Don MacLean: Too early for UCLA basketball to fire Steve Alford

Some fans have called for UCLA to fire head coach Steve Alford (center) in the wake of the Bruins' disappointing 2015-16 season, but Pac-12 Networks analyst Don MacLean says it's too early for that conversation. (David Crane/Staff)

Some fans have called for UCLA to fire third-year head coach Steve Alford (center) due to the Bruins’ disappointing 2015-16 season, but Pac-12 Networks analyst Don MacLean says it’s too early for that conversation. (David Crane/Staff)

The UCLA men’s basketball team heads into the Pac-12 Tournament mired in one of the most disappointing season in program history, with its 15-16 record making even an NIT invitation very questionable. Perhaps further dimming the Bruins’ chances at a late-season run is their next opponent.

Steve Alford’s 10th-seeded squad will tip off at the MGM Grand Garden Arena at 6 p.m. tomorrow against USC — a team that has comfortably won the last two games in the crosstown rivalry. Pac-12 Networks analyst Don MacLean answered some questions about the Bruins, including what he thinks of Alford’s job security.

Q: What are your impressions of UCLA’s first-round matchup against USC, especially given the results of their past two meetings?

A: “Overall, you wonder where UCLA’s head is at. They haven’t looked good coming down the home stretch here. They’re a No. 10 seed. They’re not going to get into the NCAA Tournament. But what I’m looking for is for them to kind of hit the reset button, and see if they want to try and make a run in this Pac-12 Tournament. So to that degree, I don’t think it really matters who their first-round opponent is. To me, it’s more about their spirit and their will, and if they want to finish out this season the right way. They have underachieved. I think they know that. They have the talent to be better than they are.”

Q: A couple of weeks ago, you said you wouldn’t be surprised if UCLA won the Pac-12 Tournament. Do you still think that?

A: “The more time’s gone on, the less confident in that — I didn’t say they were going to. The point I was trying to make is, they have the talent to win that tournament. Watching them play the last few weeks, you would say that that’s not good enough to win the Pac-12 Tournament. But they do have the personnel to make a run. That I do believe. It’s just, I don’t know if they’ve let go of the rope a little bit at the end when they saw that their NCAA Tournament chances were done, or what. But the point is, with the players they have, talent-wise, they’re good enough to make a deep run in the Pac-12 Tournament.”

Q: Are the Bruins’ defensive struggles due more to their personnel or coaching?

A: “It’s never one or the other. It’s both. I think everyone’s to blame when you’re not to playing to the level that a lot of people thought you would. The problem is, you could say that if we never saw them having any stretches of defense. But we have. And that’s why the word “inconsistency” is used. If you just said, ‘They don’t have the personnel to play defense,’ it wouldn’t be about consistency. It would just be what it is.

“I’ve seen flashes — everybody’s seen flashes — of them engaged defensively. The Kentucky game, on the road at Gonzaga, where they’re completely engaged in the game plan. The effort’s there, the intensity’s there. But again, it’s just been inconsistent all year. They get down in these games and try to come roaring back. Lately, it seems like they haven’t been able to come roaring back.”

Q: Does the fact that UCLA made a comeback attempt against Oregon State represent a sign that this team hasn’t completely folded?

A: “They always do try and come back. They don’t just get down and quit on it. I don’t know. All I can point to is that when they need — whether they’re coming back against somebody, or they have lead and they’re trying to fend off another team — it seems like their defense is what lets them down for the most part.”

Q: A number of fans have started calling for Steve Alford’s firing. After three years, is it fair to start questioning his job security at UCLA?

A: “No, I don’t think that conversation starts. They got to the Sweet 16 last year. Obviously, this year didn’t go the way it was supposed to, but you have high-level players coming in next year, a big-time recruiting class. With the incoming freshmen and what they have coming back, I think if you see a similar season next year, then maybe you can start the conversation.

“For now, it’s just a season that didn’t go how it was supposed to. Everyone talks about the expectation level at UCLA. It’s come down a little bit since picking UCLA to win national championships every other year, getting to Final Fours, but when you’re 10th in the league and going to finish under .500, that perks some ears up.”