Ben Howland
Ben Howland
Benjamin Clark Howlandis an American college basketball coach for the Mississippi State Bulldogs and former player. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Northern Arizona University from 1994 to 1999, the University of Pittsburgh from 1999 to 2003, and the University of California, Los Angelesfrom 2003 to 2013. Howland became the first men's coach in modern college basketball history to be fired shortly after winning an outright power-conference title. He is one of the few NCAA Division I...
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth28 May 1957
CityLebanon, OR
The last time I checked, we were one of two schools ... that had played against five top 50 teams in the country. The RPI that they're using for the NCAA tournament is largely based on strength of schedule and we were fourth out of 330 teams, so we've absolutely been tested.
Coach is always there at the home games, sitting behind the bench. He's the greatest coach in the history of college basketball.
It's good to see him getting close to where he feels real healthy again.
The formula we're using is not new. It has been set. Our team embodies the spirit of what (Wooden) is all about, which is teamwork, which is unselfish play, which is team defense, which is giving yourself up for your teammates. As we continue to win, all of that gets recognized.
This is a great win for us with all the adversity.
Florida has a great offensive team. It really is going to be a big challenge for us to be able to try to defend such skilled players and good passers. Everybody can shoot it.
Coach watches every game. I knew that and embraced it. He's the greatest coach in the history of basketball. What he did in college basketball will never be repeated. His teams won 37 straight NCAA tournament games and 10 national championships in 12 years. You know how everyone wants to be like Mike -- Michael Jordan -- as a player? Every coach wants to be like John. So I don't feel a shadow. I embrace it.
There's so much parity. And the margin of difference is so slight.
Arizona's an outstanding team. I have the utmost respect for coach (Lute) Olson. He's one of the great coaches of all time.
It was brutal. I was uncomfortable just standing there . . . And the kid is playing like you can't believe, just the fundamentals.
They take a punch and keep on going with it. It's just a testament to their toughness and their character, and to the different guys on the team that get a chance to step up.
After further consultation, Josh's family wanted to get a second opinion. This is a common practice and the family felt this was best.
It's been great to still have the success that we've had. It's a testament to our players. Everybody has had the opportunity to step up when called upon. These guys really like each other and they play as a team. That's what's fun.
I told them just basically what was announced. I got a little emotional. But that didn't affect our performance.