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
This is what they've worked so hard for, to get a chance to continue to play. We've got our work really cut out for us in playing one of the top teams in the country in Gonzaga.
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 was really hoping we would play really well tonight so he and his family could enjoy that in the hospital room that he was in tonight. You know, in terms of what he means to the program, he's the patriarch. He is why this program is where it is. It's one of the elite programs in the country and has been since he started that job in 1948.
In competitive athletics, you have to deal with the next set of circumstances. There's always adversity; we have had a lot more than our fair share. But you just have to fight through it. That's just the way it is.
I'm kidding . These guys are great shooters.
The biggest benefit, more than anything that we're excited about, is that the families of our players are able to get here relatively easier.
They've got really good quickness and push the ball well. They force a lot of turnovers with their pressure.
There's things that happened in Oakland that I would assume could be magnified at the Final Four. Both guys were great at talking about the little things.
This is like going into a human fly-swatting machine.
I'm indebted to them forever. They have helped start something we think is very special.
I mean, come on. That is very, very unfair of him to characterize his team like that after the kind of year they've had and some of the quality wins they've had.
I'm glad we got that win. That's a tough, hard-nosed team that came in determined to beat us on our home court. We were fortunate to come away with a victory.
I'm not buying it. I grew up in Southern California. I'm not buying into (the notion) that has to be the image of L.A.
I'm proud of our guys for seizing the opportunity against Gonzaga. That gave us a chance to play another day. And now we're moving forward.