So you are laughing because we don't like to see our beloved basketball program in the hands of an ego maniac who gets paid millions but who can't put together a roster, can't teach offense, throws his players under the bus, throws tantrums, and treats people like Josh Lewin like dirt.
You believe in accountability for the coach, but not the players. You can't name a replacement coach, just the "Bob Chesney of basketball." UCLA fans have ridiculous expectations. Unless John Wooden comes back to life, they will never be happy.
What I said was 100% true. In the other thread, where I mentioned why it was the players' fault, you went on a rant about how it's all Cronin's fault because he recruited them, yada yada yada. Show me the lie, Tamara. And pointing out what you said is now bullying?
Ahhhh Gibbs, have a beautiful day wherever you are. I am happy that you like Cronin, that his coaching is acceptable to you, that he as a person is acceptable to you.
So enjoy the season, and all it has to offer. Feel comfort in Cronin's presence on the sideline and with his team... enjoy every moment.
Have a beautiful day wherever you are. I am happy that you like Cronin, that his coaching is acceptable to you, that he as a person is acceptable to you.
So enjoy the season, and all it has to offer. Feel comfort in Cronin's presence on the sideline and with his team... enjoy every moment.
Never called him dispicable, but yes you are a bully, to many.
i mean aren't you the one who called Cronin a despicable person the other day? you judge coaches as human being based on their coaching style. that's disgusting. spare us the lecture.
I didn't hear the segment with Lewin, I saw his presser after the game, he didn't seem angry, he was calm, he said the players tried hard, played hard, gave good effort, and that some plays they made weren't smart. I think that's fair. But it seems to you that's not fair. 🤣
Jeez I’m one of the bigger Cronin defenders on this site and even I don’t think he’s worth of a 5-year extension with a $22 million buyout. I wouldn’t say that Jarmond is the worst AD in America because of recent events in Michigan and Penn State but this move just shows he always makes the laziest decisions possible. If he wanted to signal that he didn’t want to fire Cronin this year, he could have given him a shorter extension with a much smaller buyout but now he doesn’t need to work on the basketball side the next 5 years
The Cal loss was certainly disappointing though understandable, and Dent hasn’t been as advertised up to this point.
I have a feeling we’ll turn the corner, but the mishandling of Mara still stings. Especially when he went to an absolutely stacked Michigan team and is third in front court minutes for what I believe is the number 1 team in the country (don’t care what the polls say about Arizona).
Part of the reason we’re in these games is our pace, and I understand that pace + valuing possessions = winning basketball. I can’t help but wonder if we had a guy like May here if we would have retained Mara and at least be Top 10.
It’s also concerning that a M2M defensive coach is playing as much zone as he has so far. If roster construction is indeed the issue and limits out ceiling then it’s definitely on both Cronin and Jarmond.
I guess I’m just tired of the fuckheads at ESPN slobbering over Arizona and Gonzaga as much as Duke and UConn. And tired of not being in the running for high impact freshmen like the Flaggs and Knueppels and Castles Khamania’s and Burries and Peats of the world. You’re going to sit here and tell me those guys wouldn’t at least make a difference this year with a solid group of 2/3 year players?
I agree that we still have a long season to go and Mick’s teams usually round into form nicely by end of the season, but if Cronin can’t make it to the second weekend with the roster he wanted, he should definitely be on the hot seat, contract extension be damned.
I thought the loss to Cal was awful because almost no one showed up to play or coach that game, giving HC Madsen and his team a signature Quad-1 upset win. There's decent talent on the current UCLA roster to work with (they were ranked #12 preseason) and can be a tougher and more competitve team going forward. From what I've seen so far, I'm not sure that the Bruins have enough capability to make a deep run during March Madness because of their inherent roster deficiencies and frustrating inconsistency of play, but at least Dent's continuing improvement is certainly encouraging. The loss to the Zags and SBTRs was disappointing, and ESPN's countless cut to commercials during live play made it worse. If UCLA loses its blueblood luster and is unable to attract more top talent, then something definitely needs fixing!
extensions are not really based on performance anymore. they are based on supply and demand of coaches. if you want to keep your coach, you have to give them an extension whether they have earned it or not. Just look at Alabama's football coach who is about to get an extension just because Michigan fired their coach.
Remember, defense wins games, right!? True, but only if you have good offense. I honestly can’t figure out what offensive sets UCLA is running - unless of course it’s called a jazz band improvisation scheme. It’s a joke. As for the Roster construction, Cronin owns this top to bottom. The fact that Mara got away is exactly the issue with UCLA. Anyway, I wish UCLA all the greatest success. That said, I see a 7 - 8 loss season ahead, and the future of mediocrity to continue. So, I’ll enjoy the game but not be emotionally invested until we see a coaching change. And while I have you, why is it that the other schools seem to reset and reload and always hire the right coaches (Arizona anyone) and UCLA fails. Remember, Cronin wasn’t even on the radar. He begged for the job, and when the AD failed in a proper search, Cronin was hired. Ugh. The admin needs to remember kids go to schools who they believe can win championships or can be competitive at the highest levels - not sitting outside the top 25 and maybe making the dance.
We shot 50% from the field and 47% from 3. Offense wasn’t really the problem. I also don’t get the fascination with Arizona’s coaches. Tommy Lloyd has never advanced past the sweet 16 despite having some insanely talented teams. Yes they reload but he’s made 3 sweet 16s since he was hired and hasn’t won once. That’s the same record as Steve Alford. And prior to Lloyd, Sean Miller was fired after the Deandre Ayton scandal and had to vacate a bunch of wins. Doesn’t seem like the “right” hire there
Someone did get hot, and then the players stupidly left him open on the perimeter while chucking up trash shots against Gonzaga's bigs instead of passing to Tyler.
Really?? They gave him an extension, and with a 22 million dollar buyout?? Idk, I liked Cronin but I have to admit that my support for him is starting to waiver. After yesterday’s and the Arizona game, I’m getting the impression he isn’t the one to get this team to a national championship. Up until he came to UCLA he was another Sweet Sixteen ceiling coach. He came to UCLA and with a batch of players he didn’t recruit he got deep. However, I don’t see this batch of players really contending. Also, there are some flare players who he has made them into grinders and at some point you have to let these guys play and be the best version they are.
"UCLA has one center who is solid offensively but a negative on defense, and another center who is solid defensively but a negative on offense."
..looking for a solution to this problem, I was hunting for a video of that old Gong Show act of the two guys stuffed into one pair of bib overalls but could not come up with it.
UCLA actually improved in NET rankings following last nights loss - NET is what the NCAA uses to determine seeding. And it’s complicated algorithm is a little too much for me to understand lol i think it’s because all of UCLA’s opponents have been playing quite well so their wins look better and their losses don’t look as bad. And UCLA’s strength of schedule is propped up by Arizona so far
That's your argument? "Sure, UCLA can't defeat a top 20 school, but it could be worse." Yeah, at least we're not Cal. Oh, wait. The Bruins lost to the Bears.
Apparently, the NET rankings undergo more drastic adjustments after enough non-conference games have been played. I know it's still early in the season, but so far the Bruins are 6-0 against Quad-3 and 4 teams, but only 1-3 against Quad-1 and 2 teams. NET ranking is now 41, RPI is 63, SOS is 77, and KenPom ratng is #31. Not horrible overall, but definitely not up to elite status that's expected at UCLA (they're going to fall out of the AP Top-25 again).
I gotta say.....by and large I've never seen a bigger what have you done for me lately crowd among most of the commenters. Same people who after starting 0-3 assumed the football team would go winless, and then after a 3 game win streak were talking about the possibility of winning out. Now we lose a winnable game to the #8 team in the nation. We are 7-3 and one of our other losses is to the #1 team in the nation. But we will probably miss the tournament and should fire the coach. Good lord I'm glad these people are not in charge of anything.
Have to acknowledge the intense passion for UCLA basketball, though. Expectations are very high here, but still waiting for a cure for anti-Cronin fever, Cronin's disease, hopium addiction, and BBS (battered Bruin syndrome). ;-)
Guess it begs the question of what is considered a reasonable vs. unreasonable expectation. Looking way back, I believe Coach Wooden spoiled many of us, as we need to also remember that it took him 15 seasons at UCLA (and 5 losing tournament appearances) before achieving his first national championship. His immediate successor, HC Bartow, suffered greatly by not being able to match up to that high level of excellence and continue the UCLA dynasty. I think that was both unreasonable and unfair, as competing schools were also getting much better and harder to beat.
But UCLA winning only 1 national championship in the 50 seasons since Coach Wooden retired is really disappointing. HC Howland came close, and if it weren't for devastating injuries to key starters and a 40ft. luck shot in OT, maybe HC Cronin would have had multiple chances of getting to the Finals as well. At the moment, however, he seems to be having a hard time getting this season's roster to play the consistent, tough defense that we're used to seeing from his pre-NIL teams. Also don't know if the NIL funding for the basketball program is still an issue in attracting desired talent, but the transfer portal has disrupted his ability to keep rosters mostly intact, resulting in less continuity and cohesion. (Next season will also require a reload and replacement of his seniors.) Perhaps he's still trying to adapt to these money-driven changes, as a number of elite coaches didn't even want to bother trying and had opted for retirement instead of dealing with NIL and the transfer portal.
I had another what-if thought. The current AD is scared of HC Cronin, so if the latter had threatened to quit or wanted to renegotiate his contract this past summer, I could imagine the same AD would try to keep the HC happy at UCLA to avoid having to do any work in finding a replacement HC.
The ongoing battle between the folks with anti-Cronin fever and those having Cronin's disease is a lot more entertaining than another Bruins loss to the Zags... :-)
The UCLA defense under HC Cronin is usually what keeps them in games, but it's unfortunate that he botched the opportunity to develop and retain Aday Mara and then failed to recruit talented bigs to help out in the paint this season. There are definite issues with the current roster, as the Bruins aren't matching up well against teams with talented big men. And because the Bruins have a particularly weak non-conference schedule with zero signature wins, they'll have to prove themselves during conference play in order to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament. But regardless of how the Bruins perform this season, HC Cronin has already secured a nice win for himself. However, HC Izzo did better in getting a $1M annual raise (now the highest paid HC in the Big-10 at $7.2M/year).
Unable to speculate, only just imagining the what if. Mara mostly had a positive impact on games he played in last season, and I thought he had a promising future at UCLA.
Mara has a promising 'present' at Michigan with a coach who understands how to align the game to his players. I cringe to think about how Mich will crush us in their house.
I don't understand how you can get a 5-year extension and a raise for underperforming. It's really aggravating. I'm not an anti-Cronin person, but when you're paying these coaches large sums of money, you'd think they would at least give 50% effort building and maintaining a championship team. I guess these days our illustrious Jelly 2.0 is fine with being a couple of games over .500.
I was also thinking the same thing because the results of HC Cronin's past 2 seasons haven't been spectacular to earn such a reward, especially for the UCLA basketball program. His no NIL/Euro team went 16-17, followed by last season's 23-11 team losing to Tennessee in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament. Is there another Final Four coming soon, or is this just another case of the UCLA adminisration's dysfunction, laziness, and financial incompetence being revealed once again? The jelly donut AD had previously been fine with the football program achieving only 6-8 wins max with a toilet bowl invitation, so are Sweet-16s (or less) now acceptable again for the basketball program? [No Mick Alford, please!]. In any case, as folks are finding out about this secret contract extension, there's going to be even more pressure on him to deliver better results soon.
Ahhh yes!!!! 5 more years of this clown show. Who here is excited for 5 more years of mediocre basketball! You know I sure am. Gib and Evan are excited too! They love crnin and hope he stays forever. He made it to two final fours y'all… get out your checkbooks. Show up to every game possible. It’s not entertaining basketball by any stretch, but you can still find ways to make it fun. How many beers will it take today to not care about the outcome…
Every time ucla plays against a quality team I love thinking to myself… will we lose by 1 basket, or 4 baskets?!?!?!! It’s that thought that keeps me coming back for more… that and the little man charades, foot stomping, questionable rotations, head scratching roster selections. It’s no wonder every big man in the country wants to come to ucla! Why wouldn’t you want to play for a 5’ coach who has no idea how to box out or rebound?!?!! They keep flocking to ucla like the salmon of Capistrano! It’s why they all stick around to play for cronin! Aday Mara, Peyton Watson’s, Aden bona… what a bunch of dummy’s leaving a place at ucla where they could grow under crnin’s tutelage. I still have no idea why those guys left a magical place where they were going to learn so much… look at what they’ve learned since they left.
The ongoing Cronin/Mara debate continues. Would Mara have changed the outcome of the game? WTF knows? I will repeat my assertion that Mick’s big mistake happened in preseason LAST year when he decided to play Bilodeau at the 5. We had two options at the 5 that were not initially as good as Bilodeau but had a much bigger upside at that position. They were Aday Mara AND William Kyle. What each player needed was playing time. The decision was made to play Bilo which held back the development of Mara and Kyle. So, how would this team look today with two centers that had been able to play more and develop their skills. At a bare minimum, our defense and rim protection would be better by leaps and bounds over where we are now. Trying to predict the outcome of a particular game is foolish.
In the outcome of this game who knows what difference it would make. I do think Mara, bona, and Watson all had good advisors letting them know that crnin would hold back their development instead of grow them into better players. Thats why I think they left… and who would blaim them? Crnin has never developed a big man in his coaching history. EVER
As far as Mara, I think after going home, he may have come to the conclusion he couldn’t trust Cronin to play him more. There was no rhyme or reason to his inconsistent minutes. I don’t think Mick knew how to reach Mara to motivate him. One of my favorite Wooden thoughts is around whether or not you treat all players the same. I think Mick believes in treating them the same. Coach Wooden believed in treating everyone fairly. There’s a
I recall that was an unfortunate setback for Mara. I suspect that all or most of the Euros who HC Cronin recruited also faced challenging adjustments to being student-athletes in the U.S. and the level of play over here.
3 of the 4 are still playing in the US. Jan Vide is at LMU. Berke is starting for the undefeated Nebraska Cornhuskers and Mara starts for undefeated Michigan. Perhaps they were a bad fit for Mick.
Berke is scoring 7.6pts/game on 41/17/66 splits in 21 minutes per game. I have no doubt he would be getting roasted in the comments here if he was doing that for UCLA.
Let's pump the breaks on Jan Vide. Averaging 15 ppg at LMU in a god awful conference. That probably translates to 3 ppg had he stayed at UCLA. Remember Dom Harris? Also averaged 15 ppg at LMU. Transferred here and average 1 ppg.
Didn’t Bonahave multiple larger NIL offers at other schools this year he came back to play for Mick? And trying get a “gotcha” with Watson who was always going to be a one and done and went in the first round is just laughable.
Adem Bona stayed for his sophomore season and improved his offensive game. I guess it's Cronin's fault that NBA executives noticed his improvement and drafted him. Lmao.
He is utilizing Xavier, a 4, as a 5, even if out of necessity due to roster construction.
Croninistas say, "He's 6'11" he's a center," and "He's the prototypical center in today's game." Fine, then look at today's game--the Conference and NBA--and make player comparisons and ask yourself whether he's a center.
Agreed. Mara is actually the oddity as a center that can’t consistently shoot beyond 10 feet from the basket. His height and length will make him still attractive to nba but if he doesn’t develop a better offensive game at Michigan or with an NBA team, his pro careee will most likely be in Europe
If he announced he was not going to play beyond college, nobody would pay attention to him. He averages 10 and 8. Nice, but nothing special. The allure is because he's 7'3'' AND from Europe.
What I find hilarious is I am getting made fun of for telling the truth about how modern basketball works. I wonder if the same clowns giving me shit would say the same to Frank Vogel as he won an NBA Championship while using Anthony Davis at center. Davis spread the floor. 6'11" guys who can shoot outside are currently playing center in the same conference that UCLA is in. Steven Crowl last year and Nolan Winter from Wisconsin this year, I believe.
The silliness is stating that Booker is better than Mara. If you’re basing it on the fact that Booker can shoot from outside and Mara can’t, that is ludicrous. By that logic, Bill Laimbeer would be rated above Kareem, Wilt, Shaq, Moses Malone, David Robinson and others. Booker is one of the worst defenders on a mediocre defensive team. The team may actually play better as a unit with Jamerson, especially on D. Opposing teams aren’t afraid of attacking the rim against Booker. They do avoid it against Mara. Mara is a better defender, screen setter, passer and rebounder. There is a lot happening on the court that you miss. Teams can win with bigs that can shoot the 3 and without as well. Your opinion that Booker is an upgrade from Mara is definitely a minority opinion.
Bill Laimbeer didn't average more points per game than those guys. Do you even check stats? You must have missed my reply but Booker is scoring more per game than Mara. Oops.
That would’ve been very unlikely against the cupcakes on the schedule. We would need then come league. And now we have no interior defense. I think we lose 9 games in league play.
Cronin isn’t going anywhere. My prediction is for 9 losses in league and 12 losses overall. I ask the Cronin lovers, would you be happy with a 20-12 regular season followed by not making the Sweet 16?
Donut Head Jelly 2.0 is a special one, isn't he... solidifying a bball dumpster fire for the next several years. We can all delight in mediocre seasons and early tourney exits. Super fun!
Donut Head is an undermining, corrupt, vacant, underhanded fraud. The lack of transparency, and the slimey back room deal making lead me to believe he had nothing to do with the hiring of Chesney...
It was all Meyers, Peters, Roberts, Wassie and Kendricks...
Donut Head was simply present so as not to reveal that either he or the Athletic Dept are entirely unstable, imho.
Late to the "discussion" here so I won't rehash much, but it is curious to me that Jarmond gave an extension to Cronin and the big news was buried and never announced. Why would he do that? Why would he not want to proudly announce he is keeping the head coach who is responsible for building our roster and makes us almost competitive with top 25l teams and gets us to the first couple rounds of the tournament each year? Why wouldn't Jarmond be advertising his prowess from the rooftops?
(those are rhetorical questions so you Croninistas don't need to inject your strawman nonsense here)
They'll either have to beat Purdue or Michigan to get into the tournament, they need a signature win, otherwise no march in March. Purdue is probably their best bet, Michigan looks to strong, Purdue has some weaknesses, and we have them at home as well.
Ehh, I wouldn't say they need a signature win; that would be more important for a higher seed. I think if they generally win the games they're supposed to win and play competitive losses against better teams, they'll be fine on getting a bid to the tournament. The brand is still pretty strong in the eyes of the college admins who pick the field.
Yes, agreed, the signature win is needed for a decent seed, without it, they may be one and done in the tournament, but like you say if they win the games they are supposed to, they should get in.
LOL. I didn't know Cronin signed another extension. That's going to make his haters infuriated.
Agreed… AD department is a joke at ucla. I am surprised you haven’t converted to the dark side. It’s so obvious that cronin is in over his head
With all the endless bitching here, you'd think UCLA Basketball sucks like the football team.
So you are laughing because we don't like to see our beloved basketball program in the hands of an ego maniac who gets paid millions but who can't put together a roster, can't teach offense, throws his players under the bus, throws tantrums, and treats people like Josh Lewin like dirt.
Yep, keep laughing Gibbs, it's expected.
You believe in accountability for the coach, but not the players. You can't name a replacement coach, just the "Bob Chesney of basketball." UCLA fans have ridiculous expectations. Unless John Wooden comes back to life, they will never be happy.
You believe in making false accusations, it's who you are... players and coaches should absolutely be held accountable.
You haven't quite reached the bullying level of Evan, but keep going, you will get there.
What I said was 100% true. In the other thread, where I mentioned why it was the players' fault, you went on a rant about how it's all Cronin's fault because he recruited them, yada yada yada. Show me the lie, Tamara. And pointing out what you said is now bullying?
Ahhhh Gibbs, have a beautiful day wherever you are. I am happy that you like Cronin, that his coaching is acceptable to you, that he as a person is acceptable to you.
So enjoy the season, and all it has to offer. Feel comfort in Cronin's presence on the sideline and with his team... enjoy every moment.
So you can't point out the lie? Because I didn't lie.
I don't even know who Evan is.
she called Cronin a despicable humna being and accusing me of bullying. LMFAO
Ahhhh Evan, sharing this with you...
Have a beautiful day wherever you are. I am happy that you like Cronin, that his coaching is acceptable to you, that he as a person is acceptable to you.
So enjoy the season, and all it has to offer. Feel comfort in Cronin's presence on the sideline and with his team... enjoy every moment.
Never called him dispicable, but yes you are a bully, to many.
i mean aren't you the one who called Cronin a despicable person the other day? you judge coaches as human being based on their coaching style. that's disgusting. spare us the lecture.
Yes. She calls him despicable all the time.
🤣🤣🤣
I said I disdain him as a person and coach, that is my opinion of him and he keeps validating it.
Thanks for listening.
same thing, thanks for confirming. gross.
I didn't hear the segment with Lewin, I saw his presser after the game, he didn't seem angry, he was calm, he said the players tried hard, played hard, gave good effort, and that some plays they made weren't smart. I think that's fair. But it seems to you that's not fair. 🤣
100% correct. If UCLA fired Cronin, he would immediately be the top coach on the market. we are lucky to have him.
Presbyterian might have an interest.
love it
Jeez I’m one of the bigger Cronin defenders on this site and even I don’t think he’s worth of a 5-year extension with a $22 million buyout. I wouldn’t say that Jarmond is the worst AD in America because of recent events in Michigan and Penn State but this move just shows he always makes the laziest decisions possible. If he wanted to signal that he didn’t want to fire Cronin this year, he could have given him a shorter extension with a much smaller buyout but now he doesn’t need to work on the basketball side the next 5 years
UCLA basketball is a joke and cronin is the one carrying bags of money into the sunset… absolutely atrocious.
Then stop following it. You'd probably be much happier not thinking about it. Cronin lives in your head rent free.
UCLA basketball is 7-3. 2 of its losses are to the #1 and #8 teams. Yeah, what a disaster.
The sky is literally falling according to these people.
The Cal loss was certainly disappointing though understandable, and Dent hasn’t been as advertised up to this point.
I have a feeling we’ll turn the corner, but the mishandling of Mara still stings. Especially when he went to an absolutely stacked Michigan team and is third in front court minutes for what I believe is the number 1 team in the country (don’t care what the polls say about Arizona).
Part of the reason we’re in these games is our pace, and I understand that pace + valuing possessions = winning basketball. I can’t help but wonder if we had a guy like May here if we would have retained Mara and at least be Top 10.
It’s also concerning that a M2M defensive coach is playing as much zone as he has so far. If roster construction is indeed the issue and limits out ceiling then it’s definitely on both Cronin and Jarmond.
I guess I’m just tired of the fuckheads at ESPN slobbering over Arizona and Gonzaga as much as Duke and UConn. And tired of not being in the running for high impact freshmen like the Flaggs and Knueppels and Castles Khamania’s and Burries and Peats of the world. You’re going to sit here and tell me those guys wouldn’t at least make a difference this year with a solid group of 2/3 year players?
I agree that we still have a long season to go and Mick’s teams usually round into form nicely by end of the season, but if Cronin can’t make it to the second weekend with the roster he wanted, he should definitely be on the hot seat, contract extension be damned.
I thought the loss to Cal was awful because almost no one showed up to play or coach that game, giving HC Madsen and his team a signature Quad-1 upset win. There's decent talent on the current UCLA roster to work with (they were ranked #12 preseason) and can be a tougher and more competitve team going forward. From what I've seen so far, I'm not sure that the Bruins have enough capability to make a deep run during March Madness because of their inherent roster deficiencies and frustrating inconsistency of play, but at least Dent's continuing improvement is certainly encouraging. The loss to the Zags and SBTRs was disappointing, and ESPN's countless cut to commercials during live play made it worse. If UCLA loses its blueblood luster and is unable to attract more top talent, then something definitely needs fixing!
extensions are not really based on performance anymore. they are based on supply and demand of coaches. if you want to keep your coach, you have to give them an extension whether they have earned it or not. Just look at Alabama's football coach who is about to get an extension just because Michigan fired their coach.
Remember, defense wins games, right!? True, but only if you have good offense. I honestly can’t figure out what offensive sets UCLA is running - unless of course it’s called a jazz band improvisation scheme. It’s a joke. As for the Roster construction, Cronin owns this top to bottom. The fact that Mara got away is exactly the issue with UCLA. Anyway, I wish UCLA all the greatest success. That said, I see a 7 - 8 loss season ahead, and the future of mediocrity to continue. So, I’ll enjoy the game but not be emotionally invested until we see a coaching change. And while I have you, why is it that the other schools seem to reset and reload and always hire the right coaches (Arizona anyone) and UCLA fails. Remember, Cronin wasn’t even on the radar. He begged for the job, and when the AD failed in a proper search, Cronin was hired. Ugh. The admin needs to remember kids go to schools who they believe can win championships or can be competitive at the highest levels - not sitting outside the top 25 and maybe making the dance.
We shot 50% from the field and 47% from 3. Offense wasn’t really the problem. I also don’t get the fascination with Arizona’s coaches. Tommy Lloyd has never advanced past the sweet 16 despite having some insanely talented teams. Yes they reload but he’s made 3 sweet 16s since he was hired and hasn’t won once. That’s the same record as Steve Alford. And prior to Lloyd, Sean Miller was fired after the Deandre Ayton scandal and had to vacate a bunch of wins. Doesn’t seem like the “right” hire there
I agree. Lloyd is a good coach, but he hasn't proven to be anything special. Also remember, he lost to Princeton in the 1st round as a 2 seed. 🤣
So 23-8 is mediocre? 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣
What exactly has Lloyd done? A couple of Sweet Sixteens?
he's Steve Alford
Crnin's offense is to pray for someone to get hot.
Someone did get hot, and then the players stupidly left him open on the perimeter while chucking up trash shots against Gonzaga's bigs instead of passing to Tyler.
How many times does Mick have to tell them to get Tyler the ball and then they don't do it? But yeah, totally his fault.
Well this season's shot. At least we haven't reached peak Alford yet, though I suspect it's coming.
With at least 22 games left, it's totally shot. 🤣
yeah 7-3. totally shot.
Really?? They gave him an extension, and with a 22 million dollar buyout?? Idk, I liked Cronin but I have to admit that my support for him is starting to waiver. After yesterday’s and the Arizona game, I’m getting the impression he isn’t the one to get this team to a national championship. Up until he came to UCLA he was another Sweet Sixteen ceiling coach. He came to UCLA and with a batch of players he didn’t recruit he got deep. However, I don’t see this batch of players really contending. Also, there are some flare players who he has made them into grinders and at some point you have to let these guys play and be the best version they are.
"UCLA has one center who is solid offensively but a negative on defense, and another center who is solid defensively but a negative on offense."
..looking for a solution to this problem, I was hunting for a video of that old Gong Show act of the two guys stuffed into one pair of bib overalls but could not come up with it.
*sigh*
The Gong Show was brilliant. I am still laughing thinking about some of those old acts.
The Gong Show was way ahead of its time! Gene Gene the Dancing Machine was one of my favorite regulars.
UCLA actually improved in NET rankings following last nights loss - NET is what the NCAA uses to determine seeding. And it’s complicated algorithm is a little too much for me to understand lol i think it’s because all of UCLA’s opponents have been playing quite well so their wins look better and their losses don’t look as bad. And UCLA’s strength of schedule is propped up by Arizona so far
we'll make the tourney as a 4 or 5 seed. Maybe 3 if we get hot. It's December!
Somewhere between a 7-11 seed is my prediction. Probably as a play-in game is my prediction… like to see other predictions here as well!
Losing is winning.
Perfectly stated, my dear friend 💙💛
Losing isn't winning, but the way you guys act, you'd think UCLA was as bad as Oregon. 🤣
That's your argument? "Sure, UCLA can't defeat a top 20 school, but it could be worse." Yeah, at least we're not Cal. Oh, wait. The Bruins lost to the Bears.
Expectations managed.
It's an observation. Were you one of the ones who chased out Bartow for losing in the Final Four?
You're using opinions on Bartow to defend your opinion of Cronin? That makes no sense. Irrelevant and illogical.
What's illogical and irrelevant is to show up here regardless of result, and grace us with your endless bitching.
I asked a question, since you appear to have high expectations. It wasn't just "opinions" on Bartow. The fans were ruthless.
Apparently, the NET rankings undergo more drastic adjustments after enough non-conference games have been played. I know it's still early in the season, but so far the Bruins are 6-0 against Quad-3 and 4 teams, but only 1-3 against Quad-1 and 2 teams. NET ranking is now 41, RPI is 63, SOS is 77, and KenPom ratng is #31. Not horrible overall, but definitely not up to elite status that's expected at UCLA (they're going to fall out of the AP Top-25 again).
I gotta say.....by and large I've never seen a bigger what have you done for me lately crowd among most of the commenters. Same people who after starting 0-3 assumed the football team would go winless, and then after a 3 game win streak were talking about the possibility of winning out. Now we lose a winnable game to the #8 team in the nation. We are 7-3 and one of our other losses is to the #1 team in the nation. But we will probably miss the tournament and should fire the coach. Good lord I'm glad these people are not in charge of anything.
They are totally knowledgeable. 🤣
it's hysterical
she also acted like Foster was going to be the second coming of Nick Saban.
LOL. He was 5-10 at UCLA. Totally Saban. 🤣
Fans being fans and overreacting?
https://tenor.com/view/first-time-buster-scruggs-james-franco-gif-10091997814513291973
Have to acknowledge the intense passion for UCLA basketball, though. Expectations are very high here, but still waiting for a cure for anti-Cronin fever, Cronin's disease, hopium addiction, and BBS (battered Bruin syndrome). ;-)
Or we all could just wait for what happens the rest of the season.
Yes, a thorough checkup for all of these ailments should be performed at the end of the season.
high expectations are fine. unreasonable expectations are not.
Guess it begs the question of what is considered a reasonable vs. unreasonable expectation. Looking way back, I believe Coach Wooden spoiled many of us, as we need to also remember that it took him 15 seasons at UCLA (and 5 losing tournament appearances) before achieving his first national championship. His immediate successor, HC Bartow, suffered greatly by not being able to match up to that high level of excellence and continue the UCLA dynasty. I think that was both unreasonable and unfair, as competing schools were also getting much better and harder to beat.
But UCLA winning only 1 national championship in the 50 seasons since Coach Wooden retired is really disappointing. HC Howland came close, and if it weren't for devastating injuries to key starters and a 40ft. luck shot in OT, maybe HC Cronin would have had multiple chances of getting to the Finals as well. At the moment, however, he seems to be having a hard time getting this season's roster to play the consistent, tough defense that we're used to seeing from his pre-NIL teams. Also don't know if the NIL funding for the basketball program is still an issue in attracting desired talent, but the transfer portal has disrupted his ability to keep rosters mostly intact, resulting in less continuity and cohesion. (Next season will also require a reload and replacement of his seniors.) Perhaps he's still trying to adapt to these money-driven changes, as a number of elite coaches didn't even want to bother trying and had opted for retirement instead of dealing with NIL and the transfer portal.
YoungestTo500© is below .500 against Mark Few and Tommy Lloyd.
What will it take for UCLA again to be the best in the West (and a destination school for players)? Is Crnin the man for the task?
Is Crnin a coach who can lead UCLA to Conference titles? Tournament titles?
Is this team, predicted to be special, one that can get out of the first weekend of the Tournament? Will it make the Tournament?
Merry Christmas Joe and DD.
I had another what-if thought. The current AD is scared of HC Cronin, so if the latter had threatened to quit or wanted to renegotiate his contract this past summer, I could imagine the same AD would try to keep the HC happy at UCLA to avoid having to do any work in finding a replacement HC.
The ongoing battle between the folks with anti-Cronin fever and those having Cronin's disease is a lot more entertaining than another Bruins loss to the Zags... :-)
The UCLA defense under HC Cronin is usually what keeps them in games, but it's unfortunate that he botched the opportunity to develop and retain Aday Mara and then failed to recruit talented bigs to help out in the paint this season. There are definite issues with the current roster, as the Bruins aren't matching up well against teams with talented big men. And because the Bruins have a particularly weak non-conference schedule with zero signature wins, they'll have to prove themselves during conference play in order to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament. But regardless of how the Bruins perform this season, HC Cronin has already secured a nice win for himself. However, HC Izzo did better in getting a $1M annual raise (now the highest paid HC in the Big-10 at $7.2M/year).
Go Bruins.
Do you think that Mara would have made a difference in the outcome of this game?
Unable to speculate, only just imagining the what if. Mara mostly had a positive impact on games he played in last season, and I thought he had a promising future at UCLA.
Mara has a promising 'present' at Michigan with a coach who understands how to align the game to his players. I cringe to think about how Mich will crush us in their house.
How has Michigan changed their gameplay's from last year to align with the current roster?
did you get an answer on this?
To me a great coach begins with a person who has great character.
Without it, true greatness in anything, is not possible.
Great character leads to great teaching, great development, great fundamentals, great understanding and discernment, and yes, great teams.
No fever here, just pointing out the basic foundational flaw of Cronin.
Coach Wooden had documented his teachings pretty well, didn't he?: https://uclabruins.com/documents/2021/6/22/Pyramid_of_Success_PRINT.pdf
I don't understand how you can get a 5-year extension and a raise for underperforming. It's really aggravating. I'm not an anti-Cronin person, but when you're paying these coaches large sums of money, you'd think they would at least give 50% effort building and maintaining a championship team. I guess these days our illustrious Jelly 2.0 is fine with being a couple of games over .500.
I was also thinking the same thing because the results of HC Cronin's past 2 seasons haven't been spectacular to earn such a reward, especially for the UCLA basketball program. His no NIL/Euro team went 16-17, followed by last season's 23-11 team losing to Tennessee in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament. Is there another Final Four coming soon, or is this just another case of the UCLA adminisration's dysfunction, laziness, and financial incompetence being revealed once again? The jelly donut AD had previously been fine with the football program achieving only 6-8 wins max with a toilet bowl invitation, so are Sweet-16s (or less) now acceptable again for the basketball program? [No Mick Alford, please!]. In any case, as folks are finding out about this secret contract extension, there's going to be even more pressure on him to deliver better results soon.
Re The Extension & Buyout
It's another lazy move by Martin to kick the can down the road, or
Late stage capitalism!
SeahawkBruin, I think you give the current AD too much credit--he'll try to kick the can down the road, but completely miss. [like Charlie Brown]
Correction
SeattleUCLA
Sorry, I thought you were a Seahawk fan! ;-)
Heard you folks had a huge rain dump recently--hope things are better over there.
Ahhh yes!!!! 5 more years of this clown show. Who here is excited for 5 more years of mediocre basketball! You know I sure am. Gib and Evan are excited too! They love crnin and hope he stays forever. He made it to two final fours y'all… get out your checkbooks. Show up to every game possible. It’s not entertaining basketball by any stretch, but you can still find ways to make it fun. How many beers will it take today to not care about the outcome…
Every time ucla plays against a quality team I love thinking to myself… will we lose by 1 basket, or 4 baskets?!?!?!! It’s that thought that keeps me coming back for more… that and the little man charades, foot stomping, questionable rotations, head scratching roster selections. It’s no wonder every big man in the country wants to come to ucla! Why wouldn’t you want to play for a 5’ coach who has no idea how to box out or rebound?!?!! They keep flocking to ucla like the salmon of Capistrano! It’s why they all stick around to play for cronin! Aday Mara, Peyton Watson’s, Aden bona… what a bunch of dummy’s leaving a place at ucla where they could grow under crnin’s tutelage. I still have no idea why those guys left a magical place where they were going to learn so much… look at what they’ve learned since they left.
"The salmon of Capistrano" is Norm Crosby-esque.
Again, he's not 5 foot. You lose credibility by saying that.
The ongoing Cronin/Mara debate continues. Would Mara have changed the outcome of the game? WTF knows? I will repeat my assertion that Mick’s big mistake happened in preseason LAST year when he decided to play Bilodeau at the 5. We had two options at the 5 that were not initially as good as Bilodeau but had a much bigger upside at that position. They were Aday Mara AND William Kyle. What each player needed was playing time. The decision was made to play Bilo which held back the development of Mara and Kyle. So, how would this team look today with two centers that had been able to play more and develop their skills. At a bare minimum, our defense and rim protection would be better by leaps and bounds over where we are now. Trying to predict the outcome of a particular game is foolish.
In the outcome of this game who knows what difference it would make. I do think Mara, bona, and Watson all had good advisors letting them know that crnin would hold back their development instead of grow them into better players. Thats why I think they left… and who would blaim them? Crnin has never developed a big man in his coaching history. EVER
As far as Mara, I think after going home, he may have come to the conclusion he couldn’t trust Cronin to play him more. There was no rhyme or reason to his inconsistent minutes. I don’t think Mick knew how to reach Mara to motivate him. One of my favorite Wooden thoughts is around whether or not you treat all players the same. I think Mick believes in treating them the same. Coach Wooden believed in treating everyone fairly. There’s a
difference.
I think the Mara norovirus/respitory infection tanked the early/mid season chance to develop him. He just never had the lungs for extended minutes.
I recall that was an unfortunate setback for Mara. I suspect that all or most of the Euros who HC Cronin recruited also faced challenging adjustments to being student-athletes in the U.S. and the level of play over here.
3 of the 4 are still playing in the US. Jan Vide is at LMU. Berke is starting for the undefeated Nebraska Cornhuskers and Mara starts for undefeated Michigan. Perhaps they were a bad fit for Mick.
Berke is scoring 7.6pts/game on 41/17/66 splits in 21 minutes per game. I have no doubt he would be getting roasted in the comments here if he was doing that for UCLA.
Let's pump the breaks on Jan Vide. Averaging 15 ppg at LMU in a god awful conference. That probably translates to 3 ppg had he stayed at UCLA. Remember Dom Harris? Also averaged 15 ppg at LMU. Transferred here and average 1 ppg.
Didn’t Bonahave multiple larger NIL offers at other schools this year he came back to play for Mick? And trying get a “gotcha” with Watson who was always going to be a one and done and went in the first round is just laughable.
Peyton Watson was trash when he was here. 30% shooting at UCLA. He's lucky he didn't go undrafted.
Watson was always a 1 and done first rounder.
Adem Bona stayed for his sophomore season and improved his offensive game. I guess it's Cronin's fault that NBA executives noticed his improvement and drafted him. Lmao.
Has Crnin learned from that error?
He is utilizing Xavier, a 4, as a 5, even if out of necessity due to roster construction.
Croninistas say, "He's 6'11" he's a center," and "He's the prototypical center in today's game." Fine, then look at today's game--the Conference and NBA--and make player comparisons and ask yourself whether he's a center.
In the NBA today, centers spread the floor. Multiple college teams have centers like Booker.
Agreed. Mara is actually the oddity as a center that can’t consistently shoot beyond 10 feet from the basket. His height and length will make him still attractive to nba but if he doesn’t develop a better offensive game at Michigan or with an NBA team, his pro careee will most likely be in Europe
If he announced he was not going to play beyond college, nobody would pay attention to him. He averages 10 and 8. Nice, but nothing special. The allure is because he's 7'3'' AND from Europe.
And you have stated that Booker is better than Mara, so you must think that the Bruins have upgraded the team from last year.
What I find hilarious is I am getting made fun of for telling the truth about how modern basketball works. I wonder if the same clowns giving me shit would say the same to Frank Vogel as he won an NBA Championship while using Anthony Davis at center. Davis spread the floor. 6'11" guys who can shoot outside are currently playing center in the same conference that UCLA is in. Steven Crowl last year and Nolan Winter from Wisconsin this year, I believe.
The silliness is stating that Booker is better than Mara. If you’re basing it on the fact that Booker can shoot from outside and Mara can’t, that is ludicrous. By that logic, Bill Laimbeer would be rated above Kareem, Wilt, Shaq, Moses Malone, David Robinson and others. Booker is one of the worst defenders on a mediocre defensive team. The team may actually play better as a unit with Jamerson, especially on D. Opposing teams aren’t afraid of attacking the rim against Booker. They do avoid it against Mara. Mara is a better defender, screen setter, passer and rebounder. There is a lot happening on the court that you miss. Teams can win with bigs that can shoot the 3 and without as well. Your opinion that Booker is an upgrade from Mara is definitely a minority opinion.
Don't care. Mara sucks outside of 10 feet.
35th in defensive efficiency is mediocre now? There's a lot happening in metrics that you miss.
Bill Laimbeer didn't average more points per game than those guys. Do you even check stats? You must have missed my reply but Booker is scoring more per game than Mara. Oops.
Haven't seen him play at UM yet, so looking forward to Mara's "homecoming" at Pauley on Valentine's Day (but why so early at 10am PT?).
Ooops, got that wrong--they're playing at UM on that date, so no wonder the early game time... :-)
Should be an interesting matchup, though.
If Cronin played Mara/kyle and we dropped games because of how raw they looked he would have been raked over the coals here just the same.
That would’ve been very unlikely against the cupcakes on the schedule. We would need then come league. And now we have no interior defense. I think we lose 9 games in league play.
We would’ve won cupcakes last year but it definitely would’ve been 10 point wins like we had this year rather than the 30-40 point wins we had.
I doubt the fan base here would’ve been happy with 10-15 point wins over Boston University, Rider, or Cal State Fullerton.
They better crush Cal Poly and UCR, and beat ASU by a healthy margin.
Don’t know if you read BRO, but Tracy Pierson just published an article worth reading on the state of the program.
Cronin isn’t going anywhere. My prediction is for 9 losses in league and 12 losses overall. I ask the Cronin lovers, would you be happy with a 20-12 regular season followed by not making the Sweet 16?
Donut Head Jelly 2.0 is a special one, isn't he... solidifying a bball dumpster fire for the next several years. We can all delight in mediocre seasons and early tourney exits. Super fun!
Donut Head is an undermining, corrupt, vacant, underhanded fraud. The lack of transparency, and the slimey back room deal making lead me to believe he had nothing to do with the hiring of Chesney...
It was all Meyers, Peters, Roberts, Wassie and Kendricks...
Donut Head was simply present so as not to reveal that either he or the Athletic Dept are entirely unstable, imho.
Late to the "discussion" here so I won't rehash much, but it is curious to me that Jarmond gave an extension to Cronin and the big news was buried and never announced. Why would he do that? Why would he not want to proudly announce he is keeping the head coach who is responsible for building our roster and makes us almost competitive with top 25l teams and gets us to the first couple rounds of the tournament each year? Why wouldn't Jarmond be advertising his prowess from the rooftops?
(those are rhetorical questions so you Croninistas don't need to inject your strawman nonsense here)
The wheels come off the bus next year
(This is what's in the stable, not a starting 5 projection.)
Xavier, BWil and EDJr up front. Freeny and Trent (50/50 he enters the portal, with the odds increasing each week) in the backcourt.
Zero depth.
To date, of 19 offers to the class of '26, only one who has not signed elsewhere has UCLA among his top 5 choices. 3* C Javonte Floyd has committed.
Gotta' hit the portal and Euros hard. Mick will have to overpay to fill the roster. Will big donors continue to throw money for this?
But hopium springs eternal.
OTOH, Mick can prove his chops as a "does more with less" coach.
Which begs the question, why isn't UCLA a destination?
They'll either have to beat Purdue or Michigan to get into the tournament, they need a signature win, otherwise no march in March. Purdue is probably their best bet, Michigan looks to strong, Purdue has some weaknesses, and we have them at home as well.
Ehh, I wouldn't say they need a signature win; that would be more important for a higher seed. I think if they generally win the games they're supposed to win and play competitive losses against better teams, they'll be fine on getting a bid to the tournament. The brand is still pretty strong in the eyes of the college admins who pick the field.
Yes, agreed, the signature win is needed for a decent seed, without it, they may be one and done in the tournament, but like you say if they win the games they are supposed to, they should get in.