The simultaneous hirings of Steve Alford to UCLA and Andy Enfield to USC has got me interested in the rivalry between the two LA based Pac 12 members for the first time ever.
Talking to a friend before Alford was hired I noted that UCLA's really not a desirable job right now for most coaches. They just fired their coach after he won the conference, they will never be able to return to the heights of 60s and 70s, and I even read somewhere that one anonymous coach felt like USC was a better job these days. Word on the Internet was that Butler's Brad Stevens and VCU's Shaka Smart were not interested and it seemed to me that only a certain kind of well established coach like a John Calipari could possibly be successful there anyway. Alford hadn't occurred to me, but seemed like a reasonable hire until I started reading about some of his troubling history at Iowa, found out he had just signed a 10 year extension with New Mexico, and realized he's had zero tournament success.
On the other hand I knew nothing about Andy Enfield prior to this year's tournament, but I loved the way his FGCU played up tempo offense, and I'm excited to see what he can do with some quality Southern California recruits. I'll bet USC ultrafan and mid major aficionado Brendan Loy was ecstatic about this hiring. Judging by the LA Times letters page many people think USC got the better hire as well. I know who I'm rooting for in the Pac 12 South Division.