Michael Ventre

Jim Harrick wasn’t what you would call basketball royalty. With his dumpy frame and molasses drawl, he came across more like a ticket scalper at a NASCAR event. When it was announced in 1988 that he would replace Walt Hazzard and become UCLA’s basketball coach, many alumni and fans reacted as if the school had been bought out by USC in a hostile takeover.

Harrick won an NCAA title in 1995, but just over a year later he was fired, purportedly for falsifying receipts at a recruiting dinner. That was a bit of a joke, because if it had been, say, Jim Boeheim at Syracuse or Jim Calhoun at Connecticut or any other man who was more entrenched and respected, administrators at those schools would have questioned why their coach didn’t order dessert. UCLA honchos, under pressure from alums, just wanted Harrick gone.

When Ben Howland came to UCLA, though, in 2003, he was indeed considered basketball royalty. Maybe he was more an upstart prince and not yet a king, but he had the goods. He had paid his dues as an assistant and established himself as a top-notch head coach at Pittsburgh. When he came to Westwood — perhaps for the first time since John Wooden left — alumni, fans and media relaxed. White smoke appeared from the chimney. The high-anxiety vigil to find someone worthy of the job Wooden once occupied had finally ended.

No matter the result against Florida in the national title game, the Bruins are back for good, or at least as long as Howland coaches there, which could be the next 20 years if both parties have any sense at all. That means back to national prominence, back for regular visits to the Final Four, back to being mentioned in the same breath as Mike Krzyzewski at Duke.

Yes, Duke. When it’s all said and done, UCLA will be the Duke of the West. Or, perhaps more accurately, people will add up the banners, readjust their perception and declare that Duke is the UCLA of the East.

March Madness slide shows AP   Title time Best images from Florida-UCLA in men’s championship game. AP   Turtle wax Top images from Maryland’s overtime win over Duke for its first NCAA title. Reuters   The Final Four See images of Saturday's games where four teams become two. Getty Images   Eight is great Click to see images from the Elite Eight round of the 2006 NCAA tournament. Getty Images   Super Sweet 16 The best images from NCAA Tournament's second weekend. AP   Round 1 & 2 Best images from opening weekend of Big Dance.

This may seem like hyperbole for a team that busted countless brackets to get this far and didn’t seem dynastic during the regular season. But this is more than emotion-of-the-moment gushing. This is based on practical hardwood thinking.

There is a reason why defense wins championships. It’s because defense is constant. If you play great defense game after game, you always put yourself in a position to win. Offenses can be fickle. Some nights shots fall, some nights they don’t. But if you commit to playing tough, determined, efficient defense, you can beat anybody. This is why the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs currently dominate the NBA. This is why UCLA shut down Memphis and LSU.

It took Howland three years to fully assimilate his system and recruit the players he needed, but now it’s all in place. And so is he, for the foreseeable future. This is Howland’s dream job, remember. He probably wouldn’t have left Pitt, where he was happy, to go anywhere else. But when he heard the siren’s call from Westwood, he couldn’t resist. He turns 49 next month, so he’ll have another 15 to 20 years if he wants them, which he probably will. The love certainly will be requited from the university, unless something wacky happens, like the trustees eliminate the basketball program in a cost-cutting move.

The heavy lifting has been accomplished. The program has already been hoisted back among the elite. That means recruiting will take off.

What Howland is doing with the UCLA basketball program is similar to what Pete Carroll has done to the football program at crosstown rival USC. Once excellence had been re-established after years of mediocrity, blue-chip football recruits lined up outside the gates of Troy itching to be a part of the revival.