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
He gets away with a lot of stuff too. If you watch the films ... sometimes he'll grab onto a guy, then act like he's being fouled. He's just a smart player. That's what smart players do.
Somehow we hung around. Defense kept us in it.
I think our intensity tonight, our defensive intensity, was really good. That's the best defensive intensity we've had all year. Our bench was incredible.
His father never even asks about basketball. All he asks about is his grades.
Any time you're the conference champion, you get probably more votes for your players. As it should be.
Arizona's an outstanding team. I have the utmost respect for coach (Lute) Olson. He's one of the great coaches of all time.
Arizona has played the toughest schedule by far in our conference, playing some of the top teams in the country. (Olson) had done a good job of what works best.
The last three games, we've essentially been playing all freshmen and sophomores.
Their defense was terrific. We got sped up and a little hurried. We'd have opportunities, but we were way too fast.
Their defense was terrific. They did a great job defensively. We got sped up. We got a little hurried. We had opportunities to actually come into the paint and stop, but we were moving too fast.
I really wanted to do this because I want our players to get the tradition and the history. They hear about it. They see it. They read about it. But the best way to feel it is to know the players and the coach himself.
I recruit toughness. In other words, we're not going to recruit soft kids. It starts right there. I want guys that are tough. Mentally tough, physically tough. That's why we are where we are.
I have the best two guards in the country on the same team. I will continue to say that because I believe it, and I don't say things I don't believe.
I'm excited about a No. 2 seed. It was well-deserved. Our guys have worked very, very hard. One of the criteria that is used is how are you playing at the end of the season.