CBK Roundup: UCLA hires Alford as coach, Enfield may be headed to USC
Two of the biggest men's college basketball programs in Los Angeles have or will soon have new head coaches.
UCLA announced Saturday that it hired Steve Alford to run its once-legendary men's hoops program.
Alford coached at New Mexico for the past six years, compiling a 155-52 record. ESPN reported that he told his New Mexico players on Friday night that he was leaving the Lobos program.
"It really came down to having an opportunity to go to UCLA, the pinnacle of college basketball," Alford said. "It's one of those lifetime opportunities that is really difficult to pass up."
CBS Sports reported that his contract with UCLA is for seven years at $2.6 million per year. He had agreed to a 10-year contract extension with New Mexico less than two weeks ago for about $2 million per year.
Alford replaces Ben Howland, who was fired after last week's loss in the NCAA Tournament.
Virginia Commonwealth's Shaka Smart and Butler's Brad Stevens were among coaches who reportedly turned down the job.
The Lobos won 29 games this season under Alford before getting bounced in the NCAA Tournament last week. They averaged 25 wins per season under Alford, who was a spearhead as a player on the Indiana University 1987 national championship team.
Meanwhile, Yahoo Sports reported that Florida Gulf Coast coach Andy Enfield, whose team reached this year's Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, is under consideration to become the new men's hoops coach at USC. He would replace Kevin O'Neill, who was fired during the regular season.
UFGC is 41-28 over the last two seasons since Enfield took over the program two years ago.
Enfield, 43, was an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics from 1994-2000, then assisted at Florida State assistant starting in 2006 before taking over at UFGC in 2011.
