Steve Alford refused to be provoked into the same dark place he drove his basketball coach in 1987.
Alford didn’t go red in the face trying to change UCLA’s identity this season. He did the opposite.
The UCLA coach embraced his team’s offensive greatness instead of agonizing about its defensive shortcomings.
Bobby Knight wasn’t so understanding 30 years ago.
Alford’s senior season under Knight at Indiana, he was the best offensive player on a team that made no apologies about its priorities.
“We did not hang our hat at the defensive end,” Alford said.