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Brad Holland is in the Big West again, this time as a No. 1 assistant at UC Santa Barbara. (And as I said last month, watch your back Bob Williams.) This should be a real fun reunion when the former Fullerton coach comes back to Titan Gym this season. The students won't care, but the old-timers will be out in full force.

Now some Titans will likely talk about Holland's cheating and other underhandedness that occurred during his reign of error. Some will point out that Holland was only able to win with Coach Sneed's players (including a senior named Bruce Bowen), and how he failed to move the Titans program forward.

But I am above all of that. Instead, here is how I would like to remember Brad "The Devil" Holland.Holland once came to Cal State Fullerton as an announcer, calling one of the great CS Fullerton/UNLV matches from back in the day. Holland was swept up in the euphoria of a Titans win, with a sold-out Fullerton crowd rushing the floor. This obviously showed Holland that this was a great place to be.

At least for a short time.

He eventually accepted a job at Cal State Fullerton, but never stopped looking for the next big thing. Holland was a star at UCLA and you know that his goal was to one day be the Bruins head coach. Fullerton was just a stepping stone. He joined the Titans and immediately tried to make a lateral move to Nevada.

He finally landed at the University of San Diego, screwing over Fullerton with the late job switch, and eventually became the school's winningest coach. But it was never enough. Not for UCLA to notice, and not enough for him to keep his job. The ultimate status climber, Holland fell off the ladder.

Holland who once had aspirations of coaching at UCLA, couldn't even get a sniff from UC Riverside. Now he has settled for a No.1 assistant job at a school that he no doubt believes is beneath him. That is how I choose to look at Holland. Not as the cheater who had his assistant pay for his player's summer school classes with his credit card. But rather that of an ultimate failure who will never land the dream job that remains out of reach.

Assist: Titan Central