The most pivotal days of coach Ben Howland’s career since coming to UCLA didn’t start Saturday with the Final Four. They started afterward – as the NBA Draft drew closer.
The reigning Pacific-10 Conference Coach of the Year and his staff are now within reach of immortality in Westwood.
One obstacle remains: Can they keep their underclassmen-heavy roster intact?
Bruin players such as Jordan Farmar, Arron Afflalo and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute must decide what to pursue in 2007 – cash or credentials. In light of their youthful talent, the question is not if they’ll reach the NBA, but when.
Howland is dying to know.
Farmar and Afflalo enjoyed a stellar 2006 as sophomores. Both guards landed on the All-Pac-10 list and probably will next year if they decide to help defend UCLA’s conference crown.
Farmar led Westwood’s finest in scoring Monday with 18 points, tying a tournament high for the Los Angeles native.
Afflalo was held to 10 points by Florida. Coach Billy Donovan’s Gators did as well as possible on defense by taking Afflalo out of the game. His air ball from three-point range in the waning minutes was a testament to Florida’s tenacity, but it’s a tough final act for Afflalo to sit with if he goes pro.
Keeping Mbah a Moute around may be equally difficult for Howland. Here’s a kid who only got better with time in his debut season. He was Freshman of the Year in the Pac-10 and an All-Conference Honorable Mention.
The clincher for Mbah a Moute’s return may be his dismal performance Monday. The 6-foot-7 forward from Cameroon barely ended with more points than fouls.
Winning five straight games and reaching the NCAA Finals was as difficult to do this year as winning your office’s bracket pool, and it’s not getting any easier.
By making deep runs in the tournament, programs are bound to lose younger players to the NBA. Howland’s underclassmen are probably thinking that it would be nice to leave the job on a high-note.
As I mentioned earlier in the year, keeping a team together after losing a champion-ship game isn’t like selling beer at a Ducks game. It can only be done by masterfully minded coaches who can convince players that their programs and philosophies are safe investments.
If Howland can limit his team’s offseason departures to Cedric Bozeman, Ryan Hollins and other seniors, he’ll be taking a step for himself toward elite status and a giant leap for UCLA toward an encore showing in the Final Four.

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