You're always trying to learn from the past to plot a course in the future that will be better. You're always trying to learn.
This is UCLA. The expectations are higher here than anywhere. The amount of success both in terms of championships and wins as well as success off the floor has been second to none in college basketball. I knew that when I took this job. I know the expectation level, and no one has higher expectations than I do.
The number one thing in recruiting in terms of making it a great job is players in your own area.
That's why I'm here at UCLA - to help them win a national championship.
Las Vegas is a big draw. There are a lot things to do there other than basketball.
This is always one of my big pet peeves is that 65% of NBA players, three years out of the NBA, are broke. I mean, so, maybe maturing a little more on the front end and getting an education might serve you well down the road.
The Reeves Nelson debacle, that hurt me. There are certain things regarding him that I couldn't say then and still can't. But I should have pulled the plug on him after his sophomore year. We tried to make it work, but we couldn't make it happen.
We've got to get everybody to sacrifice, be on same page, be a team.
You're not going to see Bill Walton or Kareem coming in every three years. Those days are over. That's what makes the job so difficult. But it's the dream job for anyone who has spent a career in coaching and has a sense of what UCLA means.
I don't know where people got that I didn't have a good relationship with my players. I'm demanding, yes; I'm on their butt. I expect 100%, but they all knew I loved them, I cared for them, and I'll always be there for them.
There's no question that I've made mistakes along the way when you look at recruiting in terms of evaluations of players or character in an instance or two.