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Ben Howland eager to coach again

Howland is looking for work after being fired at UCLA last spring. He’s reached three Final Fours in the last decade.

USA TODAY Sports

Former UCLA Bruins head coach Ben Howland wants to return to coaching soon.

Howland, who was fired from UCLA in March after a once-promising season ended with an early departure from the NCAA Tournament, led the Bruins to the three Final Fours, but lost the fan base's support after a handful of disappointing seasons in Westwood. Steve Alford was hired as his replacement.

Howland has no interest in doing television while out of coaching, and as he told Jeff Goodman of ESPN, he does’t care which portion of the country he coaches and lives in. “I want to go somewhere I can win,” he told Goodman. “My quality of life is about winning.”

Regardless of where he has coached, Howland has always been a winner. He took Northern Arizona to two postseason tournaments during his five-year tenure in Flagstaff, turning a nine-win program in his first season into one that won 21 games in three straight years from 1996 to 1999. He then left for Pittsburgh and took the program to two Sweet 16s in four years. At UCLA, he posted a 230-105 record.

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