Former UCLA Coach Ben Howland Stands Up for His Former Star, Kevin Love
It's been a choppy and challenging first season for Kevin Love in Cleveland, with the criticism continuing to come, even as the Cavaliers have started to come together, and even with Love averaging 17.1 points and 10.5 rebounds. It hasn't just been his inconsistent production—with five, 24, five and 32 points in his past four games—that has created controversy but also his comments to the media and facial expressions on the floor, many of which have spoken to an even more frustrating adjustment than Chris Bosh forecast.
Even during those times Love has tried to silently push forward, others have tossed the media circus tent over top of him, whether it was his coach, David Blatt, misspeaking by classifying Love as "not a max player yet," or his teammate, LeBron James, seeming to subtly reference him in a tweet about fitting in and being part of "something special," even if James has since denied the message was directed Love's way.
The somewhat bumpy season has raised reasonable questions about whether or not Love is the right long-term fit in Cleveland, and whether it is the right place for him, especially with the three-time All-Star owning an opt-out in his contract following this season. It also led to some assumptions, among some, about whether or not Love has the right makeup to play for an NBA winner, and if he's truly willing to sacrifice for a contender.
Ben Howland takes exception to any such negative characterizations.
"One thousand percent," said Howland, who coached Love and UCLA to the Final Four in Love's only collegiate season in 2007-08. "It's insulting."
Bleacher Report reached Howland, who is now a college basketball studio analyst for Fox and in-game analyst for NBC Sports Network, to get a better sense of what motivates the star from Oregon's Lake Oswego High, with whom he still texts and talks from time to time.
"He was really easy to coach, especially for a guy who was the No. 1 player in the country coming out of high school," Howland said. "I mean, he couldn't have been any better. I thought he really improved defensively the one year I worked with him.
"The thing that's so special about Kevin is his drive. He wants it so bad. His discipline of how he eats, and how he takes care of his body, really is incredible. He works at everything that he does. [And] he was really fun for his teammates to play with."
Howland has marveled at how Love has improved his range over his career. The rebounding ability was always there. So were the passing instincts and the desire to put them to use, whether in home run outlets to Russell Westbrook or in half-court sets, even at the expense of his scoring statistics. This is why Howland scoffs at any suggestion Love would struggle to play with other great players—he did have three future pros on that UCLA roster in Westbrook, Darren Collison and Luc Mbah a Moute and sacrificed freely, according to the coach.
"The thing that was most impressive to me about him, in coaching him, and knowing him, is how unselfish he is," Howland said.
Collaborating with other players?
"That was never a problem," Howland said. "The one thing that I thought was so frustrating for him in Minnesota was they just weren't winning enough. He's always won. He's never been in a losing situation. And he is, No. 1, most important, about winning. Always has been. Since he was a little kid. So, yeah, that's not a problem for him at all. It's just them figuring out to utilize what he does best."
Howland references Love's ability to score in the low post and run offense from the high post, finding cutters. But he also points to something that several scouts have told Bleacher Report: that Love may be at his best in pick-and-pop situations.
So while Howland praises Blatt ("He's doing a good job"), he reminds that it took the Heat "a little time to get chemistry and get a feel" with James. He also laughs about any perception that the sky is falling when the Cavaliers have won 12 of 13, though he does offer some observations about how to improve things.
"They've got to consistently get his 15 shots per game," Howland said, "and that doesn't always happen."
Love is averaging 13.1 per game, the fewest since his second season, and 5.4 fewer than last season.
Specifically, Howland said Love "should be in more pick-and-pop situations, because he is a good screener, and he is a very good pop guy. And when he has space on a pop when he catches the ball, it's not always the shot. Sometimes, he bounces it to pass. When you are running stuff for Kevin, he's not a guy who is a terminator, he'll make plays for others, whatever is there. He's a pass-first guy. That's who he is."
Who is he off the court?
Reporters who have covered him since he entered the NBA, and even at UCLA, say that he's changed some, becoming more guarded and withdrawn; he now hardly ever makes eye contact when speaking with the media. But Howland says he hasn't detected any noticeable change in the way Love carries himself, attributing any perceived change in his public comportment to the scrutiny that stars in the NBA tend to face, especially "when you are getting beat up by the media."
But what of the notion that Love is particularly sensitive to criticism?
"No, not one bit," Howland said. "Please quote me."
That bring us to James' cryptic Twitter post. Howland, who called James "a phenomenal winner" and "the best player in the league," couldn't speak to the object of the tweet specifically—and the truth is, only James can know his intentions. Still, Howland's general feeling is that too much communicating between coaches and players, as well as players and players, is conducted in public. It is an "inappropriate" way to operate, he said, especially when "communication is the No. 1 factor in the success among teams." He believes all team business, whether on the collegiate or professional level, should be conducted behind closed doors with the parties speaking face to face.
Love, for what it's worth, has stated a similar philosophy: On the first day of Cavaliers training camp, he spoke of the need to keep the team's circle tight.
That's proven difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish.
"The thing that makes this situation so tough in Cleveland is it's the most scrutinized group of guys that there is," Howland said.
That scrutiny tends to expose everything about a team, from its toughness to its togetherness. But Howland is confident that if James has anything to share with Love, there would be no need to tweet it. Simply say it.
"[If] there's one player that anybody is going to listen to, it's going to be LeBron James," Howland said. "I mean, there's no question. Kevin went there to play with LeBron, to play with the best player in the game...Kevin's going to listen to LeBron."
No matter what pundits may predict, Howland expects Love to stick it out and keep trying to chase a championship in Cleveland.
"Absolutely," Howland said. "And I'll tell you this about Kevin. This is a really, really important point. He is about winning, first and foremost. That's why he is where he is. He wants to win a championship. He's willing to sacrifice his game and do whatever he has to do. He has so much to give, it's just a matter of them figuring out how to best get it to come together for their team."
Ethan Skolnick covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter at @EthanJSkolnick.
