Byline: TOM HOFFARTH The Media
Every time he has a microphone and TV camera stuck in his face to get him to discuss his pending firing at UCLA, Steve Lavin's TV stock goes up.
Convinced a stay of execution isn't going to happen for him in Westwood, Lavin talks about how he'd like to find another school that's the ``right fit'' and continue coaching basketball. He might also take some time off.
How about becoming the next Dick Vitale?
``He could be a star,'' said Dennis Kirkpatrick, who as a producer and reporter for Fox Sports Net's UCLA and Pacific-10 Conference telecasts might have interviewed Lavin more than anyone else in the TV industry the past seven years.
``He's a natural,'' ESPN's Jay Bilas adds.
``He's probably got a better chance of succeeding than I did when I first started,'' Vitale said.
Out-of-work coaches who gravitate like moths to the bright TV lights is hardly a new concept. Many have shown it can be a profitable stopover, a way to maintain a high profile while waiting for the next coaching offer to come through.
Heck, even the next UCLA coach-in-waiting, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, is using a leap into CBS' coverage of the NCAA Tournament this month to help rehabilitate his public persona.
But for media-friendly Lavin, who has done the studio-analyst bit for CBS nationally and KCBS Channel 2 locally in the previous six years the team came up short of the Final Four, the groundwork has been laid for long-term success in the business.
That is, if he really has a desire to do it.
Lavin majored in broadcast journalism at San Francisco State and then made communications his emphasis when he transferred to Chapman College in the mid '80s. He said this week that coaching and broadcasting have always seemed to be ``complementary ... they co-exist peacefully.'' A chance to use a year on TV as a way to almost take a sabbatical, to visit other coaches and ``take a refresher course'' is very appealing.
``I want to coach a long, long time,'' Lavin made it clear. ``That's my first passion, to teach. But there's no question I have an interest (in broadcasting).''
He should.
For the short term, CBS Sports executive producer Tony Petitti said the network plans to talk to Lavin soon to see about his interest as a guest analyst at the network's New York studios during the NCAA Tournament.
``We always want someone currently in the game for their insights, and that would be a great role for him,'' Petitti said. ``He's got a lot of poise. I've seen him speak and seen his passion and enthusiasm. His personality lends itself to him doing this, and coming from a huge market, he understands how everything works.''
ESPN said through spokesman Josh Krulewitz that if Lavin was available and interested at the end of the season about a move to its Bristol, Conn., facilities, ``we would evaluate it at that time. We have a deep pool of commentators right now with no particular openings, but we always explore options.''
If Lavin needs help finding TV references, there are plenty more out there.
``He has all the tools,'' Kirkpatrick said. ``You can't help but like him. He's glib, personable, good looking, already at a high-profile job. And the way he's handled himself the last few weeks hasn't hurt himself, either. That all translates well.''
Dan Belloumini, the Fox Sports Net basketball analyst who from his coaching days in the Bay Area has known Lavin and his father for years, said Lavin's ``camera-friendly personality and the fact he's never at a loss for words is a great combination for TV. If it's the path he wants to take, I'd be available to help him through the trial and error.''
Brian Curtis, an L.A.-based former reporter at Fox Sports Net, spent hundreds of hours with Lavin over the last year-plus as he compiled a just-released book, ``The Men Of March'' (Taylor Publishing). Curtis was most impressed with Lavin's charisma, his knowledge of the game's history and evolution, plus his fascination with the power of the media and how to shape messages.
``Is he qualified (to be a broadcaster)? Certainly,'' Curtis said. ``I know he wants to coach, but if nothing comes up, I'd be shocked if he wasn't on TV. He's so engaging. He has a real appreciation of the game history, and his train of thought goes rapid-fire.''
Bilas, the ESPN studio analyst who'll do game coverage for CBS during the upcoming NCAA Tournament, considers it ironic that Lavin might be more qualified to coach at UCLA today than he was when was first hired, but ``with his personality, the ways he comes across in interviews, his sense of humor and his understanding of the game, he's a natural for TV.''
KCAL Channel 9 sportscaster John Ireland compares Lavin's prospects to another former UCLA coach who tried to jump straight into TV.
``Remember when CBS made Terry Donahue their top color man on college football a few years back - he wasn't half as colorful as Lavin during his time at UCLA,'' Ireland said.
``I've also heard people say Lavin has `struggled as a coach, so why should he be on TV?' Success as a TV guy has never been tied to that. I don't think Billy Packer was ever in coaching, and Dick Vitale and Quinn Buckner aren't remembered as great coaches. Lavin is not only a better coach than both of those guys but might make a better analyst.''
Vitale thinks if Lavin doesn't find another coaching gig right away, TV could help him take a breather the way it has with former Notre Dame football coach Bob Davie, who joined ESPN as a game analyst after his firing a year ago.
But Vitale warns that nothing is a slam dunk in the sports-TV business.
``There have been a lot of guys I thought would be special, be big-time guys in front of the mike, but then the red light goes on and they try to be something they're not,'' Vitale said.
Then again, Vitale agrees the 38-year-old Lavin has more going for him than he ever had when he bailed out as the Detroit Pistons' coach in 1979 after a nice run at the University of Detroit from 1973 to 1977.
``He's way better looking, he's got the style and the Hollywood looks that'll definitely open doors,'' said the 63-year-old Vitale, who's been doing TV since he joined ESPN in '79.
``Ugly guys like me, ... I'd don't know how we've done it.''
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By Tom Hoffarth
