LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Ben Howland spent countless evenings holed
up in the back room of his family's Santa Barbara home watching
replay after replay of UCLA basketball.
He idolized John Wooden and carefully studied the nuances of the
coach's strategies.
All the late-night viewing paid off.
Howland realized a longtime ambition Thursday when he became UCLA's
coach, the only job that could have pried him away from the University
of Pittsburgh.
``I'm emotional,'' he said. ``To be able to chase a dream that at
one time you think unimaginable and to be close to your family as
I am now, it's special.''
The 45-year-old Howland is the eighth coach at UCLA since Wooden
retired in 1975 after leading the Bruins to 10 NCAA championships
in 12 years.
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