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Bring Back Paul Westhead
Yesterday Loyola Marymount fired head men's basketball coach Steve Aggers after four losing seasons in five years. We here at LAist think that Loyola Marymount has the ability to be a much better basketball program. Fifteen years removed from its magical Bo Kimble-led run to the Elite Eight in the wake of Hank Gathers' death, we wonder what exactly went wrong with the Lions. Loyola Marymount is in a major basketball city and should be able to attract some of the quality local talent that doesn't wind up at USC or UCLA.
So we offer a solution to return the Lions back to glory: Bring Back Paul Westhead.
Westhead, who coached that 1990 Loyola Marymount team (and the 1980 NBA Champion Lakers too), is still considered an absolute nut by some in the basketball world. But his extreme run-and-gun offense is about as fun to watch anything in basketball. There aren't many college teams who could have beaten a defending national champion by the score of 149-115 the way Westhead's 1990 Lions did over Michigan.
In an era where players love to shoot, dunk, and run, Westhead's offense is the ultimate solution to the team with six guys who want 20-30 shots a game. So Loyola-Marymount, take a trip down memory lane. Ask the Orlando Magic (where Westhead is now an assistant) for permission to interview a coaching legend. And bring Paul Westhead back to LA.
We'd love it.
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Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
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