Go, Bruins! When they compete like this - win or lose - I can live with it. It’s the fight and competitiveness that’s vital. Still saw a few in-game powder puff moments where the guys were unwilling to sacrifice their body, resulting in Purdue getting the ball or rebound. They need to stop playing like ballerinas and more like WWE wrestlers. That play where Purdue’s
Brandon went sliding across the floor to try and stop a ball from going out of bounds is what we need to see more of from these guys. More of what Cronin told Booker last week - knock someone on their butt. I say play mean and with fury. Great win. Love it
That wasn't a lightbulb for Dent Seau, that was a freakin' Klieg-light that he switched on. Clearly a virtuoso performance worthy of the pre-season hype. It's better late than never if he can come close to duplicating that effort consistently going forward. It would significantly elevate this team's ceiling heading towards March, especially when Sky gets back.
Seems that Coach Wooden didn't allow the Bruins to spoil his night and embarrass themselves against #4 Purdue, but to instead put up a very competitive fight and remain unbeaten at Pauley. Was great to see the $3M Dent and preseason #12 Bruins finally show up for a much-needed, Quad-1 win for frustrated HC Cronin. As in past seasons, it apparently requires a verbal public spanking from him to eventually get the players he recruited (his "free agents" who can't be traded midseason, LOL) to snap out of their lethargic, inconsistent level of play and respond with a greatly improved performance. And although he isn't allowed to complain about the SBTRs in the postgame interview, he did take the opportunity to blast the Big-10 folks for UCLA's brutal road scheduling up to now and the reduced time to prepare for Purdue (valid points that he wants addressed). Hope the Bruins can sustain their momentum, but the bench was a complete no-show and absolutely needs to step up their level of competitiveness and contributions as well.
I agree that the B10 scheduling for UCLA should be called out. It should be the AD's job, because when Cronin does it, it shifts a lot of the coverage of last night game to his comments and not the actual game itself. But we all know the AD is asleep at the wheel.
I actually like that HC Cronin calls attention to things at the administrative level because he isn't the type to beat around the bush and wait for the current AD to take the initiative and do anything impactful on his own to support the basketball program.
Mentioned this late in the game thread. I had to run an errand last night and had to listen to the Purdue feed on the satellite radio. While the two were no Lewin and Murray, it was an interesting experience. Some takeaways were they too were frustrated by some of the officiating. They were very complimentary of the crowd and mentioned the venue repeatedly. In no way did they disrespect the Bruin players, high praise for the level of play. They were convinced that Dent was going to the critical shot at the end, but it turned out to be Bilo. Oh and I heard a lot of tractor and farm equipment ads. That was a new one!
Better to keep that farm equipment away from the Bruins so they don't go digging themselves into any more deep holes at the start of games... ;-) It sure didn't look good when they fell behind 27-15 with 7:24 remaining in the 1st half, but I'm sure Coach Wooden was smiling when the Bruins fought back and Dent hit that Don Nelson shot to tie it at halftime. Luckily, that 3-pointer at the end of the game didn't go in for Purdue!
"That 3-pointer at the end of the game." B4E, why is it at the end of big games when we take a lead with 8 seconds or less, the opposition gets a quality last shot? Didn't the two NCAA defeats to the Zags and those couple of years when SC did it to us at the end of games teach us that we have to handle that situation differently? Maybe some back court pressure to delay the ball getting to the front court? Something. We need to focus some attention to end of game scenarios.
Yes, despite all of the great efforts to emphasize and play tough defense during a game, it's those heartbreaking, game-losing shots at the buzzer that seem to continually plague HC Cronin in tight games. Not sure why those situations still aren't being handled better, either. I know he wants his players to avoid committing a foul with only 6,6 seconds left and the game on the line, but I agree, maybe he should consider applying inbounds and/or backcourt pressure to help kill some clock instead of allowing Smith to quickly dribble up the court and giving Cox a decent look at a 3-pointer to win it with at least 3 seconds still remaining. But again, this was Coach Wooden's night, so that shot wasn't going to go in this time... :-)
During the speeches at halftime, one of Wooden's grandchildren said (paraphrased): "He would have hated the bobbleheads, but his grandkids love them, so he probably would have gotten over it."
Excellent win, but now we need to keep up this momentum!
Our next 5 games should all be wins. 4 at home, away is at a bad Oregon team. Our only tough game is against an up and down Indiana team (they've lost four in a row).
But where the heck were these players all season? They are getting paid a lot more than most of us fans, and they readily admit their competitive greatness was missing, but why? No excuses, not travel, not road games, none!
I had lost all faith. But if this team can sustain this level of play, with better rebounding of course, then we have a chance to dance.
When Skyy returns, our level of toughness will be even greater.
Don't worry, there is a huge stockpile of unused hopium this season, and expect that HC Cronin will continue to be relentless with his "free agents". Remember, anti-Cronin fever is curable!
Is he a tactician or a heart surgeon? Because that team that was playing after the 13 minute mark of the first half (as pointed out by B4E) and for the rest of the game, played with grit and sheer will. Those guys last night were warriors.
That was the most fun game I've watched in a long long time, just in terms of the sustained effort and execution from our guys. Kudos to the team and coaches for putting that one out there last night. It took great performances from multiple players and a consistent defensive effort and execution by the team for 40 mins, and we usually don't have everything clicking like that at once, but it was great to see what we have believed U.C.L.A. Basketball can be.
It does beg the question as to where that performance has been all year (and for the last 2+ years as well). There is no doubt that Cronin is an effective coach when he has a roster that fits and buys into his style, but his recruiting/retention, team building, and offensive systems have never been complete. Last night the offense stayed productive and never went into the seemingly inevitable 6-8 minute scoring slumps that have doomed so many previous games and it was clearly Dent's play that was the difference. After the opening few minutes, he consistently attacked the paint to create his own scoring chances or drew the defense to him leaving shooters open on the perimeter or cutters going to the basket. I asked in the thread whether this was him feeling healthy or him feeling confident (and Matt rightly noted those two often go together), but the other part is that maybe Purdue didn't have a guy who could cut off that initial drive inside and Dent had a great mismatch. Either way, it was a pretty fundamental change on the offensive end from the usual lob-the-ball-around-the-perimeter-until-the-shot-clock-is-low-and-then-play-desperate-iso-ball. Hopefully we can see that continue from Dent, and from either Tyler or Clark for some minutes so Dent isn't having to carry that load for 39 minutes every game.
And a final old-man-yelling-at-clouds moment, I didn't like seeing the students on the court after that game. In accordance with our program's elite tradition and standards, you didn't go on the court for a midseason home win over just a #4 team. Rushing the court was for beating a #1 or winning a conference title. We don't hang Sweet 16 banners in Pauley. I get it's a different time for both the kids and for our program, but act like you've been there before - and that you plan on being there again.
I am definitely Team Storm the Court. College should be fun and we should be encouraging students to become lifelong fans, so why bar them from doing something that every other fanbase is able to do? Telling a bunch of kids they can’t do something because of “tradition” or whatever isn’t a good way to build a persistent fanbase.
Kind of funny GBR, you offered inciteful comments, and all replies just grab on to your last paragraph about Storming the court/field. So, I will pile on here......I have to admit as both a player and a fan, storming the court/field was pretty cool, unless you were the visitors....then you had to hit the locker room (or the parking lot and your car) asap. I think all of this scrutiny started when kids were seriously injured from falling goal posts; and I think some "crushing" incident injured a number of kids who tried to storm the field in Wisconsin and were pushed against barriers put up to prevent such actions. School and league liability issues ended most of that activity. Now, schools get fined by the league for such behavior. In our game, however, it seemed the players needed to see that kind of reaction from the fans in response to their play, especially given the mausoleum-like attendance they have witnessed up to this point at Pauley.
No probs to everyone above. All I said is I didn't like it myself. I also said I understand it's a different era for students and the program and I never said to bar them from doing that. But I guess reading is hard and everyone has different standards. No worries. Onward.
Terrific piece on how Cronin's schematic adjustmentsreally showed through. The defensive gameplan against Braden Smith was brilliant, especially having Booker step up with length when Purdue hunted switches. I'veseen similar tactics work in playoff games but dunno if UCLA has consistently executed like this before. The post-doubling math made total sense even when it looked risky.
A judge has ordered the NCAA to allow a former Alabama player who signed a two-way contract in the NBA to rejoin Alabama. He has signed an NBA contract and played in the G-league but has not played in the NBA.
Should UCLA also go hunting for failed NBA players who might contribute? On the one hand, I dont want our school to contribute to the death of college basketball. On the other hand, adhering to a rule that nobody else seems to be following might put UCLA at a further disadvantage. We could use a wing like Amari Bailey but he has already appeared in an NBA game.
UConn's AD has an interesting suggestion - if a judge forces the NCAA to grant eligibility to failed NBA players, the NCAA does not need to count the games that the players is in towards the overall record.
With their average salary of around $40,500 for the five-month season, the Bruins definitely should scour the G League to acquire instant age and experience at a bargain price.
My question for the NCAA: What is the duration of time to determine "failure" in the NBA?
Amari is 21, turning 22 in a couple of weeks. It's not a stretch.
Tyger is out of eligibility. But it seems that NCAA rules are words on paper that can't be upheld, or should be tested. if Tyger can get enrolled, then he should play. Why would that be prohibited?
Actually SeaU, I was half joking and wanted to reference his present team's name due to its "uniqueness," however, since you mentioned it, if I recall correctly, Tyger did have a "Covid-year" of eligibility left when he departed from the team to go into the draft.
I've read conflicting info on whether the covid year is forfeited if not used immediately. It might be use it or lose it. Piling on, it's funny that claiming a covid year could be more scrutinized than an athlete playing professionally, with regard to their college eligibility. I'm not a fan of this era. Oh, for the days of exploitation!
Go, Bruins! When they compete like this - win or lose - I can live with it. It’s the fight and competitiveness that’s vital. Still saw a few in-game powder puff moments where the guys were unwilling to sacrifice their body, resulting in Purdue getting the ball or rebound. They need to stop playing like ballerinas and more like WWE wrestlers. That play where Purdue’s
Brandon went sliding across the floor to try and stop a ball from going out of bounds is what we need to see more of from these guys. More of what Cronin told Booker last week - knock someone on their butt. I say play mean and with fury. Great win. Love it
Wonderful write-up, DD.
#4 Boiler Makers eh? Way cool!
...now do this for the rest of the season!
😁👍🏻
I'm hopiuming that this is the lightbulb-on game.
That wasn't a lightbulb for Dent Seau, that was a freakin' Klieg-light that he switched on. Clearly a virtuoso performance worthy of the pre-season hype. It's better late than never if he can come close to duplicating that effort consistently going forward. It would significantly elevate this team's ceiling heading towards March, especially when Sky gets back.
I think this game provides further evidence that the Bruins will go as far as the $3M man is willing to carry them.
Seems that Coach Wooden didn't allow the Bruins to spoil his night and embarrass themselves against #4 Purdue, but to instead put up a very competitive fight and remain unbeaten at Pauley. Was great to see the $3M Dent and preseason #12 Bruins finally show up for a much-needed, Quad-1 win for frustrated HC Cronin. As in past seasons, it apparently requires a verbal public spanking from him to eventually get the players he recruited (his "free agents" who can't be traded midseason, LOL) to snap out of their lethargic, inconsistent level of play and respond with a greatly improved performance. And although he isn't allowed to complain about the SBTRs in the postgame interview, he did take the opportunity to blast the Big-10 folks for UCLA's brutal road scheduling up to now and the reduced time to prepare for Purdue (valid points that he wants addressed). Hope the Bruins can sustain their momentum, but the bench was a complete no-show and absolutely needs to step up their level of competitiveness and contributions as well.
Go Bruins!
I agree that the B10 scheduling for UCLA should be called out. It should be the AD's job, because when Cronin does it, it shifts a lot of the coverage of last night game to his comments and not the actual game itself. But we all know the AD is asleep at the wheel.
the donut is a wheel without the strength of spokes or a core 🤣
I actually like that HC Cronin calls attention to things at the administrative level because he isn't the type to beat around the bush and wait for the current AD to take the initiative and do anything impactful on his own to support the basketball program.
Cronin realizes by now that he has to say it because no one else in the department is going to.
Goes back to Jelly 1.0. I complained about the scheduling. Their response was that they had no control over scheduling.
"that it lacked the competitive temperament needed on a nightly basis to win at the level UCLA fans expect of their program."
Yes it was good to see the effort tonight last for two halves. Great game, Bruins!
Thanks for the morning after cheer, Dmitri!
Mentioned this late in the game thread. I had to run an errand last night and had to listen to the Purdue feed on the satellite radio. While the two were no Lewin and Murray, it was an interesting experience. Some takeaways were they too were frustrated by some of the officiating. They were very complimentary of the crowd and mentioned the venue repeatedly. In no way did they disrespect the Bruin players, high praise for the level of play. They were convinced that Dent was going to the critical shot at the end, but it turned out to be Bilo. Oh and I heard a lot of tractor and farm equipment ads. That was a new one!
Better to keep that farm equipment away from the Bruins so they don't go digging themselves into any more deep holes at the start of games... ;-) It sure didn't look good when they fell behind 27-15 with 7:24 remaining in the 1st half, but I'm sure Coach Wooden was smiling when the Bruins fought back and Dent hit that Don Nelson shot to tie it at halftime. Luckily, that 3-pointer at the end of the game didn't go in for Purdue!
For those who aren't subscribed to the Peacock network, NBC posted a nice recap of the game on YouTube--I've viewed it several times already... :-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lxmLrV67Pw
"That 3-pointer at the end of the game." B4E, why is it at the end of big games when we take a lead with 8 seconds or less, the opposition gets a quality last shot? Didn't the two NCAA defeats to the Zags and those couple of years when SC did it to us at the end of games teach us that we have to handle that situation differently? Maybe some back court pressure to delay the ball getting to the front court? Something. We need to focus some attention to end of game scenarios.
Yes, despite all of the great efforts to emphasize and play tough defense during a game, it's those heartbreaking, game-losing shots at the buzzer that seem to continually plague HC Cronin in tight games. Not sure why those situations still aren't being handled better, either. I know he wants his players to avoid committing a foul with only 6,6 seconds left and the game on the line, but I agree, maybe he should consider applying inbounds and/or backcourt pressure to help kill some clock instead of allowing Smith to quickly dribble up the court and giving Cox a decent look at a 3-pointer to win it with at least 3 seconds still remaining. But again, this was Coach Wooden's night, so that shot wasn't going to go in this time... :-)
Good thing he was always a forgiving person......Once he saw that bobble-head, he could have easily walked over to the Purdue side.
During the speeches at halftime, one of Wooden's grandchildren said (paraphrased): "He would have hated the bobbleheads, but his grandkids love them, so he probably would have gotten over it."
Excellent win, but now we need to keep up this momentum!
Our next 5 games should all be wins. 4 at home, away is at a bad Oregon team. Our only tough game is against an up and down Indiana team (they've lost four in a row).
Soooo happy we won! 💙💛💙💛
But where the heck were these players all season? They are getting paid a lot more than most of us fans, and they readily admit their competitive greatness was missing, but why? No excuses, not travel, not road games, none!
I had lost all faith. But if this team can sustain this level of play, with better rebounding of course, then we have a chance to dance.
When Skyy returns, our level of toughness will be even greater.
Go Bruins!!! 💙💛💙💛
Maybe the players had been too busy counting and spending their NIL money? Hope they avoid a letdown and don't regress against NW on Saturday.
If they regress in any of the remaining games, then my hopium is gone 💯 and I will be back to repeating all the problems with Cronin 🤣
Don't worry, there is a huge stockpile of unused hopium this season, and expect that HC Cronin will continue to be relentless with his "free agents". Remember, anti-Cronin fever is curable!
[Note: I'm not a doctor.]
I will never be a fan of Cronin... his personality grates on me and too many losses and inflexibility. He's not a great coach or recruiter.
But if he stops using the non-standard 'ain't' that would help ease the fever ever so slightly 🤣
Vintage Cronin win
Is he a tactician or a heart surgeon? Because that team that was playing after the 13 minute mark of the first half (as pointed out by B4E) and for the rest of the game, played with grit and sheer will. Those guys last night were warriors.
Bilo must be walking on air today. With great modesty, he credited his teammates.
Mick, too, was very mindful. "Coaches don't win games. Players win games."
That was the most fun game I've watched in a long long time, just in terms of the sustained effort and execution from our guys. Kudos to the team and coaches for putting that one out there last night. It took great performances from multiple players and a consistent defensive effort and execution by the team for 40 mins, and we usually don't have everything clicking like that at once, but it was great to see what we have believed U.C.L.A. Basketball can be.
It does beg the question as to where that performance has been all year (and for the last 2+ years as well). There is no doubt that Cronin is an effective coach when he has a roster that fits and buys into his style, but his recruiting/retention, team building, and offensive systems have never been complete. Last night the offense stayed productive and never went into the seemingly inevitable 6-8 minute scoring slumps that have doomed so many previous games and it was clearly Dent's play that was the difference. After the opening few minutes, he consistently attacked the paint to create his own scoring chances or drew the defense to him leaving shooters open on the perimeter or cutters going to the basket. I asked in the thread whether this was him feeling healthy or him feeling confident (and Matt rightly noted those two often go together), but the other part is that maybe Purdue didn't have a guy who could cut off that initial drive inside and Dent had a great mismatch. Either way, it was a pretty fundamental change on the offensive end from the usual lob-the-ball-around-the-perimeter-until-the-shot-clock-is-low-and-then-play-desperate-iso-ball. Hopefully we can see that continue from Dent, and from either Tyler or Clark for some minutes so Dent isn't having to carry that load for 39 minutes every game.
And a final old-man-yelling-at-clouds moment, I didn't like seeing the students on the court after that game. In accordance with our program's elite tradition and standards, you didn't go on the court for a midseason home win over just a #4 team. Rushing the court was for beating a #1 or winning a conference title. We don't hang Sweet 16 banners in Pauley. I get it's a different time for both the kids and for our program, but act like you've been there before - and that you plan on being there again.
I am definitely Team Storm the Court. College should be fun and we should be encouraging students to become lifelong fans, so why bar them from doing something that every other fanbase is able to do? Telling a bunch of kids they can’t do something because of “tradition” or whatever isn’t a good way to build a persistent fanbase.
There has been one trip past the Sweet 16 since the current freshman were born. God forbid the students enjoy themselves.
I am THE "Get Off My Lawn!" curmudgeon, but I disagree with you here, g.
Kind of funny GBR, you offered inciteful comments, and all replies just grab on to your last paragraph about Storming the court/field. So, I will pile on here......I have to admit as both a player and a fan, storming the court/field was pretty cool, unless you were the visitors....then you had to hit the locker room (or the parking lot and your car) asap. I think all of this scrutiny started when kids were seriously injured from falling goal posts; and I think some "crushing" incident injured a number of kids who tried to storm the field in Wisconsin and were pushed against barriers put up to prevent such actions. School and league liability issues ended most of that activity. Now, schools get fined by the league for such behavior. In our game, however, it seemed the players needed to see that kind of reaction from the fans in response to their play, especially given the mausoleum-like attendance they have witnessed up to this point at Pauley.
No probs to everyone above. All I said is I didn't like it myself. I also said I understand it's a different era for students and the program and I never said to bar them from doing that. But I guess reading is hard and everyone has different standards. No worries. Onward.
Just saw an "ad" from UCLA athletics, announcing that Coach Chesney will be at the 12/31 home game vs Indiana!
Terrific piece on how Cronin's schematic adjustmentsreally showed through. The defensive gameplan against Braden Smith was brilliant, especially having Booker step up with length when Purdue hunted switches. I'veseen similar tactics work in playoff games but dunno if UCLA has consistently executed like this before. The post-doubling math made total sense even when it looked risky.
A judge has ordered the NCAA to allow a former Alabama player who signed a two-way contract in the NBA to rejoin Alabama. He has signed an NBA contract and played in the G-league but has not played in the NBA.
Should UCLA also go hunting for failed NBA players who might contribute? On the one hand, I dont want our school to contribute to the death of college basketball. On the other hand, adhering to a rule that nobody else seems to be following might put UCLA at a further disadvantage. We could use a wing like Amari Bailey but he has already appeared in an NBA game.
UConn's AD has an interesting suggestion - if a judge forces the NCAA to grant eligibility to failed NBA players, the NCAA does not need to count the games that the players is in towards the overall record.
Why stop with amari bailey? Let's call up lonzo ball or Kevin Love 🤣
Kevin love might not be able to keep up with them young’ins
Right now we want Peyton Watson. That kid is on fire.
With their average salary of around $40,500 for the five-month season, the Bruins definitely should scour the G League to acquire instant age and experience at a bargain price.
My question for the NCAA: What is the duration of time to determine "failure" in the NBA?
Amari is 21, turning 22 in a couple of weeks. It's not a stretch.
When Dent graduates after the season, let's get Tyger back from the Tasmania JackJumpers (Australian League). He's getting about $225K.
Tyger is out of eligibility. But it seems that NCAA rules are words on paper that can't be upheld, or should be tested. if Tyger can get enrolled, then he should play. Why would that be prohibited?
Actually SeaU, I was half joking and wanted to reference his present team's name due to its "uniqueness," however, since you mentioned it, if I recall correctly, Tyger did have a "Covid-year" of eligibility left when he departed from the team to go into the draft.
I've read conflicting info on whether the covid year is forfeited if not used immediately. It might be use it or lose it. Piling on, it's funny that claiming a covid year could be more scrutinized than an athlete playing professionally, with regard to their college eligibility. I'm not a fan of this era. Oh, for the days of exploitation!
Really, Mick must do all possible to retain Trent Perry, or else UCLA is s.o.l.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/47707398/ncaa-approves-uniform-patches-opening-new-revenue-streams
Just saw that UCLA can now get uniform patch sponsors to "support" our athletic department
Player introductions be like, "And now, the starting lineup for the UCLA brought to you by Con Agra Bruins."
I mean, the head coaching position is already endowed…
If NASCAR suited players with corporate sponsorship can lighten the burden from individuals and taxpayers, then I'm all for it
All of Cal athletics need a patch and introduction saying brought to you by UCLA!
🤣