Brad Holland Joins UCSB Coaching Staff

By Bruin Basketball Report

Former UCLA basketball player and coach, Brad Holland will join the UC Santa Barbara basketball staff as an assistant, head coach Bob Williams announced yesterday.

"I think this is a spectacular addition for us," Williams said. "Having the opportunity to add someone of Coach Holland's credentials and background to our staff is awesome. He is a proven winner at the mid-major level with a gifted eye for assessing talent, and just the mention of his name in basketball circles everywhere makes people stand-up and take notice."

Holland, a former head basketball coach at the University of San Diego from 1994-2007, is San Diego's all-time leader in coaching victories with 200. A two-time West Coast Conference Coach of the Year, he guided the Toreros to nine winning seasons and 11 campaigns with a mark of .500 or better. In 2006-07, Holland's 13th and final season at USD, he led the program to an 18-14 record and into the semifinals of the WCC Tournament.

"I've been looking to get back into coaching, and to get back in with a coach I know well and respect is a great opportunity," commented Holland. "UCSB is a very good program with a winning tradition, and it is also an outstanding university. Those things make this a good fit for me."

Prior to coaching at San Diego, Holland spent two seasons as the head coach at Cal State Fullerton. In his first season, 1992-93, the Titans went 15-12, their first winning season in four years. Prior to his tenure at Fullerton, Holland was an assistant coach at UCLA, from 1988-1992, under Jim Harrick.

While at UCLA as a player, Holland was the last high school player recruited by Coach John Wooden. After a senior year in which he averaged 17.5 points and 4.8 assists, earning him honorable mention All-American recognition, Holland was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 14th pick in the NBA Draft.

As a rookie, he was a member of the Lakers' 1980 NBA Championship team, and scored eight points against Philadelphia in the decisive sixth game of the championship series. He played three seasons in the league before retiring in 1982.

Read BBR's Interview with Coach Brad Holland from June 13, 2006

(photo credit: AP)

Comments

[Brian]

GAU-chos!

Good luck Brad, and the rest of the staff, hopefully you will be able to break through during this next season.

[BruinFan]

Props to u buddy...just don't beat up on my Cal Poly SLO Mustangs.....local BWood guy

[BruinFan]

U know what...
Sign Morgan NOW
Sing Stepheson AFTER
Get Rid of Dragovic...Roll on
If we need a big body, and Aboya doesnt want to play...Caudwell, the volleyball plyr or the 7 footer from Spain or Australia can take it.....

If u can't take my passion don't comment!!

[jake]

That's awesome.

Hey... I'm a SLO Town / Westwood guy too. Didn't know there were others out there.

[Don]

Need to get back to the thunderdome Jake, just like the old days with Pimm and Howland

[jake]

No kidding ... I think Jerry still has is boat tied up there. The thunderdome still rocks. That's probably the last time I saw Valvano. Crazy.

[willis]

I date back to the early 1970's with UCSB basketball. These were the days of Ralph Barkey, (whose most reknown players were NBA journeymen John Tshogl and Don Ford), then Ed DeLacy who came over from SBCC, then Jerry Pimm who eventually had Ben Howland on his staff. For the past 10 years it's been Bob Williams, probably the best head coach they've ever had there. However, bottom line is that UCSB is a place where coaches go to die! UCSB has no media base and exposure and has never been able to recruit superb players in the quantity they need them to get over the hump as a mid-major and do some damage like other West Coact mid-majors Gonzaga, USD, USF, and Santa Clara have been able to do over the years. This is a euphemism for their inability to recruit enough African-American players. They exist totally in the shadow of the Los Angeles media market, a very dark shadow that almost never allows light to shine on the Gauchos. Did you know that for Bill Walton and Marques Johnson the second choice of college for both was UCSB after UCLA?! This fact is the true and unfortunate story of UCSB basketball. The Trick for good UCSB head and asst. coaches is to get out of Goleta (Isla Vista) sooner rather than later if they want to advance in their careers, (see Ben Howland). For Holland the UCSB asst position is a step down after his time at USD, particularly after what Grier did with the Torreros last season! Unless he wants to end his career as an assistant, he'll need to find a head coaching job soon or else he'll die @ UCSB like so many have. However, if one's gonna die somewhere, Santa Barbara is a better choice of locations than most!

[chuck]

Nice run in tournament with Brad Holland's players last year. What a great coach, should be a head coach

[Ralph Barkey]

Don't know who you are Willis, but I would like to know. It is unusual for anyone to have such accurate information about Walton and Johnson. Let me know who you are and perhaps I can drop another message. Ralph Barkey