UCLA Basketball: Kyle Anderson Commitment an Enormous Victory for Ben Howland

For years, the perception of UCLA coach Ben Howland consisted of critics lambasting his slow, deliberate offensive sets and hyper-management of games.

It wasn't an environment conducive for fostering elite individual talent, the naysayers reasoned, and rival coaches jumped at the opportunity to lambast Howland to prospective recruits.

While UCLA was winning—three consecutive Final Fours from 2006-2008—Howland brought in elite talent. Kevin Love (class of 2007) and Jrue Holiday (class of 2008) were both named the Gatorade National Player of the Year. Holiday's class of 2008 was rated as the best haul in the country by Scout.com.

Yet the criticism of Howland never ceased—some saw the success of former players in the pros, and wondered why they had appeared more muted while with UCLA. Russell Westbrook is a perfect example. The former Bruins guard had social media sites bumping after this thumping sophomore-year jams, yet he's shown an all-around game as a pro that often seemed nonexistent during his two-year UCLA career.

Guess who critics blamed for that discrepancy?

As the program encountered a dip in productivity after the run to the '08 Final Four, culminating in an unforgettably forgettable 14-18 (8-10) season in 2009-10, the negativity ratcheted up several notches more.

A number of transfers out of the program didn't improve Howland's image as a stern taskmaster, either.

Yet for all the negativity swirling about Westwood in recent years, like some wayward LA smog, critics either missed or chose to ignore some important facts as they crafted their well-fashioned arguments.

I'll never be a proponent of Howland's offensive schemes, but I have infinite respect for the man as a coach.

He teaches defense, and his teams play hard. For all the high-flying panache of predecessor Steve Lavin's sides, those teams never showed any desire for consistency. They'd get up for the big-time encounters, sure, but they were woeful against teams they should have beaten like a drum.

Howland changed that culture of indifference at UCLA, and the program is far better off for it. And before any more is said about his moribund "system" of play, a few facts should be discussed.

Since taking over before the 2003-04 season, Howland has seen 11 of his players drafted. While it should be mentioned that two of those players—Trevor Ariza and Ryan Hollins—weren't recruited by the former Pittsburgh boss, Hollins in particular drastically improved under Howland.

It's not too far a stretch to say that the current Cleveland Cavalier might not have made the pros had Lavin remained at the helm.

Jay Bilas, who will always get my respect for his refusal to fall into the prevalent East Coast bias against the West Coast in major media outlets these days, has long defended Howland against what he deems to be unfounded criticism.

Bilas made an excellent argument in April, 2011 in which he countered that UCLA has, along with North Carolina, been one of the best NBA feeders during Howland's tenure.

Followed by the coining of the term "UCLA Factor" in the build-up to the NBA draft this past summer, Bruins basketball looks to finally be hitting a high note after so many lows. Pro executives continually applaud graduates from Howland's basketball system for "getting it", hence the "UCLA Factor". A pro executive unsure about whom to draft sees a potential pick is from UCLA, and decides to give him a closer look.

Howland's players understand the various intricacies of the game. Suffice to say, if you don't hustle for Howland, you're certain to receive one of his famous quick-hooks. The man demands excellence in all aspects of the game.

It's no coincidence, then, that you see a former Bruin like Arron Afflalo starting for the Denver Nuggets and earning raves for his excellent defense and impressive basketball IQ.

Or Luc Richard Mbah a Moute finding a near-Rodman-esque niche with the Milwaukee Bucks, where the Cameroonian prince has used his intuitive sense of rebounding to great effect, averaging 5.3 boards per game in 2010-11 despite only seeing 26.5 minutes a night.

In a heated playoff series, it's Afflalo's defense, or Mbah a Moute's dogged pursuit of a rebound, that can make all the difference.

Back to Kyle Anderson. The New Jersey recruit comes across as a rather thoughtful young man. No doubt he's spent some time watching how UCLA players fare in the pros. He's seen the bright lights of Russell Westbrook, Jrue Holiday, and Kevin Love, all stars for their respective teams.

Yet, he's also seen the success enjoyed by players like Darren Collison, who have proved naysayers wrong (in Collison's case, it was his slight build) as they have drawn phenomenal reviews for their heady play and mastery of the game's intangibles.

Anderson could have elected for a different collegiate route, where he might have been held less accountable for certain aspects of his game—namely, defense.

He won't get that with Howland, who forces his players to improve during their time in Westwood.

Must be music to an NBA exec's ears, then, hearing KA has chosen LA.