Goleta Boys & Girls Club Names Court After Howland
It’s there he honed his skills as a basketball player, as well as developing life-long friendships.
“Every single day, he was there, starting in the fifth grade,” said Sal Rodriquez, Howland’s childhood friend who was later president and the CEO of the Goleta unit. “We played a lot of one-on-one. For two years, he could never beat me. It wasn’t even close. But he was persistent. Then one day, he beat me. I decided that was it. I didn’t need to play him anymore.”
That same court the two friends battled was renamed the Ben Howland Court on Thursday at a banquet honoring the occasion. Rodriquez, who still lives in the area, said it’s a tribute to Howland for all he’s done with the Boys and Girls Club. He knew something needed to be done, and naming the court after him only seemed appropriate.
“He’s helped raised more than $500,000,” he said. “It started when he was at Northern Arizona and continued when he was at Pitt. Then when he got the job at UCLA, he took it to a whole other lever.”
During Howland’s successful tenure at UCLA, he led the Bruins to three-straight Final Fours. Each of those years, he made a point to return to Goleta, located near Santa Barbara, to speak to the kids playing on the same court he did years ago. During that three-year run, he personally donated $245,000.
“I’m not sure how we would have survived without his generosity, but let’s don’t tell him that,” Rodriquez said with a laugh. “I know this place is special to him. He’s spent a lot of hours in that gym. We’d close the doors, and he’d find a way to sneak in. All the time. Finally, we gave up and basically gave him the keys. He always said he wanted to coach. Look at him now. He’s made it big.”
Rodriquez also noted on countless occasions Howland would drop by the gym unannounced to offer words of encouragement and to mentor the kids there.
“I’m so humbled and honored to have the court named after me,” Howland said. “It’s a special place where I spent many hours during my childhood. The Boys and Girls Club is a wonderful organization that gives kids great opportunities. Personally, it’s where I fell in love with the game of basketball. It opened doors for me I never imagined."