There have been times this season where I’ve been frustrated watching the UCLA Bruins because the offense was sorely lacking, or the defensive effort was not there. There were times I was frustrated because of a few mental lapses that took them out of a game indicative of a young team, or times when it appeared for all intents and purposes that the team had quit. That was not the case in this game.
In this case, UCLA went blow for blow with a very good Washington State team on the road, and it ultimately did not matter because the Pac-12 referees decided that they would not be allowed to play the game, as the Bruins fell to the Cougars 77-65.
Let me get something out of the way first: Washington State played well enough to win this game on their own. The Cougs have been an excellent team this year, spurred on by the stellar play of Myles Rice, and for the record, if you don’t know Rice’s story by now, you owe it to yourself to stop reading this and go look it up. Short version: Rice was thrown a scholarship offer by Kyle Smith’s staff during the pandemic despite never seeing him play, which was his only Power Five offer, redshirted a year, and then before he made his debut was diagnosed with a form of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He beat cancer and made his debut this year, and will almost-assuredly win Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. In this game, Rice was solid if unspectacular, scoring 18 points on 8-15 shooting, while Jaylen Wells went off for 27 points on 7-16 from the field. The Cougs outrebounded UCLA by a ridiculous 39-24 margin, and constantly put themselves in the right position. It’s a well-coached squad riding a surge of momentum in front of their largest home crowd of the season, which was always going to be a tough ask for this squad.
But at the same time, good lord the refereeing in this game was awful. UCLA was called for 24 fouls compared to only 13 by Washington State, which is bad enough, but the disparity in the style of foul calls was ridiculous as well, as UCLA was not allowed to be physical in the slightest while Washington State was allowed to. Nothing signified that more than Adem Bona, who did commit his usual bevy of dumb fouls in this game, but picked up a few fouls for simply being more athletic than the people around him and a fifth foul that he got for simply standing still while the offensive player ran into him. Or consider the flagrant foul called on Will McClendon, who got held trying to go around a screen and instead was called for a low blow that completely changed the momentum of the game late. And that does not even get into the free throw disparity - Washington State got to the line a ridiculous 33 times and converted 24 of them while UCLA only got 11 free throw attempts.
That’s the game right there because outside of the officiating UCLA played more than good enough to win this game. UCLA shot over 50% from the field for most of the game while holding Washington State to 41.8% shooting. The three-point shooting was close as well, with Washington State making one more deep shot than the Bruins on four more attempts. UCLA had some scoring lulls but, then again, so did Washington State, because that’s how basketball works. At the end of the day, UCLA played well enough to win this game, but they were never going to be able to with a referee crew this objectively bad.
I’m trying to save some more general thoughts I have for the end-of-season wrap, but I’ll leave you guys with this: after the Washington loss, Mick Cronin stated that the rest of the season would essentially be open tryouts to see who would stick around next year. Based on this game alone, there are clearly some guys who want to be part of next year’s squad, while there are some guys who I can see Cronin moving on from. One of those guys who feels like he will stick around if he so chooses, however, is Aday Mara, and not just due to need. I think Cronin has been doing an interesting job of trying to protect him in more recent games as he continues to show positive development, and ultimately I think it’s a positive. I understand the idea of playing him more minutes, especially as we continue to be haunted by continued minutes from Kenny Nwuba, but Mara is not ready for a huge chunk of minutes, and for his development path, it is helpful to continue putting good things on tape so that he can build off that. It’s better than I can say for some of the other Euros brought over this past offseason.
(Ok, one actual last thing: I also watched the women’s game at the same time, and this was a weirdly-frustrating blowout win for the Bruins, who ran a shorthanded Arizona squad out of its own gym but could not stop committing turnovers. This was a textbook example of out-talenting an opponent, but I would have loved UCLA to show more control throughout.)
Go Bruins.
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any team coached by Mick is capable of ripping off a few in the conference tourney. but winning it is probably out of the question now that a bye seems impossible.
Imagine telling your college players that what they do moving forward will determine whether or not their one year salaried contract will be re-newed. Such is our world.
Coach Cronin telling his players that they'll be fighting to remain on the team next season seems to be a final attempt to motivate his team to play better and get them out of its current slump. It actually doesn't sound too different from what they would face in the NBA or other professional league. More experience helps, but definitely need to see more aggressiveness and toughness out of whoever is on the roster next season.
The season isn't over yet, which is why I consider it a last warning for those at risk. We'll see who's a keeper at the end of the season, of course. The transfer portal is also opening in 2 weeks.
I am not saying that Harrick was a great coach. He was a good coach with amazing players. He had a great great team in 1994-95 with the O'Bannon bros, Tyus, George, Toby and JR. When you watch how those players passed, their quickness and vision, and discipline and respect, it was like a ballet.
They were great shooters and great defenders. They worked hard. They were relentless in their will to win George was not a natural athlete or shooter but with unbelievable dedication, he became great. Toby and JR were both freshmen and huge contributors - youth was never ever mentioned. There were no shooting droughts over and over again or Bona like unnecessary fouls over and over again.
There was great offense. There was great defense. There was great character. And as unpolished as Harrick was at times, I do not recall him publicly shaming his players, calling them inept and stupid. That team made Wooden proud.
Imho, the problems this season are not just on the surface. They run deeper and it is difficult to know the extent of those issues, who should take the majority of blame, and who can resolve those issues. Some are squarely on Cronin. Some are on the players. Some may be beyond anyone's control. But regardless, the result is a mess.
1995 is a distant memory and not sure my dusty old VHS tape of that game is still any good. Sad coincidence that the Ed O'Bannon vs. NCAA lawsuit became the precursor to today's situation with NIL and that UCLA hasn't won a championship since then...
A mediocre season is a bitter pill to swallow and the resulting disappointment is genuine, but I think comparing that great team to the current coach and players seems unfair and only makes you feel worse. Perhaps a dose of "hopium" and an unexpected upset against the Mildcats on Thursday will help ease some of the pain? :-)
Oh man... I was there at the Final Four with my mom - we had seats 20 rows up. It was unbelievable joy at that time 😊💙💛
Yes, Ed O certainly did an injustice to college basketball. It's hard to believe that he didn't account for the likelihood of greed and corruption taking over and ruining so much about college basketball and football.
I guess my biggest point with the comparison is under Cronin he seems to make offense an afterthought and we simply have never had teams that score a lot of points consistently. Even last season the team went through a ton of scoring droughts and we would end up behind and need a huge rally by Tyger, JJJ and Singleton or Clark to save us.
A win against zona and asu could indeed dole out enough hopium to think we might have a chance to win the Tourney - which I am sure will leave me suffering more 🤣
In each of Cronin's first 3 seasons, our offense was rated higher than our defense in efficiency. Last year it was lower, at 21st in the nation vs #2 defense. This years offense obviously has struggled, but people need to quit confusing slow with bad. Cronin's offense have had good to elite execution before this year.
I can't imagine the BIG putting up with the level of ineptitude of the SPTRs. The Midwest is packed with physical play and great teams. I would imagine the BIG refs are on a higher level. However... I temper my thought with the fact that it would not take much to be on a higher level than the SPTRs.
Meh… this loss left me completely emotionless. I’ve settled into the throw away season. If this was a tryout for the team game, that’s pretty sad for next year. The only thing I’m excited for is to see who is smart enough to leave. I’ve learned not to get excited about transfers or last minute signees. Aday Mara will be the starting center no doubt… Ugg. The charmin soft bruins of 2024-25
what has Mara shown you that suggests he will start next year? He's certainly not starting if Bona does not go to the NBA. He shouldn't even be getting the minutes he's getting this year. He and Vide are 2 year projects at least.
Oh gosh… you act like I’m the one blaming this season on the players. I thought everyone else would be just as excited to see which of these awful players leaves.
It will be a lot more quiet in these threads once I’m gone…. There won’t be anyone left to point out cronins warts. Just a bunch of bobbling heads talking about how awful the players are instead
So it’s ok for people to hate on chipster but not cronin? I think it’s ok to have different opinions of the coaches and staff than others. I don’t live in the euphoric state that many here do with the confidence that cronin can replicate last year again and again. Just like Alford had his magical season, so did Cronin. He won’t reproduce last season again. As for the final 4 run, I’ve said many times that I thought it was a fluke because the body of that season was not comparable to the tournament. UCLA had a good tournament run after BARELY MAKING THE TOURNAMENT!!!! That’s not a representation of a good season. It’s a representation of a coach that went on a lucky streak at the end of the season
On the flip side, what does that make last season, where UCLA was one of the 2-3 best teams in the country all year before two major injuries derailed things in the last week of the season?
I have said multiple times that last year was a phenomenal year for cronin. It was a great season. Alford had one of those as well with a few injuries of their own and also lost in the sweet 16. It’s a feat that alford has not repeated and probably never will. I don’t think this time with this coach is different.
Yes, last season was a good team with a set of players that all went to the nba. There’s nothing in the current state of ucla basketball that leads me to believe cronin can repeat that. Blame it on the nil if you want, but the future of ucla basketball looks marginally better than this year at BEST
You’re so cute… Cronin isn’t capable of a 30-1 season. Do you watch basketball? Only elite programs are capable of that occurring in a season every 6-10 years these days (Kentucky, Gonzaga, butler, did I miss one?). UCLA isn’t elite and neither is Cronin, so we won’t have to worry about that now will we. Cronin should probably start by targeting less than 15 losses a season before he sets out for an undefeated season don’t you think? If you’re hoping for a 30-1 year, you should start cheering for another coach
the joke just went way over you're head. Look, Cronin is objectively an excellent coach. If he became available, every big name school in the country with a vacancy would have him at the top of its list. Your denial of that just exposes your blind hatred of the man.
Those are not blue blood schools. Those programs are also mediocre, don’t recruit as well these days and are expected to be mediocre aside from a good team every 5 years or so. If by stupid you mean that they expect mick to come in and have a good season every year, then yes that would be stupid. If by stupid they expect top 10 recruiting classes, yes that would be stupid. If by stupid they think cronin will land 3-4 transfers every year, yes that would be stupid. I don’t think those programs expect a competitive team every year, or top 10 recruiting classes, or 1-2 5 star recruits each year, or a lot of transfers dying to come play for cronin every year… so no, I don’t think they would be stupid to try and hire mick. Just like Nevada wasn’t stupid to hire Alford. He’s a good fit for their program. He’s a defense first coach and Ohio state and Louisville have historically been defense minded programs. UCLA was once an entertaining flashy program that all the super athletic scoring players wanted to attend. Now it’s home to defense minded slow tempo players that don’t know how to run an offensive set geared towards their strengths. It’s home to super freak athleticism that gets one rebound a game because they still don’t know how to box out….
For what it’s worth, another post game write up without a single coaching critique. I’m confused. Did ucla lose by 12? The entirety of the loss was reffing this time? Come on… you can only blame the reffing so many times before it starts to get worn out. For every 12 point loss there is at least one thing that the coaching team did poorly on. But not here… this coaching squad is flawless
Looks like we have another cronin apologist on our hands. It’s ok, your personal attacks won’t get me down. It’s funny that I’ve got you so riled up. You should be focused on the current state and trajectory of ucla basketball. I feel like that’s a little more valid place for your anger. Like I said, I’m not even angry anymore. Nothing left to be angry about, ucla is meeting my expectations these days
My friend, we are all passionate bruin fans. This is a difficult season for everyone. I know you want to see our team achieve well and we all do. Our words become heated, our temper flares even as our team continues to struggle, all to no avail. Shall we all take a break. Come hell or high water, let Cronin and his staff cope and resolve the issues as best they can. They are paid well and contractually bound to deal with the mounting problems. We don't and our bickering won't help the matter at all. Fair ???
Even Cronin said after the game “our frontline has to be better on the glass”…. Almost every other story in this game talked about it as well. No mention of the rebounding disparity by anyone so far… I mean, I thought everyone wanted this team to get better. I thought you all said I don’t watch basketball. I thought I’m just a hater. I wish there was some objectivity around here. There are always some learning takeaways in a 12 point loss… just look to the guy you so highly praise. Even he can see some faults in his own game planning
Wow! Cronin clearly talked about the rebounding problem in his presser--what more to say but the hater here is not satisfied with that. Objectivity from the guy who stated last week that he hated Cronin from the day he was hired and confirmed that he goes home, looks in the mirror and says "I hate you".
When did you get your degree from UCLA? Sure did not improve the grey matter in your head.
UCLA4EVER... I really like you and think you are a good person Baskets is also a good person who is very frustrated with the coaching and the players.
I have been repeatedly attacked by Evan because I don't agree with him but thankfully he has backed off and I have even given him a like on a comment he made.
We all have super strong opinions but we all love UCLA and I hope we can at least be respectful to each other regardless of our views on what the issues are on our team and with coaching.
Hello Tamara. I have always tried to be respectful of all opinions but I must respectfully disagree with your thoughts about Baskets. I do not know why you think he is a "good" person--do you know him personally or like the rest of us, just by his words? That being said, I read his comments about "hating" Cronin, Howland and others and IMHO that is not what a "good" person says. You can opine about a coach's abilities or lack thereof but that is far different from expressing hate towards someone. The thing that broke the camel's back for me is when he posted he would be "excited" to see all the players leave the program--something, that would be disastrous to UCLA athletics. To me, this goes beyond "opinion", this is just plain nasty spirited, and needs to be called out, nothing less. That is why I told him I would be "excited" for him to leave the comment board. I guess we will just need to agree to disagree.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful response I do value your perspective and yes, if all the players left it would be disastrous and I would never ever want that to happen. I have never met Baskets or Evan, so you are correct, I truly don't know them. I guess I believe that Baskets deep down means well and cares despite the harshness of his comments. Much love 💙💛
Tamara, Baskets is a little bit of an internet troll. He rarely shows up on wins, but always shows up on losses to talk crap. This season has sucked, that's for sure. Hopefully next season is much better.
Guess I was fooled - wouldn't be the first time. I have always tried to see the good in people and aometimes I get it wrong. I do hope we have a much better season next year 💙💛
And for the record, my objectivity in wanting cronin gone before he started was due to his coaching track record. He’s a defense minded coach that had limited results in the tournament and above average results at a mid major school before coming to ucla. Aside from cronins ‘’moral standards”, his actual coaching record is pretty comparable to a guy like Steve Alford who has also had above average success at mid major schools. I truly believe that his historical average is going to catch up with him. The next few seasons will look a lot more like this season than last in my opinion.
So, you did not answer. When did you (or not) graduate from UCLA. You call it "objectivity" wanting someone gone before he even starts? I am thinking that the only team that would meet your definition of "entertainment", men or ladies, would be the Harlem Globetrotters.
But why don't you just say you don't like the defensive minded philosophy. Instead you say it can't work but that is obviously demonstrably false. People might actually listen to you if you just said he's not your style. But the guy is a great coach and you can't deny that without looking like someone who just does't know the game.
Only "good" thing about NOT A BRUIN BASKETS is that he admitted he/she is not a UCLA alumni so his trolling nonsense is not indicative of a fine UCLA educational institution.
Again, I still don’t know how everyone in here thinks he’s a “great” coach. He had one great season, one good season, and two mediocre seasons with ucla so far.
I don’t think the defensive minded philosophy can’t work. It DOES work for programs like Virginia where Tony Bennett has demonstrated that it can. But that program is definitely not a brand that sells in a city like LA.
Also, Tony Bennett IS a GREAT coach because he has consistently done well with his brand of basketball at Virginia. The MOST single season losses his program has had at Virginia is 16 and that happened during his first head coaching season. If ucla loses to Arizona this week, then cronin will already have exceeded Tony Bennett worst season, done so in his 4th season with ucla, and with recruits that are arguably ranked higher than most teams that Bennett has worked with in the past… all that in a tougher conference than the pac-12 to boot! So yeah, I’m not pegging cronin as a “great” coach after one great season with a bunch of nba bound players at a school that should recruit for itself. Cronin is mediocre, has not had as much success as other truly great coaches, and does less with better players than other similar minded coaches at other programs.
In a media appearance today Cronin showed great compassion for his players and took full responsibility for the way things have gone this season. He was very supportive of Will and how heartbroken Will was as the truth is... Will did not commit a flagrant 2 foul. He also said that his players have basically been giving their all, all season and they are great kids who essentially can be great players with experience.
Now juxtapose Cronin today against the Cronin who said...
He didn't care how Will felt re: flagrant, during his interview with Josh and Tracy post the Wazzu game. And when he publicly shamed his players as having low IQ and stated they would not improve. And when he was going to put them through tryouts to see who deserved to stay on the team.
Death, taxes (thanks Garrido for the Ben Franklin phrase), double digit lead, collapse and another loss are certainties this year. CMC's trademarks of season improvement and primed-for-March are sorely absent.
Sea, I knew I could count on you to reassure me of the things we can consistently count on 🤣 but Cronin's flip flops I suppose will remain a mystery on the consistency scale.
It’s also quite comical that he held tryouts and his only true 5 star nba bound recruit had 1 REBOUND!!!! Many in here keep talking about how he develops his players. He’s somehow managed to tank Bona’s draft stock. Whoever convinced him to stay at ucla because it would be better for his development should be ashamed. He would be developed much better by nba coaches even if he was in the g-league
Tamara has listed CMC's weaknesses. Evan has said that all things point to the NIL I've then asked what CMC's trajectory portends for the Bruins, as I'm not convinced that holdovers from this year, a single commit, and whatever disgruntled, yet unknown portal targets added to the squad sans money for recruits will measurably improve the Bruins' lot. "He'll be fine" was the reply. Support your answer. Also, slinging insults is not substantive argument.
My opinion (support) that Cronin will right the ship is because of his record at UCLA for the past four years. 99-38 overall record and one of only four schools to have gone to the sweet 16 or further in 2021-2023 including one final four. And Ky, UNC, Tenn, Ucon, Duke--all fine basketball programs--have not accomplished that achievement. I know that some here have 100 reasons why the last four years should not count, from "luck" to "not his players" and so forth, but the loudest of those people admitedly dislike Cronin because he is not "entertaining". Obviously, this season has been a train wreck for various reasons which I think can be corrected. Time will tell if Cronin and Company can get back on good footing but I do not think you throw away a proven coach for one bad season. UNC missed the NCAA tournament last year after being rated number 1 in the pre season AP poll. They are top 10 this season. I now live in Chapel Hill and did not hear people, who are savvy basketball fans, wanting Davis fired because of the bad season last year and the attitude was it will be corrected--and it was. I hope UCLA, under Cronin, will markedly improve next year given Cronin's track record but let us be honest, nobody can predict what will happen with accuracy at this early date just like the UNC experience last year.
Thanks. Missing from the UNC model is that CMC has not gotten the high level of talent that he assumed would be drawn to UCLA v those at Cincinnati. Not even a pg in 6 years. Are they coming?
Does the "he's done it before" argument for the past necessarily hold for the future? Or is the stage set for future train wrecks?
It doesn’t matter if Phil knight himself was coaching this team. There’s only one real 5-star talent on this roster. You’ve got to be recruiting 5-star players every year to be relevant. And no, you can’t count the foreign players. There’s a reason they don’t get ranked before college ball, it’s because they don’t play the same way and they’re really hard to evaluate until they get real play time in the us.
UNC had 1 5 star recruit and 3 4-star transfers, one fringe 5 star transfer. So yeah, they’re doing ok after a washout season. How is UCLA’s recruiting going? And Cronin already established that he can’t get any transfers because ucla isn’t the Yankees. Can’t compare ucla to a team that continues to recruit and transfer well… ucla current team is really bad and there are currently zero recruits that will make a difference next year and transfer opportunity is slim
Players transfer over issues of pt or money. UCLA cannot outbid other programs, so by default that leaves players seeking more minutes. The 5* portals are not flocking to UCLA (see: money). Thus Laz, whom everyone on TMB has said would be a fine rotation player anywhere else, is a showcased piece. The other consideration is: what players are busting at the chops to play for CMC? That has ramifications far beyond the portal aspect.
That is the unspoken reason for my disappointment and anger at the SC debacle. The players had no respect for the Bruin community (Euros don't "get" rivalry), and their play had damaging consequences on the recruiting front. The players should ask themselves what kind of legacy they wish their names to be cast.
Spot on point. Cronin himself commented that he would have to gather himself together to host the recruit after the loss. I am sure that made the recruit feel tons of warm fuzzies.
I don’t think I’d say “lost” there was never much of a chance. Would you rather play with aday Mara in an arena that brings 4000 fans per game, or with cooper Flagg, on a team that has a better chance to win a natty, in an arena that sells out to 9,314 fans and has the longest sellout in history… pretty sure your chances of looking like an nba player look better when you play alongside the number 1 recruit in the country
The view that next year will be better because "we are going to get 3 or 4 transfers" is Pollyanna-ish at best, and smacks of the "but, but, but next year's recruits!" for CBH at worst.
Slow tempo teams don’t typically lose by double digits… that’s the whole reason to play slow is so that you can compensate in years where your team doesn’t have a consistent offense.
Sophomores don’t always play better than freshman. 5 star freshman are almost always better than 3 star sophomores
Yes, I agree that ucla will only get 1-2 transfers to go with their single 3-star recruit. That doesn’t really compare to unc’s rebuilding year that they added what 5 transfers to go along with their 5 star recruit? How is 1-2 transfers a good thing? You truly believe this set of players can be made elite I guess
This is just a foolish comment. You know damn well that the sophomores he's talking about are this year's freshman. Also, the hs commit we have is a 4 star. looks pretty good and like he will be able to contribute by his soph year.
Even if he’s talking about this years players… of course you’ll have players get better. The more you play the better you get, that’s just common sense… but from a pure statistical perspective, how much better is bona this year? I’m curious about his stats per/minute played and how it compares to last year. Several have said he “looks” better this year, but I’m curious what statistics say. And you can say oh he’s on a worse team, but if that’s the case he should be rebounding statistically way better this year than last because he has more opportunities and is the best athlete on the team by far.
As for the 4 star, I agree that he likely won’t contribute next year. Do you really think this years freshman are going to look like a good team next year?
Evan! How is not-very-good transfers a good thing? How does that advance your earlier points that, golly gee, the Bruins are bound to get more than 1-2 transfers, and that those transfers will improve the program?
i didn't say i thought we would get not very good transfers. I mean if we have roster spots to fill, SOMEONE is going to transfer and fill them. I expect that our transfers will be impact players though.
No question that good players are needed to make a successful season but, as I pointed out with UNC, that is not necessarily the key. The "washout season for UNC" had a starting five of Armando Bacot; Leaky Black; Celeb Love (Arizona's best player); P Nance and Leaky Black--a starting five most coaches would drool over. That is why they were a pre season number 1 AP pick and ended up not making the NCAA. Even with those players, the chemistry and Davis' coaching was not there and they were not good. USC and Endfield is another example of a talented team playing poorly.
My opinion is that Cronin is a good coach, his record speaks for itself, and we do not dump him for one bad year. If NIL money is the problem, UCLA will never have the money backing of a USC or Duke or Kentucky and no other coach will change that in the foreseeable future. If Cronin's harsh style with players is the problem, which I was first to call out, why didn't the players transfer over the last four years--the opportunities were certainly there.
The problem with intelligent discourse is that I'm confused whether to be a glass is half empty or half full kind of a guy, wishy washy person that I am. I do like to stir the pot, however, to elicit discussion. Sometimes I'm merely thinking (if you could call it that) out loud. Thanks, everyone.
There’s no question that you can have an elite set of players that don’t play well together or under the coach of their program. I think the question that most are asking is, what you said at first, can you expect an elite program without elite talent? I don’t see how the current set of players goes from mediocre to good next season. Over the course of 30 games this season they certainly haven’t gotten a lot better. As I said previously, at the end of his second season Adem bona put up a 19 minute game with 1 rebound. That doesn’t look a lot like progress to me
Do you mean to say that similar to what Joe has analyzed in depth for the football program, that elite talent is essential for basketball, too? Who knew?
Given the recent anti trust court decision against the NCAA regarding NIL enforcement, the NCAA has suspended any "pay for play" violations. The outcome, as it stands now, is that boosters are salivating at throwing more money at players through NIL collectives which were not allowed. No question, this will make it more difficult for schools like UCLA to recruit top player. But this is a NIL/NCAA issue which Cronin can not control and I doubt any coach willing to coach at UCLA could turn around.
That's actually long-term great for UCLA, because the faster players unionize, the faster we get to collective bargaining and a salary cap paid for entirely by the schools and not through nebulous NIL collectives. UCLA being on an even playing field where all that money is coming from the school (thus making the normally-skittish UCLA boosters more comfortable because the school is getting their money instead of some collective they don't trust) would make things much better.
They are allowed to form a union because the NLRB regional directer, Mr. Sacks, ruled that they are employees of the school and therefore entitled to be a union. This would allow players to negotiate their salary (compensation), and conditions--including practice hours and travel. I do not know enough about how this would eventually impact the system but if the players are "employees of the university" as opposed to the NCAA's position of "student athlete", then college athletes are professionals by deffinition. From what I read, there is not enough detail to know how and what the unions will bargain for including a "salary cap". And even if there was such a cap, I would think that the rich schools still would be able to pay a higher salary to the top players than the less well funded schools so what mechanism would create a "even playing field"?
"good players are needed to make a successful season"
Is there a CMC waiting to burst forth from behind his lifetime veil to play the type of basketball that he's always wanted to play if only he had the personnel?
Would his offense differ with Cooper and center Khaman Maluach?
CMC offered Cooper (who always was a Dookie) although he knew that Flagg wasn't coming, so to keep the CMC/UCLA brand in circulation. Was that strategy a savvy move, or fruitless akin to the likes of UAlbany and Bryant?
This is very sad. I was hoping our youngsters would get some post-season experience.
any team coached by Mick is capable of ripping off a few in the conference tourney. but winning it is probably out of the question now that a bye seems impossible.
Imagine telling your college players that what they do moving forward will determine whether or not their one year salaried contract will be re-newed. Such is our world.
Coach Cronin telling his players that they'll be fighting to remain on the team next season seems to be a final attempt to motivate his team to play better and get them out of its current slump. It actually doesn't sound too different from what they would face in the NBA or other professional league. More experience helps, but definitely need to see more aggressiveness and toughness out of whoever is on the roster next season.
Has he not evaluated who those keepers are at this end of season, or is it just a motivational tool?
The season isn't over yet, which is why I consider it a last warning for those at risk. We'll see who's a keeper at the end of the season, of course. The transfer portal is also opening in 2 weeks.
I am not saying that Harrick was a great coach. He was a good coach with amazing players. He had a great great team in 1994-95 with the O'Bannon bros, Tyus, George, Toby and JR. When you watch how those players passed, their quickness and vision, and discipline and respect, it was like a ballet.
They were great shooters and great defenders. They worked hard. They were relentless in their will to win George was not a natural athlete or shooter but with unbelievable dedication, he became great. Toby and JR were both freshmen and huge contributors - youth was never ever mentioned. There were no shooting droughts over and over again or Bona like unnecessary fouls over and over again.
There was great offense. There was great defense. There was great character. And as unpolished as Harrick was at times, I do not recall him publicly shaming his players, calling them inept and stupid. That team made Wooden proud.
Imho, the problems this season are not just on the surface. They run deeper and it is difficult to know the extent of those issues, who should take the majority of blame, and who can resolve those issues. Some are squarely on Cronin. Some are on the players. Some may be beyond anyone's control. But regardless, the result is a mess.
1995 is a distant memory and not sure my dusty old VHS tape of that game is still any good. Sad coincidence that the Ed O'Bannon vs. NCAA lawsuit became the precursor to today's situation with NIL and that UCLA hasn't won a championship since then...
A mediocre season is a bitter pill to swallow and the resulting disappointment is genuine, but I think comparing that great team to the current coach and players seems unfair and only makes you feel worse. Perhaps a dose of "hopium" and an unexpected upset against the Mildcats on Thursday will help ease some of the pain? :-)
Oh man... I was there at the Final Four with my mom - we had seats 20 rows up. It was unbelievable joy at that time 😊💙💛
Yes, Ed O certainly did an injustice to college basketball. It's hard to believe that he didn't account for the likelihood of greed and corruption taking over and ruining so much about college basketball and football.
I guess my biggest point with the comparison is under Cronin he seems to make offense an afterthought and we simply have never had teams that score a lot of points consistently. Even last season the team went through a ton of scoring droughts and we would end up behind and need a huge rally by Tyger, JJJ and Singleton or Clark to save us.
A win against zona and asu could indeed dole out enough hopium to think we might have a chance to win the Tourney - which I am sure will leave me suffering more 🤣
In each of Cronin's first 3 seasons, our offense was rated higher than our defense in efficiency. Last year it was lower, at 21st in the nation vs #2 defense. This years offense obviously has struggled, but people need to quit confusing slow with bad. Cronin's offense have had good to elite execution before this year.
what if it's the truth?
Mick RIPPING refs in post game
Wonder how the quality of the refereeing compares in the Big-10. Sure hope they don't hire any of the SPTRs!
I can't imagine the BIG putting up with the level of ineptitude of the SPTRs. The Midwest is packed with physical play and great teams. I would imagine the BIG refs are on a higher level. However... I temper my thought with the fact that it would not take much to be on a higher level than the SPTRs.
Meh… this loss left me completely emotionless. I’ve settled into the throw away season. If this was a tryout for the team game, that’s pretty sad for next year. The only thing I’m excited for is to see who is smart enough to leave. I’ve learned not to get excited about transfers or last minute signees. Aday Mara will be the starting center no doubt… Ugg. The charmin soft bruins of 2024-25
what has Mara shown you that suggests he will start next year? He's certainly not starting if Bona does not go to the NBA. He shouldn't even be getting the minutes he's getting this year. He and Vide are 2 year projects at least.
I was just assuming that bona is smart enough to leave and Kenny is out of eligibility. There aren’t any other options really are there?
he's going to go where the money is. that's the smart move. Either our NIL money keeps him away from the NBA (or reportedly Duke) or it doesn't.
and obviously we are going to get 3 or 4 transfers.
"Excited to see who is smart enough to leave"--I am excited to see if the nasty hater posting here is smart enough to leave.
Bingo ! You said it !
indeed. he's not only nasty. he has an extremely pedestrian understanding of the current college basketball landscape
Oh gosh… you act like I’m the one blaming this season on the players. I thought everyone else would be just as excited to see which of these awful players leaves.
It will be a lot more quiet in these threads once I’m gone…. There won’t be anyone left to point out cronins warts. Just a bunch of bobbling heads talking about how awful the players are instead
Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out. You and your comments of hate will not be missed.
So it’s ok for people to hate on chipster but not cronin? I think it’s ok to have different opinions of the coaches and staff than others. I don’t live in the euphoric state that many here do with the confidence that cronin can replicate last year again and again. Just like Alford had his magical season, so did Cronin. He won’t reproduce last season again. As for the final 4 run, I’ve said many times that I thought it was a fluke because the body of that season was not comparable to the tournament. UCLA had a good tournament run after BARELY MAKING THE TOURNAMENT!!!! That’s not a representation of a good season. It’s a representation of a coach that went on a lucky streak at the end of the season
On the flip side, what does that make last season, where UCLA was one of the 2-3 best teams in the country all year before two major injuries derailed things in the last week of the season?
I have said multiple times that last year was a phenomenal year for cronin. It was a great season. Alford had one of those as well with a few injuries of their own and also lost in the sweet 16. It’s a feat that alford has not repeated and probably never will. I don’t think this time with this coach is different.
Yes, last season was a good team with a set of players that all went to the nba. There’s nothing in the current state of ucla basketball that leads me to believe cronin can repeat that. Blame it on the nil if you want, but the future of ucla basketball looks marginally better than this year at BEST
Chip Kelly is a clown.
Death, taxes, and Baskets showing up immediately after any loss
we could go 30-1, lose in the championship game, and there he'd be.
You’re so cute… Cronin isn’t capable of a 30-1 season. Do you watch basketball? Only elite programs are capable of that occurring in a season every 6-10 years these days (Kentucky, Gonzaga, butler, did I miss one?). UCLA isn’t elite and neither is Cronin, so we won’t have to worry about that now will we. Cronin should probably start by targeting less than 15 losses a season before he sets out for an undefeated season don’t you think? If you’re hoping for a 30-1 year, you should start cheering for another coach
the joke just went way over you're head. Look, Cronin is objectively an excellent coach. If he became available, every big name school in the country with a vacancy would have him at the top of its list. Your denial of that just exposes your blind hatred of the man.
So Ohio State or Louisville would be stupid to try to hire Mick, right?
Those are not blue blood schools. Those programs are also mediocre, don’t recruit as well these days and are expected to be mediocre aside from a good team every 5 years or so. If by stupid you mean that they expect mick to come in and have a good season every year, then yes that would be stupid. If by stupid they expect top 10 recruiting classes, yes that would be stupid. If by stupid they think cronin will land 3-4 transfers every year, yes that would be stupid. I don’t think those programs expect a competitive team every year, or top 10 recruiting classes, or 1-2 5 star recruits each year, or a lot of transfers dying to come play for cronin every year… so no, I don’t think they would be stupid to try and hire mick. Just like Nevada wasn’t stupid to hire Alford. He’s a good fit for their program. He’s a defense first coach and Ohio state and Louisville have historically been defense minded programs. UCLA was once an entertaining flashy program that all the super athletic scoring players wanted to attend. Now it’s home to defense minded slow tempo players that don’t know how to run an offensive set geared towards their strengths. It’s home to super freak athleticism that gets one rebound a game because they still don’t know how to box out….
Baskets, tell me who UCLA should hire then.....since you like offensive minded coaches.
For what it’s worth, another post game write up without a single coaching critique. I’m confused. Did ucla lose by 12? The entirety of the loss was reffing this time? Come on… you can only blame the reffing so many times before it starts to get worn out. For every 12 point loss there is at least one thing that the coaching team did poorly on. But not here… this coaching squad is flawless
You ought to try to put your brain (limited, as it is) in gear before making a total fool of yourself by spewing your garbage.
Looks like we have another cronin apologist on our hands. It’s ok, your personal attacks won’t get me down. It’s funny that I’ve got you so riled up. You should be focused on the current state and trajectory of ucla basketball. I feel like that’s a little more valid place for your anger. Like I said, I’m not even angry anymore. Nothing left to be angry about, ucla is meeting my expectations these days
My friend, we are all passionate bruin fans. This is a difficult season for everyone. I know you want to see our team achieve well and we all do. Our words become heated, our temper flares even as our team continues to struggle, all to no avail. Shall we all take a break. Come hell or high water, let Cronin and his staff cope and resolve the issues as best they can. They are paid well and contractually bound to deal with the mounting problems. We don't and our bickering won't help the matter at all. Fair ???
Fair… I’ll be done for the season… you’re correct!
Even Cronin said after the game “our frontline has to be better on the glass”…. Almost every other story in this game talked about it as well. No mention of the rebounding disparity by anyone so far… I mean, I thought everyone wanted this team to get better. I thought you all said I don’t watch basketball. I thought I’m just a hater. I wish there was some objectivity around here. There are always some learning takeaways in a 12 point loss… just look to the guy you so highly praise. Even he can see some faults in his own game planning
Wow! Cronin clearly talked about the rebounding problem in his presser--what more to say but the hater here is not satisfied with that. Objectivity from the guy who stated last week that he hated Cronin from the day he was hired and confirmed that he goes home, looks in the mirror and says "I hate you".
When did you get your degree from UCLA? Sure did not improve the grey matter in your head.
So many personal attacks… I’m not sure why you’re so angry at me
You come from Pluto?
UCLA4EVER... I really like you and think you are a good person Baskets is also a good person who is very frustrated with the coaching and the players.
I have been repeatedly attacked by Evan because I don't agree with him but thankfully he has backed off and I have even given him a like on a comment he made.
We all have super strong opinions but we all love UCLA and I hope we can at least be respectful to each other regardless of our views on what the issues are on our team and with coaching.
💙💛
Hello Tamara. I have always tried to be respectful of all opinions but I must respectfully disagree with your thoughts about Baskets. I do not know why you think he is a "good" person--do you know him personally or like the rest of us, just by his words? That being said, I read his comments about "hating" Cronin, Howland and others and IMHO that is not what a "good" person says. You can opine about a coach's abilities or lack thereof but that is far different from expressing hate towards someone. The thing that broke the camel's back for me is when he posted he would be "excited" to see all the players leave the program--something, that would be disastrous to UCLA athletics. To me, this goes beyond "opinion", this is just plain nasty spirited, and needs to be called out, nothing less. That is why I told him I would be "excited" for him to leave the comment board. I guess we will just need to agree to disagree.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful response I do value your perspective and yes, if all the players left it would be disastrous and I would never ever want that to happen. I have never met Baskets or Evan, so you are correct, I truly don't know them. I guess I believe that Baskets deep down means well and cares despite the harshness of his comments. Much love 💙💛
cut baskets some slack. he's just a troll. he's doing it on purpose. he gets off on our responses.
Tamara, Baskets is a little bit of an internet troll. He rarely shows up on wins, but always shows up on losses to talk crap. This season has sucked, that's for sure. Hopefully next season is much better.
Guess I was fooled - wouldn't be the first time. I have always tried to see the good in people and aometimes I get it wrong. I do hope we have a much better season next year 💙💛
And for the record, my objectivity in wanting cronin gone before he started was due to his coaching track record. He’s a defense minded coach that had limited results in the tournament and above average results at a mid major school before coming to ucla. Aside from cronins ‘’moral standards”, his actual coaching record is pretty comparable to a guy like Steve Alford who has also had above average success at mid major schools. I truly believe that his historical average is going to catch up with him. The next few seasons will look a lot more like this season than last in my opinion.
So, you did not answer. When did you (or not) graduate from UCLA. You call it "objectivity" wanting someone gone before he even starts? I am thinking that the only team that would meet your definition of "entertainment", men or ladies, would be the Harlem Globetrotters.
My degree is not from ucla. #Wishiwenttoucla
Another confession from the "hopium" dealer? :-)
LOL!
Go Bruins!
But why don't you just say you don't like the defensive minded philosophy. Instead you say it can't work but that is obviously demonstrably false. People might actually listen to you if you just said he's not your style. But the guy is a great coach and you can't deny that without looking like someone who just does't know the game.
Only "good" thing about NOT A BRUIN BASKETS is that he admitted he/she is not a UCLA alumni so his trolling nonsense is not indicative of a fine UCLA educational institution.
I am not a UCLA alum either. Should that matter?
Depends. For you who are a legitimate commentator, no. For an obvious nasty troll, yes.
no. and especially no since college basketball/football are now professional sports.
Again, I still don’t know how everyone in here thinks he’s a “great” coach. He had one great season, one good season, and two mediocre seasons with ucla so far.
I don’t think the defensive minded philosophy can’t work. It DOES work for programs like Virginia where Tony Bennett has demonstrated that it can. But that program is definitely not a brand that sells in a city like LA.
Also, Tony Bennett IS a GREAT coach because he has consistently done well with his brand of basketball at Virginia. The MOST single season losses his program has had at Virginia is 16 and that happened during his first head coaching season. If ucla loses to Arizona this week, then cronin will already have exceeded Tony Bennett worst season, done so in his 4th season with ucla, and with recruits that are arguably ranked higher than most teams that Bennett has worked with in the past… all that in a tougher conference than the pac-12 to boot! So yeah, I’m not pegging cronin as a “great” coach after one great season with a bunch of nba bound players at a school that should recruit for itself. Cronin is mediocre, has not had as much success as other truly great coaches, and does less with better players than other similar minded coaches at other programs.
Cronin continues to baffle me...
In a media appearance today Cronin showed great compassion for his players and took full responsibility for the way things have gone this season. He was very supportive of Will and how heartbroken Will was as the truth is... Will did not commit a flagrant 2 foul. He also said that his players have basically been giving their all, all season and they are great kids who essentially can be great players with experience.
Now juxtapose Cronin today against the Cronin who said...
He didn't care how Will felt re: flagrant, during his interview with Josh and Tracy post the Wazzu game. And when he publicly shamed his players as having low IQ and stated they would not improve. And when he was going to put them through tryouts to see who deserved to stay on the team.
Will the real Cronin please stand up 🧐
Death, taxes (thanks Garrido for the Ben Franklin phrase), double digit lead, collapse and another loss are certainties this year. CMC's trademarks of season improvement and primed-for-March are sorely absent.
What gives?
Sea, I knew I could count on you to reassure me of the things we can consistently count on 🤣 but Cronin's flip flops I suppose will remain a mystery on the consistency scale.
It’s also quite comical that he held tryouts and his only true 5 star nba bound recruit had 1 REBOUND!!!! Many in here keep talking about how he develops his players. He’s somehow managed to tank Bona’s draft stock. Whoever convinced him to stay at ucla because it would be better for his development should be ashamed. He would be developed much better by nba coaches even if he was in the g-league
Tamara has listed CMC's weaknesses. Evan has said that all things point to the NIL I've then asked what CMC's trajectory portends for the Bruins, as I'm not convinced that holdovers from this year, a single commit, and whatever disgruntled, yet unknown portal targets added to the squad sans money for recruits will measurably improve the Bruins' lot. "He'll be fine" was the reply. Support your answer. Also, slinging insults is not substantive argument.
My opinion (support) that Cronin will right the ship is because of his record at UCLA for the past four years. 99-38 overall record and one of only four schools to have gone to the sweet 16 or further in 2021-2023 including one final four. And Ky, UNC, Tenn, Ucon, Duke--all fine basketball programs--have not accomplished that achievement. I know that some here have 100 reasons why the last four years should not count, from "luck" to "not his players" and so forth, but the loudest of those people admitedly dislike Cronin because he is not "entertaining". Obviously, this season has been a train wreck for various reasons which I think can be corrected. Time will tell if Cronin and Company can get back on good footing but I do not think you throw away a proven coach for one bad season. UNC missed the NCAA tournament last year after being rated number 1 in the pre season AP poll. They are top 10 this season. I now live in Chapel Hill and did not hear people, who are savvy basketball fans, wanting Davis fired because of the bad season last year and the attitude was it will be corrected--and it was. I hope UCLA, under Cronin, will markedly improve next year given Cronin's track record but let us be honest, nobody can predict what will happen with accuracy at this early date just like the UNC experience last year.
Thanks. Missing from the UNC model is that CMC has not gotten the high level of talent that he assumed would be drawn to UCLA v those at Cincinnati. Not even a pg in 6 years. Are they coming?
Does the "he's done it before" argument for the past necessarily hold for the future? Or is the stage set for future train wrecks?
It doesn’t matter if Phil knight himself was coaching this team. There’s only one real 5-star talent on this roster. You’ve got to be recruiting 5-star players every year to be relevant. And no, you can’t count the foreign players. There’s a reason they don’t get ranked before college ball, it’s because they don’t play the same way and they’re really hard to evaluate until they get real play time in the us.
UNC had 1 5 star recruit and 3 4-star transfers, one fringe 5 star transfer. So yeah, they’re doing ok after a washout season. How is UCLA’s recruiting going? And Cronin already established that he can’t get any transfers because ucla isn’t the Yankees. Can’t compare ucla to a team that continues to recruit and transfer well… ucla current team is really bad and there are currently zero recruits that will make a difference next year and transfer opportunity is slim
why do you assume that portal targets are disgruntled? this is not 2019.
Players transfer over issues of pt or money. UCLA cannot outbid other programs, so by default that leaves players seeking more minutes. The 5* portals are not flocking to UCLA (see: money). Thus Laz, whom everyone on TMB has said would be a fine rotation player anywhere else, is a showcased piece. The other consideration is: what players are busting at the chops to play for CMC? That has ramifications far beyond the portal aspect.
YES! Show me the players busting at the chops to play for CMC! Where are they!? They were promised, but I certainly don’t see them this year or next
We just lost the 7'2" recruit who attended a recent game at Pauley - I think it was the suc game. He's going to Duke.
Small surprise. May as well hand Duke the Natty now that they have him and Cooper in the bag.
That is the unspoken reason for my disappointment and anger at the SC debacle. The players had no respect for the Bruin community (Euros don't "get" rivalry), and their play had damaging consequences on the recruiting front. The players should ask themselves what kind of legacy they wish their names to be cast.
Spot on point. Cronin himself commented that he would have to gather himself together to host the recruit after the loss. I am sure that made the recruit feel tons of warm fuzzies.
On so many levels there are problems 😢
Did those players "get it" when they throttled SC at Galen?
Good question. Whatever their "getting," it was not lasting.
I don’t think I’d say “lost” there was never much of a chance. Would you rather play with aday Mara in an arena that brings 4000 fans per game, or with cooper Flagg, on a team that has a better chance to win a natty, in an arena that sells out to 9,314 fans and has the longest sellout in history… pretty sure your chances of looking like an nba player look better when you play alongside the number 1 recruit in the country
The view that next year will be better because "we are going to get 3 or 4 transfers" is Pollyanna-ish at best, and smacks of the "but, but, but next year's recruits!" for CBH at worst.
-UCLA has lost I believe 3 games this year by double digits, including this one where the wheels came off the bus at the end.
-Sophmores play better than freshman.
-I'm guessing we end up with only 1, maybe 2 transfers
- Everyone breathe, the sky is not falling
Thanks for keeping me grounded?
Slow tempo teams don’t typically lose by double digits… that’s the whole reason to play slow is so that you can compensate in years where your team doesn’t have a consistent offense.
Sophomores don’t always play better than freshman. 5 star freshman are almost always better than 3 star sophomores
Yes, I agree that ucla will only get 1-2 transfers to go with their single 3-star recruit. That doesn’t really compare to unc’s rebuilding year that they added what 5 transfers to go along with their 5 star recruit? How is 1-2 transfers a good thing? You truly believe this set of players can be made elite I guess
This is just a foolish comment. You know damn well that the sophomores he's talking about are this year's freshman. Also, the hs commit we have is a 4 star. looks pretty good and like he will be able to contribute by his soph year.
Even if he’s talking about this years players… of course you’ll have players get better. The more you play the better you get, that’s just common sense… but from a pure statistical perspective, how much better is bona this year? I’m curious about his stats per/minute played and how it compares to last year. Several have said he “looks” better this year, but I’m curious what statistics say. And you can say oh he’s on a worse team, but if that’s the case he should be rebounding statistically way better this year than last because he has more opportunities and is the best athlete on the team by far.
As for the 4 star, I agree that he likely won’t contribute next year. Do you really think this years freshman are going to look like a good team next year?
it sounds like we are only going to get 1 HS recruit....why wouldn't we end up with more transfers, even if they are not very good?
Evan! How is not-very-good transfers a good thing? How does that advance your earlier points that, golly gee, the Bruins are bound to get more than 1-2 transfers, and that those transfers will improve the program?
i didn't say i thought we would get not very good transfers. I mean if we have roster spots to fill, SOMEONE is going to transfer and fill them. I expect that our transfers will be impact players though.
No question that good players are needed to make a successful season but, as I pointed out with UNC, that is not necessarily the key. The "washout season for UNC" had a starting five of Armando Bacot; Leaky Black; Celeb Love (Arizona's best player); P Nance and Leaky Black--a starting five most coaches would drool over. That is why they were a pre season number 1 AP pick and ended up not making the NCAA. Even with those players, the chemistry and Davis' coaching was not there and they were not good. USC and Endfield is another example of a talented team playing poorly.
My opinion is that Cronin is a good coach, his record speaks for itself, and we do not dump him for one bad year. If NIL money is the problem, UCLA will never have the money backing of a USC or Duke or Kentucky and no other coach will change that in the foreseeable future. If Cronin's harsh style with players is the problem, which I was first to call out, why didn't the players transfer over the last four years--the opportunities were certainly there.
The problem with intelligent discourse is that I'm confused whether to be a glass is half empty or half full kind of a guy, wishy washy person that I am. I do like to stir the pot, however, to elicit discussion. Sometimes I'm merely thinking (if you could call it that) out loud. Thanks, everyone.
There’s no question that you can have an elite set of players that don’t play well together or under the coach of their program. I think the question that most are asking is, what you said at first, can you expect an elite program without elite talent? I don’t see how the current set of players goes from mediocre to good next season. Over the course of 30 games this season they certainly haven’t gotten a lot better. As I said previously, at the end of his second season Adem bona put up a 19 minute game with 1 rebound. That doesn’t look a lot like progress to me
Do you mean to say that similar to what Joe has analyzed in depth for the football program, that elite talent is essential for basketball, too? Who knew?
"If NIL money is the problem," then UCLA will slide further and further into irrelevance. "UCLA, a once great Blue Blood..."
Given the recent anti trust court decision against the NCAA regarding NIL enforcement, the NCAA has suspended any "pay for play" violations. The outcome, as it stands now, is that boosters are salivating at throwing more money at players through NIL collectives which were not allowed. No question, this will make it more difficult for schools like UCLA to recruit top player. But this is a NIL/NCAA issue which Cronin can not control and I doubt any coach willing to coach at UCLA could turn around.
Dartmouth voting to unionize will also make the situation worse.
That's actually long-term great for UCLA, because the faster players unionize, the faster we get to collective bargaining and a salary cap paid for entirely by the schools and not through nebulous NIL collectives. UCLA being on an even playing field where all that money is coming from the school (thus making the normally-skittish UCLA boosters more comfortable because the school is getting their money instead of some collective they don't trust) would make things much better.
excellent analysis. Salary cap is desperately needed and transfer limits.
They are allowed to form a union because the NLRB regional directer, Mr. Sacks, ruled that they are employees of the school and therefore entitled to be a union. This would allow players to negotiate their salary (compensation), and conditions--including practice hours and travel. I do not know enough about how this would eventually impact the system but if the players are "employees of the university" as opposed to the NCAA's position of "student athlete", then college athletes are professionals by deffinition. From what I read, there is not enough detail to know how and what the unions will bargain for including a "salary cap". And even if there was such a cap, I would think that the rich schools still would be able to pay a higher salary to the top players than the less well funded schools so what mechanism would create a "even playing field"?
"good players are needed to make a successful season"
Is there a CMC waiting to burst forth from behind his lifetime veil to play the type of basketball that he's always wanted to play if only he had the personnel?
Would his offense differ with Cooper and center Khaman Maluach?
Recruiting
CMC offered Cooper (who always was a Dookie) although he knew that Flagg wasn't coming, so to keep the CMC/UCLA brand in circulation. Was that strategy a savvy move, or fruitless akin to the likes of UAlbany and Bryant?