Lavin signs deal to be ESPN analyst

Greg Schain
Published: Wednesday, June 4, 2003

Steve Lavin will soon be regularly visiting your living room.

The former UCLA head basketball coach has signed a multi-year deal with ESPN to become a studio and game analyst, ending speculation that he might become an assistant coach at Purdue University.

“I guarantee I will now be undefeated at the end of the season,” Lavin said. “I might not win seven championships, but this is a great opportunity and a chance to explore a different profession.”

The deal calls for Lavin to be in the ESPN studio for 40 nights during the season, and in addition he will work 30 games as an analyst.

The chance of him doing any UCLA games is doubtful, however, since ESPN only carries the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 10, Big East, Big 12 and Conference USA.

Fox Sports has exclusive rights to Pac-10 games.

The only chance of him doing a UCLA game would be if ESPN’s parent network, ABC, were to carry a UCLA game and decide to use Lavin as an analyst.

ABC carried two UCLA games last season.

“I will call it like I see it, and be straightforward and bring insight that the audience would be interested in,” Lavin said.

Lavin will move to the East Coast from November 1 to April 1, but keep his home in Marina Del Rey for the offseason.

As for whether he would ever return to coaching, Lavin said he still remains interested and definitely would consider it down the line.

“If the UCLA job opens up in a couple of years, maybe I’ll re-enter,” Lavin joked.

•••

Guard Ray Young was not invited to pre-draft camp in Chicago, but several teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans Hornets, have invited him for a workout.

Young, a McDonalds All-American coming out of high school, was largely considered a disappointment throughout his UCLA career until a resurgence at the end of this past season.

For the year, he averaged 10.1 points per game in 23.7 minutes.