SoCalHoops College News

UCLA News:  Lavin Hires Gerald
Madkins As Assistant--(June 6, 2001)

Most of the news in the past two days has been about UCLA. . .really.  Hiring an assistant, picking up a transfer, losing a prospect to Cal.   We had thought that UCLA coach Steve Lavin was going to hold off until the summer in hiring an assistant (so that both he and assistant Jim Saia could be on the road at the same time, along with their unofficial hire), but he acted early, making a great choice.   Others considered for the job were Darren Kalish, who also happens to be the school's adidas product rep and a former player at Crossroads, and Cameron Dollar.   The LA Times was so enthusiastic about the hiring, they printed this in today's paper:

"Former UCLA guard Gerald Madkins has been hired as an assistant coach on the Bruin basketball staff. Madkins replaces Michael Holton, who became head coach at Portland in April."

Wow, how informative. 

But for more info, the UCLA basketball website had the official press release.  Here it is:

Madkins Hired As UCLA Basketball Assistant
Former Bruin guard returning to his alma mater.

June 5, 2001

Former Bruin guard Gerald Madkins is returning to his alma mater as an assistant basketball coach, UCLA head coach Steve Lavin announced today. 

Madkins fills the vacancy created in early April when Michael Holton became head coach at the University of Portland. He joins Jim Saia and Steve Spencer on the staff and will fill one of the two recruiting positions. Last season, he served as an assistant coach at Div. II California State Stanislaus. 

"I want to thank Coach Lavin for this opportunity," said Madkins. " I feel very pleased and privileged that he selected me from a quality list of applicants. It's great to come back to my alma mater and be part of something special. It's the place where I matured, became a man and played basketball under some very fundamentally-sound coaches. I'm looking forward to getting started and working hard." 

During his career (1987-88 and 1989-90 through 1991-92), Madkins played in 123 games, a total exceeded by only 10 players in school history, and started 91 times, including 90 of his final 93 games. He missed the entire 1988-89 season due to injuries suffered in a car accident. 

Madkins averaged 7.6 points, 3.3 assists and 2.2 rebounds during his career. He still ranks seventh (tied) on UCLA's career steals list (146) and ninth on the career assists chart (404). In addition, he shot 52.0% on his field goal attempts, 39.9% (eighth in school history) on his three-point field goal attempts and 72.5% from the free throw line. His 118 career three-point field goals still rank fifth on that UCLA list, as do his 296 three-point field goal attempts. 

As a senior in 1992, the Bruin captain helped lead UCLA to its first Pac-10 title since 1987, a 28-5 record and a berth in the NCAA Elite Eight, at the time its best finish since 1980. Playing in 28 of 33 games (he missed five games with a broken bone in his left hand), he averaged 8.2 points and a team-high 4.0 assists, shooting 50.3% from the floor, 40.5% (second on the team) from three-point range and 67.1% from the free throw line. In his four NCAA games, he averaged 16.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 56.3% from the floor, 47.4% from three-point range and 76.9% from the free throw line. 

Madkins then played professional basketball for six seasons in the NBA, CBA and Europe. In 1992-93, he was the CBA Rookie of the Year with Grand Rapids. He spent most of the next two seasons on the roster of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the following two years playing in Europe and the CBA. In 1997-98, he split time between the Miami Heat and the Golden State Warriors and retired following that season. 

Following a year in private business, Madkins became an assistant coach at Cal State Stanislaus for the 2000-2001 season. 

"Gerald is a quality addition to our staff," said Lavin. "I have known him since my first year (1991-92) at UCLA. During his playing career, Gerald was the consummate team player, sacrificing his individual game for the good of the team. As a senior, he was our top defender and playmaker. 

"Gerald has a vast amount of basketball knowledge that I feel will be an asset to our program," said Lavin. "He relates well to players and is an outstanding communicator. I also feel that the time he spent playing pro ball, both in the NBA and the CBA, has given him additional life experiences that he will be able to pass on to our players. 

"He possesses outstanding people skills that will be an asset when meeting with parents and prospects in the home. He will also be working with Jim Saia, who is one of the top recruiting assistant coaches in the country."

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