and score, and other variables within the course of a game we can adjust our press according to needs.

JD: It seems like coaching college kids is a battle between getting them to do what you want versus what they want. What are the keys to getting players to both execute and maintain intensity, and run your game plan instead of theirs?

SL: I think kids are competitive and they want to win, which is one commonality among all players and coaches. A staff needs to convince kids that playing your particular style will enhance their chances of winning, and make the argument that when you win obviously the game is more enjoyable, and nobody is happy when you lose. With this said, each player needs to be motivated in different ways. Interestingly, late in Coach Wooden's career, he took psychology classes in the off-season because he realized how much of coaching and motivating is psychological.

JD: On to what's really important, the CollegeInsider.Com Fashion Power Index. I don't feel that the Pac-10 has been properly represented in Angela Lento?s FPI - east coast bias rears its ugly head again - which is why I wanted to nominate you and former UCLA assistant Michael Holton (now the head coach at Portland) as a power players in the fashion rankings. What are your comments on being overlooked by the FPI?

SL: (Laughing) Well, I don't qualify, because I don't wear a coat. I take my coat off ten seconds before tip-off, but Coach Holton is a sharp, natty dresser, who wears some classic cufflinks, his shoes are always well-shined, shirts well-pressed, and he is stylishly put together in terms of color coordination. He's definitely up there among the best-dressed coaches in America. I actually wrote Angela a letter last season asking her what I need to do in order get more attention in the fashion rankings.

JD: Let's move on to conference. First off, Henry Bibby at USC, who I have always thought dressed as if he is going out clubbing on the Sunset Strip after the game, with his all-black look, even the Trojans' team managers are wearing all-black suits. How is Bibby doing?

SL: Coach Bibby definitely has a unique style, which works for him, no question. You've got to give him credit, since he's consistent in his look and in his coaching.

JD: How about Coach Lute Olson at Arizona? The traditional blue blazer, red tie, stone khakis? You have to give him some credit for keeping classics alive.

SL: Lute reminds me a little of my father in terms of classic Brooks Brothers, a Cary Grant type of look. A timeless, classic look.

JD: OK coach, how about Coach Montgomery at Stanford? Kind of going for the college professor, horn-rimmed glasses look. Can you give Monty a grade?

SL: Coach Montgomery is solid, conservative, but similar to his team, effective and consistent. Game in, game out, you can always count on a solid effort, and the Cardinal are never going to beat themselves, and Coach Montgomery never beats himself when it comes to dress.

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