Hard loss to take as I feel like the Bruins would have been able to beat everyone left in the tourney. UNC might have the best 5, although maybe not the best team. When I was watching live and we were up by three, to my eyes the missed shot hit the line and was out, so I let out a cheer before realising UNC was going to retrieve the ba…
Hard loss to take as I feel like the Bruins would have been able to beat everyone left in the tourney. UNC might have the best 5, although maybe not the best team. When I was watching live and we were up by three, to my eyes the missed shot hit the line and was out, so I let out a cheer before realising UNC was going to retrieve the ball before it went out. Like others, I feel like Cronin could have used the bench more. I would have liked to have gone at UNC a bit more to make it more physical. I think that even if we picked up some fouls, getting the refs to start blowing the whistle would have been good for us. Maybe not the prettiest basketball, but trying to get some of their players into foul trouble would have been good.
Having said that, I’m really pleased with the direction of the program and the buzz around UCLA. It feels like we’re building and developing an identity. I’m feeling like we’ll push on next year even with some of the faces of this year’s team leaving. The Freshmen look great. I really expect Adem Bona to be challenging for the starting position almost from the start. Transfer portal is hard to call until we know who’s coming back, but I feel like we need a go-to shooter. Can’t see Jaquez or Juzang coming back (or Bernard), so need to figure out where the offense will come from. If Tyler keeps developing his 3 and pull up jumper, he’ll be a threat, but otherwise I’m not sure. Maybe Singleton or Kyman, but don’t know if they have a high enough ceiling. Maybe we’ll get some production inside with the big men, but I don’t think that’s the answer either.
We’ll see what happens, but would be awesome to see Johnson and Clark take the D to the next level.
Hard loss to take as I feel like the Bruins would have been able to beat everyone left in the tourney. UNC might have the best 5, although maybe not the best team. When I was watching live and we were up by three, to my eyes the missed shot hit the line and was out, so I let out a cheer before realising UNC was going to retrieve the ball before it went out. Like others, I feel like Cronin could have used the bench more. I would have liked to have gone at UNC a bit more to make it more physical. I think that even if we picked up some fouls, getting the refs to start blowing the whistle would have been good for us. Maybe not the prettiest basketball, but trying to get some of their players into foul trouble would have been good.
Having said that, I’m really pleased with the direction of the program and the buzz around UCLA. It feels like we’re building and developing an identity. I’m feeling like we’ll push on next year even with some of the faces of this year’s team leaving. The Freshmen look great. I really expect Adem Bona to be challenging for the starting position almost from the start. Transfer portal is hard to call until we know who’s coming back, but I feel like we need a go-to shooter. Can’t see Jaquez or Juzang coming back (or Bernard), so need to figure out where the offense will come from. If Tyler keeps developing his 3 and pull up jumper, he’ll be a threat, but otherwise I’m not sure. Maybe Singleton or Kyman, but don’t know if they have a high enough ceiling. Maybe we’ll get some production inside with the big men, but I don’t think that’s the answer either.
We’ll see what happens, but would be awesome to see Johnson and Clark take the D to the next level.