LAVIN'S SWEET DEAL A SOUR IDEA; HARD TO JUSTIFY LAVIN DEAL.

Byline: Kevin Modesti

Having shared less and less in the fun of recent NCAA basketball tournaments, UCLA decided to create some March Madness of its own last year. Within a month of the Bruins being knocked out in the first round by Detroit Mercy, UCLA administrators gave coach Steve Lavin a rich and lengthy new contract.

There was some method to their madness.

By giving Lavin a six-year ``rollover'' contract, worth $578,000 a year for as long as 11 years, they more or less matched football coach Bob Toledo's earlier deal, preserving equality of the revenue sports so as not to insult either's boosters and recruits.

And by giving Lavin such job security, they aimed to assure that the post-Jim Harrick era would not be marked by the rapid succession of changes at the top that followed the departure of UCLA's OTHER championship-winning coach a quarter-century earlier.

But it was madness, all the same.

Toledo had received his seven-year rollover contract after leading UCLA to its first back-to-back Pac-10 football titles since 1982-83. He'd been the conference's ninth-highest-paid football coach before the raise. One college and two NFL teams had approached him.

By contrast, Lavin received his similar deal after leading the Bruins to increasingly poorer records and NCAA Tournament finishes in his first three seasons. He was already the league's third-highest-paid basketball coach. Nobody else offered him a job.

Under other circumstances, Lavin should be in some kind of trouble if the Bruins, already out of the top 25 following last week's shabby defeat at Washington, lose to USC tonight at the Sports Arena and match their worst start (9-4) since Walt Hazzard was the coach in 1987-88.

But he won't be in trouble - because of that contract.

This is what the 35-year-old coach's critics in the letters-to-the-editor columns, on talk radio and in the Pauley Pavilion stands need to understand: Through 2005, the rollover clause means Lavin is perpetually in the first year of a six-year contract as long as he exercises his options. The $153,000 ``base'' portion of his salary is guaranteed for five years. The $425,000 in additional compensation, including shoe and apparel deals, is guaranteed for this season and next.

If UCLA were to run out of patience with Lavin after this season, it would have to pay him $1.19 million in order to fire him. After the 2000-01 season, the figure would be $765,000, still a substantial sum for a university that doesn't exactly have a spendthrift reputation.

So he isn't going anywhere, at least not anytime soon.

If Lavin wants to prove this is a good deal for UCLA, he'd better get started. He hasn't proved it yet.

Bruins-watchers see the team making the same mistakes in their losses to Gonzaga, Colorado State and Washington that they made in the loss to Detroit Mercy nine months ago. The final minute and 20 seconds in Seattle brought a stupid foul by Ray Young, a five-second violation by Earl Watson and a 3-point attempt by the noted long-range marksman Jerome Moiso.

Lavin suggests the Bruins' lapses are ``partly to be expected'' in light of JaRon Rush's suspension, Moose Bailey's foot problems and Matt Barnes' early ineligibility. His lineup consists of a freshman, three sophomores and a junior point guard who is not born to that position.

But the point is they don't seem to be getting better - and it's natural to assume Lavin's and his staff's learning curve has flattened as well.

Six former Bruins are on NBA rosters, fewer than usual, indicating that UCLA's players leave school less polished than they once did.

Lavin's ability to recruit should help UCLA when the current high school junior class, rated the best in years, starts to submit its commitments a year from now.

But it's his talent for his stated role ``a teacher first and a coach second'' that's open to doubt.

The team's ability to execute a structured offense in close games against good defenses is likely to be tested and re-tested in the next three weeks when UCLA faces No. 13 North Carolina (Saturday), No. 2 Arizona (Jan. 20) and No. 3 Stanford (Feb. 3).

Lavin, however, has the luxury of looking beyond tonight and next weekend and next month.

``I've got to coach these kids for the long haul, for next year and the year after,'' he said. ``And the year after.''

Is that a luxury UCLA can afford?

ANY SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT?

A look at how UCLA's basketball team has fared in the regular season and now far it has advanced in the NCAA tournament in its four seasons under head coach Steve Lavin.

SEASON--------W-L--PAC-10---------TOURNAMENT

1996--1997--24-8--15-3 (1st)------Regional final

1997--1998--24-9--12-6 (3rd)------Regional semis

1998--1999--22-9--12-6 (3rd)------First round

1999--2000-- 9-3---1-1 (4th, tie)-TBD

TONIGHT

--Who: UCLA vs. USC, Sports Arena

--When: 7:30 p.m.

--TV: FSN 

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo: Coach Steve Lavin's Bruins have been struggling this season, but his six-year `rollover' contract puts him in a comfortable position.

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

Box: ANY SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT? (see text)