This is UCLA. The expectations are higher here than anywhere. The amount of success both in terms of championships and wins as well as success off the floor has been second to none in college basketball. I knew that when I took this job. I know the expectation level, and no one has higher expectations than I do.

Ben Howland

Categorized in : Know Job Success College

One thing a shooter loves is to make his first shot. He makes his first shot from three; that builds confidence.

Ben Howland

make one-thing confidence three

Field-goal percentage is very important.

Ben Howland

percentage very important

Everybody makes mistakes. I'm definitely not perfect.

Ben Howland

makes mistakes not-perfect perfect

It's amazing, as a player and as a coach, how you always remember the tough losses better than the victories. They're just way more vivid.

Ben Howland

amazing better you remember

I know I'm a really good coach.

Ben Howland

really coach good know

The Reeves Nelson debacle, that hurt me. There are certain things regarding him that I couldn't say then and still can't. But I should have pulled the plug on him after his sophomore year. We tried to make it work, but we couldn't make it happen.

Ben Howland

me make-it-happen hurt work

For the most part, I've been very, very blessed and been lucky to have great kids. We want to recruit great kids, good people. For the most part, we've done that.

Ben Howland

great good blessed people

There's no question that I've made mistakes along the way when you look at recruiting in terms of evaluations of players or character in an instance or two.

Ben Howland

mistakes look you character

I don't know where people got that I didn't have a good relationship with my players. I'm demanding, yes; I'm on their butt. I expect 100%, but they all knew I loved them, I cared for them, and I'll always be there for them.

Ben Howland

loved good relationship people

I always think I put more pressure on myself than I feel from anywhere else.

Ben Howland

feel myself think pressure

I'm a good person and a good guy.

Ben Howland

person good good-person guy

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.

Ben Howland

help try good support

Tweeting - let's be honest: it's like I'm the center of the universe; it's all about me. Everybody is listening to my every thought, and my current thought at this very moment is... it's ridiculous.

Ben Howland

thought me moment universe

If you went and did a microscopic investigative report at Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, Carolina, Indiana - what are you talking about? You're always going to have some stuff come out that will be looked upon as not being good.

Ben Howland

will good you talking

You're not going to see Bill Walton or Kareem coming in every three years. Those days are over. That's what makes the job so difficult. But it's the dream job for anyone who has spent a career in coaching and has a sense of what UCLA means.

Ben Howland

job see you dream

I watch a lot of games and analyze a lot.

Ben Howland

analyze watch lot games

You should want to run if you're a player, shouldn't you, on offense?

Ben Howland

run you should want

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.

Ben Howland

great see you want

Las Vegas is a big draw. There are a lot things to do there other than basketball.

Ben Howland

big things vegas basketball

Thing about New York is it is so exciting with so much to do.

Ben Howland

about new new-york exciting