Former UCLA Player Roasts Steve Alford (And His Hair) After Embarrassing March Madness Loss

Steve Alford had a mostly unsuccessful run as UCLA head coach from 2013-2018, with a mediocre 124-63 record.

His tenure was marred by controversy, specifically the choice to play his son Bryce, over one of the country's top recruits, Zach LaVine. UCLA in Alford's tenure failed to advance past the Sweet 16, never won a regular season Pac-12 title, and had just one Pac-12 tournament win in his first season.

After a string of embarrassing losses in 2018, including a loss to Belmont and Liberty, Alford was fired. Shortly thereafter, Nevada hired him as head coach, a position he's held for the better part of five years.

Given lower program expectations, Alford's done a solid job building the Wolfpack program, culminating in an impressive 26-8 record this season.

That ended in unceremonious fashion on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Nevada looked set to pull off a classic March Madness upset as a 10th seed, leading the 7th-seeded Dayton Fliers 56-39 with just 7:39 remaining. 

That's when the wheels fell off, with Dayton going on a 24-4 run before closing out a 63-60 victory. And one of Alford's former players wasn't surprised.

Salt Lake City - Nevada Wolf Pack head coach Steve Alford walks on the sidelines during the first half against Dayton Flyers in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena-Delta Center. (Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports)

Steve Alford Gets Roasted By Former Player

Tony Parker, who played under Alford for three years during his tenure at UCLA went after Alford on X after the loss.

"Steve Alford been one of the worst coaches in college basketball history he sucks and he lame same haircut for 40 years hairspray gotta be cooking his brain," Parker posted.

Ouch.

It's bad enough to criticize someone for their coaching ability, but going after their hair? That's rough.

But Alford brought it on himself with the jaw-dropping collapse during what seemed to be an easy upset.