USD Men's Basketball 1997-1998

HEAD COACH BRAD HOLLAND

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Holland should be commended By Chuck Benedict, Glendale News-Press; Sept. 26, 1997 In pro bas ketba ll 's NBA,

sport. Unfortunately, he retired be– fore I could pl ay fo r him, but luck– il y I was abl e to spend a lot of time w ith him. "Act uall y, th ere are many who have influenced me, but three we re very spec ial. "My Dad saw to it that I had a basket to shoot into, the ri ght shoes to wea r, the ri ght atti tude toward academi cs, and a respectful per– specti ve on life. "My coach at CrescentaVal– ley Hi gh Schoo l was Ed Goorji an. That was fortunate for me because he was regarded as one of the top prep coaches in Southern Ca liforni a. "John Wooden was unbe– li evabl e. With a great respect for morality and integrity, he knew what he wanted on the court and how to get it from hi s pl ayers. " I was proud to be a second team academi c A ll-Ameri ca n, and I was happy to know that it pleased 'The Coach' as we l I." Ho ll and also apprec iated executi ve Jerry West's conf idence and personal attenti on w ith the Lak– ers. Wooden regrets t hat Ho l– land didn't pl ay fo r him. He says, " I found Brad to be a strong Chri s– tian with a good famil y background. He was a good student and a cour– teous, coachabl e young man w ith a tremendous potenti al as an outs ide shooter. " Ri ght now he's do ing an outstanding j ob as a coach." Brad and Brett. They' re the same age, 40, fo ll ow the same spiri– t ua l pat h tr od ea rli er by Jo hn

where many po int guards p lay at 6-foot-8, it was tough fo r 6-3 Laker backcourt standout Brad Ho ll and to w rest le head lines away from Magic John son, Mi chae l Jo rdan, Larry Bird and other bi g names of their era. As po inted in last week's focus on reti ring Dodger Brett But– ler, a Glendale res ident in season, it isn't always impos ing phys ica l prowess that brings an athl ete hi s due. The respect fans have fo r Butl er was wa rml y indi cated on hi s last two pl ate appearances of hi s Dodger Stad ium ca reer thi s past week. In the midst of a time of di s– illusion w ith the fa ltering team, the season t icket ho ldersgave Brett two pro longed, hi ghl y emoti onal stand– ing ovati ons, bringi ng wet eyes to many, perhaps includ ing Butl er. Brad Ho ll and was a basket– ba lI - and footbalI - star at Crescenta Vall ey Hi gh. But more than that, Brad was - and is - a man w ith the soul of a Brett But ler. Ho ll and , now th e head coach at the Unive rsity of San Di – ego, also was a small athl ete fo r hi s sport (6-3), but, like Gail Goodri ch (6-1 ) before him, he defi ed the as– cending standard for pl ayer heights. Wh i le fell ow UCLA alum Goodri ch was ab le to reach all-star status in hi s Lakers and NBA ca– reer, Ho ll and faced severe injuri es and surgery, whi ch cut hi s pro t ime to four yea rs. Ho ll and was drafted by the L.A. Lakers on June 25 , 1979, after an outstanding four-yea r ca reer at UCLA . Brad reca ll s, " I was the last pl ayer rec ruited for UCLA by 'The Coach, ' John Wooden, who, with– out questi on, was the greatest co l– lege coach of all time in any maj or

Brad starred for the UCLA Bru– ins between 1976-79, with those teams accumulating a four-year record of 102- 17 and winning four straight Pac-10 titles. As a senior, Brad was honorable mention All-America and 2nd Team Academic All– America after averaging 17.5 ppg and shooting .598 from tile field.

J r • Wooden, and are respected teach- .. ,------------- ers in their sport. Brad was drafted by the Los An- I I d I h geles Lakers in 1979, the 14th player Metropo itan G en a e as taken in the first round, and went on to been home to both , and that has win the 1980 NBA championship. The pl eased their Jewe l City neighbor rookie guard scored eight points in the and fans.

decisive sixth game at Philadelphia. He finished his pfaying career in 1981-82 with Washington and Milwaukee.