Drug use, lack of discipline said to be part of UCLA decline

UCLA expressed a level of remorse and disappointment on Wednesday after the unflattering portrayal of its men’s basketball program in Sports Illustrated.

But on teleconferences, the chancellor, athletics director and coach Ben Howland appeared to tire of probing questions and were in no mood to dwell on the negative. After all, the Bruins are moving into newly renovated Pauley Pavilion next season and hope to showcase one of the top recruiting classes in the country, including Kyle Anderson, a 6-8 guard rated by Rivals.com as the second-best player overall in the 2012 class.

“I am very confident of my abilities to lead this program in the future,” Howland said.

But, in light of the article suggesting Howland ran an undisciplined program that included player-on-player violence as well as drug and alcohol use, plus another likely non-NCAA tournament finish this season, do others agree that Howland, in his ninth season at UCLA, deserves another?

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/pac12/story/2012-02-29/ucla-ben-howland-lack-of-discipline/53306508/1