I’m not sure how many of you know this, but I’m a high school basketball coach. My team is nowhere near the upper echelon of LA high school basketball, but the boys play hard and are coachable. I bring this up because we have a saying with the team: “Process over results”. This is not to say that winning is bad, but rather that we need to focus on getting our process down as perfectly as possible because there will be times when we may get the intended result but our process is off and will lead to a false positive. To give an example, we won our last game last Thursday by seven points, but we should have won by 15+. What had happened is we got to the final three minutes of the game up 14 points and started panicking, doing things we had not done all game. So we ultimately got the result we wanted, but our process broke down.
I bring this up because UCLA, as currently constructed, is in the process phase of its development, and right now that needs to take priority in the minds of many rather than being results-oriented. This is a very young team that is still learning what it needs to do to win games, and that is very evident in how the team fades late against more experienced teams. That’s exactly what happened here, with UCLA hanging with a solid Ohio State for most of the game before fading late, ultimately losing 67-60.
The irony here is that Ohio State went through the same thing the Bruins were going through last year. They were fine early in the year, fading late against some better teams, and then hit a rut where they lost 14 of 15 games against their Big Ten schedule. But then they figured some things out late, closed the season strong, and now they’re entering this year where last year’s freshmen who played heavy minutes are now seasoned sophomores. Hell, UCLA went through a similar situation in Mick Cronin’s first year, where the team struggled early on before figuring things out late and going on a massive run that likely would have ended in a tournament run had the tournament not gotten canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
I think there are still some things to quibble about. The rotations are still clearly a work in progress, with some guys (Lazar Stefanovic in particular at this point) probably playing way too many minutes relative to their impact while others (like Ilane Fibleuil) probably need to play more. Some freshmen need to grow in a hurry, like Aday Mara who still very much looks like he’s swimming against better competition, while others need to get better at playing within themselves, like Sebastian Mack. And I think roster construction is leaving a lot to be desired early, with this likely being past the upper limit of how many true freshmen one team should realistically have to lacking any real shooting threat thanks to some recruiting misses.
But I think my big takeaway is something Jay Wright said on the postgame show. Following the game, Wright commented something to the effect of Ohio State being happy with this win because they know that by February UCLA will be a team that will look exceptionally good. I think Wright has the right idea here, as much as it sucks to think about at the moment.
The semester is done, so I’ll have more basketball writing in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for that.
Go Bruins.
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Well done, Dmitri, we went from a very good guard-centric team last year, to a 'big' team this year, expecting much much more from Mara, who isn't ready for prime time Bona is definitely a work in progress. With his energy he tries to do to much, but without the fundamentals. I hope he sticks with us and grows. BTW, Purdue has Zona by 8 with 2 seconds to go and Purdue is 5th in the Big 10. We are going to have to learn to play physically without fouling.
I think it will be Mack, but it's gonna be an up and down season. This kind of roster turnover is never pretty early on, but my hope is these close game turn into wins in the 2nd half of the season. Flip side is that the freshman may run out of gas by the end of the season.
Regardless, this is college basketball in this era, turnover and transfers are going to lead to up and down seasons. Key is to bounce back if you do have a bad one.
I’m usually a pessimist… today I’ll be optimistic. Mick just needs time. A full team of only his recruits and not the old guys recruits. Next year will be better for sure with all of the coaching he’s going to get into the talent on this team!
He always gets the most out of his guys and this year will be no different. Come March this team has a chance to make a run in the pac12 tourney. If they win that, they’ll punch their ticket to the big dance!
It’s not like all the other blue blood schools are fairing any better these days. Nobody wants to go to duke… who the hell is Flagler anyways.
We’ve got to give more time. Just like Tommy Lloyd needs more time to turn Arizona around. UCLA will be competing with them on the national stage soon!
This team is fun to watch! Mick has teams that play an exciting brand of basketball… just give it time before the next jaquez shows up.
Speaking of jaquez, mick deserves all the credit for what jaquez has done in the nba. He didn’t hold him back at all, and I’ve heard that he had zero work ethic before coming to ucla… mick is the man and an amazing ability to being out the best in his players.
Today the game is about defense. It’s what all the powerhouse teams promote to get the talent into school. Defend defend defend… they’ll be flocking to ucla in droves and they won’t want to leave.
Last but not least, it’s all about character. Yeah, this years team of players is awful, but that’s not micks fault. He’s the best coach and recruiter ucla has seen in a loooong time. It’s not always about winning, it’s about getting better, and this years team is getting better every game. Don’t worry about the results… the pace 12 tourney is a few short months away! Looking forward to that!
BB... the only thing you didn't include was the 'sarcasm' font. But because there isn't a 'sarcasm' font - at least not on my iphone, I will just add it into my mind as I re-read everything you stated.
I do believe if Mick didn't have the recruiting misses at home, this team would have a better flow and offense. The best players are Mack, Dylan and Will. Bona could be a leader but he's not there yet.
This could be the best team mick has had yet! 8 freshman all oosing with talent that had offers all over the country but chose ucla… the recruiting is on the up. It’s got to be because of last years success. Oh… and they just really wanted to play for mick.
I mean, no team has ever looked bad in the preseason then challenged for a Pac-12 title. Definitely not a UCLA team. Definitely not one coached by Cronin. Definitely not one that was one of hottest teams in the country going into tournament time before it all got shut down. Really, we should just give up and fire Cronin, its helpless.
Two years ago, the recruiting class was ranked 14th by Rivals including two five stars (Bona and Bailey) and Andrews a four star. This year, when Rivals got around to ranking the Euro players, the team was ranked 16th with one five star (Mara) and six four star players. The point is there has been lots of criticism here (particularly by a certain Bruin basketball hit man) that Cronin can not recruit. Recruiting the 14th ranked and 16th ranked teams shows that just is not true. This year's recruits were highly praised in the sports news--particularly Mara and Burke. Unfortunately, to date, the Euro players have not lived up to expectations but to say that Cronin can not recruit is nonsense.
Sorry… I don’t buy that… those guys didn’t even commit until what May? They came to ucla because ucla struck out on all the other big names. Sure, there was some high praise on the two you mentioned, but you can’t compare ucla to the other programs that only brought in 3-5 players. UCLA’s was trying to fill 8 spots (most people thought bona was gone too), and this is what mick came up with? Sorry, it’s just completely unacceptable to point to the last minute Hail Marys that committed to ucla and say mick did a good job this year… he did an abysmal job of recruiting this year with 8 open roster spots.
Ok… it’s even worse than that… they didn’t commit until July and August. Talk about last minute Hail Marys. And the veteran transfer we got also isn’t that good… sorry, this team was a prayer at best and this is what you get when you strike out on legit talent. You get a lot of question marks and unknowns…
Does not matter when they committed, they committed and were rated by rivals as a 16th class. The transfer is "not that good"--on any team not every recruit becomes a star. And the fact that you did not address the 14th ranked class by Cronin with two five stars speaks volumes. Every season, you have criticized Cronin and then when his teams make deep runs in the tournament, there is egg on your face.
Last year was a good team. Every four years is not good enough in my book.
14th best and you’re celebrating?! Expectations managed…
“Does not matter when they committed”… of course it matters! Come on, you can’t be that clueless. These guys are talking to each other and committing together. They’re also committing earlier all the time. Flagg is already committed for goodness sakes. UCLA on the other hand came in with two 12th hour recruits that only got them into 16th this year… I know I talk a lot of smack about cronin, but think about it, you’re really satisfied with a 4th year coach and 8 roster spots getting the 16th best team? I don’t know why I’m wasting my time. At least gib would admit that this recruiting class is piss poor and the only person to blame is mick
Of course you do not "buy" that. You do not buy anything that is not negative against the UCLA basketball program and coach Cronin. And, you can not accept the rivals rating of the 14th and 16th rated recruiting classes for the last two years because you surely know more than them (rolls eyes).
I fully accept the rankings… I just never petitioned to hang sweet 16’s in the banners at pauley before. I certainly am not going to promote a 16th best recruiting class as grounds for cronin being able to recruit. It’s becoming far to common that cronin is looking at the 12th hour for a miracle. When did bona commit again? If I’m not mistaken he was a late summer pull as well
Your comments remind me of the story about the Mother who is watching her son in a marching parade and says "Isn't in wonderful that everybody in the parade is out of step besides my son"
No sense bickering with somebody who looks outside, sees the sun shining and proclaims it is dark and raining.
Jay Wright may be...right...in that U.C.L.A. will look exceptionally good in February, but my worry is that may be too late. While the Bruins have come close against some good teams, we have zero quality wins so far, and we face only one ranked team (AZ) the rest of the season. There isn't a lot of opportunity to get the high win percentage and especially the quality wins back up to a competitive level. The problem is that Mick absolutely did whiff on lots of local high end recruits and had to chase international players to fill the roster, so it's naturally going to take a long time to get this talented but very young and disparate team to gel. Combine that with Mick's perennial difficulties in coaching an effective and reliable offense ever and I am legit worried we will be on the bubble come tournament time.
Well done, Dmitri, we went from a very good guard-centric team last year, to a 'big' team this year, expecting much much more from Mara, who isn't ready for prime time Bona is definitely a work in progress. With his energy he tries to do to much, but without the fundamentals. I hope he sticks with us and grows. BTW, Purdue has Zona by 8 with 2 seconds to go and Purdue is 5th in the Big 10. We are going to have to learn to play physically without fouling.
Hi JIm - Purdue is ranked #3 in the country according to the LA Times article on the game.
Yep, Terry. a perennially strong team, like we used to be.
UCLA has been better than Purdue in each of Cronin's first 3 seasons. When they fall apart in February again this season could end the same.
This is a new season, Matt, No Jaime, no Tigre. Who will step up?
I think it will be Mack, but it's gonna be an up and down season. This kind of roster turnover is never pretty early on, but my hope is these close game turn into wins in the 2nd half of the season. Flip side is that the freshman may run out of gas by the end of the season.
Regardless, this is college basketball in this era, turnover and transfers are going to lead to up and down seasons. Key is to bounce back if you do have a bad one.
I’m usually a pessimist… today I’ll be optimistic. Mick just needs time. A full team of only his recruits and not the old guys recruits. Next year will be better for sure with all of the coaching he’s going to get into the talent on this team!
He always gets the most out of his guys and this year will be no different. Come March this team has a chance to make a run in the pac12 tourney. If they win that, they’ll punch their ticket to the big dance!
It’s not like all the other blue blood schools are fairing any better these days. Nobody wants to go to duke… who the hell is Flagler anyways.
We’ve got to give more time. Just like Tommy Lloyd needs more time to turn Arizona around. UCLA will be competing with them on the national stage soon!
This team is fun to watch! Mick has teams that play an exciting brand of basketball… just give it time before the next jaquez shows up.
Speaking of jaquez, mick deserves all the credit for what jaquez has done in the nba. He didn’t hold him back at all, and I’ve heard that he had zero work ethic before coming to ucla… mick is the man and an amazing ability to being out the best in his players.
Today the game is about defense. It’s what all the powerhouse teams promote to get the talent into school. Defend defend defend… they’ll be flocking to ucla in droves and they won’t want to leave.
Last but not least, it’s all about character. Yeah, this years team of players is awful, but that’s not micks fault. He’s the best coach and recruiter ucla has seen in a loooong time. It’s not always about winning, it’s about getting better, and this years team is getting better every game. Don’t worry about the results… the pace 12 tourney is a few short months away! Looking forward to that!
And the Great Pumpkin will surely show. Jest aside, I'm inclined to agree with you, BB. Maybe Mara will even bulk up a bit.
BB... the only thing you didn't include was the 'sarcasm' font. But because there isn't a 'sarcasm' font - at least not on my iphone, I will just add it into my mind as I re-read everything you stated.
I do believe if Mick didn't have the recruiting misses at home, this team would have a better flow and offense. The best players are Mack, Dylan and Will. Bona could be a leader but he's not there yet.
This could be the best team mick has had yet! 8 freshman all oosing with talent that had offers all over the country but chose ucla… the recruiting is on the up. It’s got to be because of last years success. Oh… and they just really wanted to play for mick.
gotta do better in the transfer recruit department. this team way too young.
"Come March this team has a chance to make a run in the pac12 tourney......Yeah, this years team of players is awful" Wut?
If watching UCLA basketball made me this bitter I'm not sure I would be enough of a fan to keep watching. You must be far more of a fan than I am.
I don’t want to be a fair weather fan. This year will cause many fans to lose interest though. The product being put on the floor isn’t exciting.
I mean, no team has ever looked bad in the preseason then challenged for a Pac-12 title. Definitely not a UCLA team. Definitely not one coached by Cronin. Definitely not one that was one of hottest teams in the country going into tournament time before it all got shut down. Really, we should just give up and fire Cronin, its helpless.
Yes! Now you’re getting it 😜
This team just doesn't have a much talent as the last few years.
Two years ago, the recruiting class was ranked 14th by Rivals including two five stars (Bona and Bailey) and Andrews a four star. This year, when Rivals got around to ranking the Euro players, the team was ranked 16th with one five star (Mara) and six four star players. The point is there has been lots of criticism here (particularly by a certain Bruin basketball hit man) that Cronin can not recruit. Recruiting the 14th ranked and 16th ranked teams shows that just is not true. This year's recruits were highly praised in the sports news--particularly Mara and Burke. Unfortunately, to date, the Euro players have not lived up to expectations but to say that Cronin can not recruit is nonsense.
Sorry… I don’t buy that… those guys didn’t even commit until what May? They came to ucla because ucla struck out on all the other big names. Sure, there was some high praise on the two you mentioned, but you can’t compare ucla to the other programs that only brought in 3-5 players. UCLA’s was trying to fill 8 spots (most people thought bona was gone too), and this is what mick came up with? Sorry, it’s just completely unacceptable to point to the last minute Hail Marys that committed to ucla and say mick did a good job this year… he did an abysmal job of recruiting this year with 8 open roster spots.
Ok… it’s even worse than that… they didn’t commit until July and August. Talk about last minute Hail Marys. And the veteran transfer we got also isn’t that good… sorry, this team was a prayer at best and this is what you get when you strike out on legit talent. You get a lot of question marks and unknowns…
Does not matter when they committed, they committed and were rated by rivals as a 16th class. The transfer is "not that good"--on any team not every recruit becomes a star. And the fact that you did not address the 14th ranked class by Cronin with two five stars speaks volumes. Every season, you have criticized Cronin and then when his teams make deep runs in the tournament, there is egg on your face.
Have a great day!
Last year was a good team. Every four years is not good enough in my book.
14th best and you’re celebrating?! Expectations managed…
“Does not matter when they committed”… of course it matters! Come on, you can’t be that clueless. These guys are talking to each other and committing together. They’re also committing earlier all the time. Flagg is already committed for goodness sakes. UCLA on the other hand came in with two 12th hour recruits that only got them into 16th this year… I know I talk a lot of smack about cronin, but think about it, you’re really satisfied with a 4th year coach and 8 roster spots getting the 16th best team? I don’t know why I’m wasting my time. At least gib would admit that this recruiting class is piss poor and the only person to blame is mick
Of course you do not "buy" that. You do not buy anything that is not negative against the UCLA basketball program and coach Cronin. And, you can not accept the rivals rating of the 14th and 16th rated recruiting classes for the last two years because you surely know more than them (rolls eyes).
I fully accept the rankings… I just never petitioned to hang sweet 16’s in the banners at pauley before. I certainly am not going to promote a 16th best recruiting class as grounds for cronin being able to recruit. It’s becoming far to common that cronin is looking at the 12th hour for a miracle. When did bona commit again? If I’m not mistaken he was a late summer pull as well
I am incorrect on bona… committed in November.
Your comments remind me of the story about the Mother who is watching her son in a marching parade and says "Isn't in wonderful that everybody in the parade is out of step besides my son"
No sense bickering with somebody who looks outside, sees the sun shining and proclaims it is dark and raining.
No sense bickering… just curious. Do you enjoy watching the current team as it is? Does this ucla team get you excited?
Yes, to see if Cronin can get them to play well together and develop better offense.
Great analysis, although I think it will be a struggle all season without a true offensive force outside the lane.
Jay Wright may be...right...in that U.C.L.A. will look exceptionally good in February, but my worry is that may be too late. While the Bruins have come close against some good teams, we have zero quality wins so far, and we face only one ranked team (AZ) the rest of the season. There isn't a lot of opportunity to get the high win percentage and especially the quality wins back up to a competitive level. The problem is that Mick absolutely did whiff on lots of local high end recruits and had to chase international players to fill the roster, so it's naturally going to take a long time to get this talented but very young and disparate team to gel. Combine that with Mick's perennial difficulties in coaching an effective and reliable offense ever and I am legit worried we will be on the bubble come tournament time.