A biography for Ben Howlandhasn’t been written yet.
“At UCLA, there will always be high expectations. That's why you want to play here or coach here.”
“Flagstaff, up in the mountains where I lived, there is 130 inches of snow a year.”
“I'm a good coach. I do the right things for my players, and I try to support them; I try to help them almost to a fault.”
“I coached Brandin Knight at Pitt, who was unbelievable, and also Carl Krauser.”
“That's AAU ball. That's what you do: 'I want to get out there first and score.' You see it in games during the summer. There are not a lot of great blockouts going on.”
“I've had a number of kids in the NBA that I've coached and a number of other great players that I've coached.”
“I will never leave UCLA and will stay at UCLA as long they will have me.”
“When you go to the big city - you're in New York, Boston, you're in L.A. - you walk in the streets, and nobody says anything to you. It becomes so impersonal because there's so many people.”
“I always had great respect for the SEC with all the great players.”
“Northern Arizona was a job no one had ever survived, and a lot of people said I was crazy to take it. But to build a program and win there gave me a lot of confidence when people said we couldn't do it at Pitt.”
“I know I'm a really good coach.”
“I had a relationship with John Wooden. I spoke at his memorial service.”
“Kevin Stallings has been a picture of consistency at Vanderbilt.”
“Basketball movies don't really accentuate the flow of the game.”
“We've got to get everybody to sacrifice, be on same page, be a team.”
“I try to be honest. I try to take the high road. That's all I can do.”
“You can never blame somebody for wanting to go home.”
“We need to play tough defense and have a sound offense. But mostly, we have to outrebound the other team.”
“Both my children have degrees from UCLA.”
“How many people do you know who love their jobs? Did your dad love his job? Was he passionate about it? Because I am. I love it. I love the relationships. I love teaching. I love the competition. I love everything about it.”