It seems to me that this years recruits, Clark and Etienne show excellent potential. And Etienne should still be in high school. Complaining about recruiting rankings which favor classes with more recruits and ignoring the fact that we have small classes because we don’t have open slots is simply disingenuous.
You think he’s recruiting well, I don’t. Of course it isn’t his fault nix decided to go pro, but isn’t it convenient that he is one of the very few that took this opportunity this year while others held their commitments? It says that nix was never really fully committed to mick to begin with. How many duke, Kentucky, unc, Gonzaga, players opted to go pro instead of honoring their commitment? Nix was always half in as he took the bait when many others stuck to the coach they signed up with... duke player left mid season, so there is always a player that does, but there certainly wasn’t 10 others that joined nix in leaving for the g league.
Next years class is NOT great. It’s currently ranked 31. If that’s your definition of great, then we can respectfully agree to disagree.
Finally, saying we have no scholarships is very disingenuous IMO. Most teams have space for 2-4 freshman scholarships every year. This season ucla had 3 and next season they will have 2-3. Most of these recruiting ranking boards are based on 2-3 players. UCLA currently has one 5 star for next year and one 4 star.
UCLA NEEDS A PG! I agree with you there. There isn’t one on the recruiting commit list last I checked. That’s why next year won’t be better. Tyger should be the pg that subs off the bench. Mick doesn’t have a pg in the pipeline. Why doesn’t that seem to bother anybody else but me? It’s a shame.
Everyone that’s watched this year knows that there’s only one pg on this team at the moment and he’s not that good. Even if a worse pg was available, it would be great to have a replacement for tyger for at least a few minutes a game. Right now they have Jules and Singleton... are they really going to start that again next season?
Fair that UCLA only has two slots this upcoming season. Is Cody Riley going to graduate, or is he in a five year program that gets one more year at UCLA.
Also, see my other comment for context on recruiting... why in the world isn’t one of the commits a pg? Tyger isn’t good enough to be a starter, but even if you think he was, opting to have zero other pg’s on the roster is insanity. He slows down the offense, hogs the ball, and has a tendency to force things.
That should have been the priority for the incoming class... so far it appears it wasn’t... and based on having only two other slots means they don’t even have room for one if a transfer shows up. If they do have a 3rd slot available, then why hasn’t cronin filled it by now? UCLA is in desperate need of a pg even if it’s just complimentary to the current. Ignoring this gaping hole is setting UCLA up for failure next year before the season starts
Again, using a fresh comment to call someone out in various threads is the kind of bad posting that I have said we won't be accepting going forward, so knock it off.
UCLA should still be in at the moment but we have definitely reached a point where they will need to win their first-round matchup to feel comfortable about that.
You are correct. The problem was not the long possessions but the shot we ended up with. Plus, we shot it much better in the 1st half. I disagree completely on the travel. It was obvious. A huge SPTR whistle swallow. BUT, we also missed the front end of two 1 and 1s. A lousy way to lose.
Yeah see that's why I don't blame the refs because I was honestly shocked Campbell wasn't called for a blocking foul there. very much a "your mileage may vary" situation, where ultimately I don't think it was the worst thing in the world that no call was made.
But yeah, make free throws, or run any sort of good offense in the final 5 minutes, and then it doesn't matter.
UCLA has performed up to the limitations of mick all season. The last three games have exposed the difference between good coaching and great coaching. Say what you will about these players, but they are more than capable of being a great team. They start a team with lots of experience most games and almost all of them were 4 star recruits prior to coming to UCLA. There are no stars, but as a whole, this team can compete with anyone. They just need a great coach.
Mick said himself that the last three games would show what sort of team this is, and show it did. Mick took a strategy that was working well for the first three quarters of a game and threw it in the trash for the last quarter of the game. Why he goes from something working to changing it up is questionable.
I know others have said that mick just needs time and scholarships. Well, he has had a few and they need to count... so far they just haven’t.
Again, mick is a good coach, but just not great. I think UCLA fans are blinded by the last coach who was so bad that anything is better. He gets a lot out of his players and makes good coaching decisions, but when crunch time comes, he falls flat.
Even before smith went down and hill left, the coaching showed as awful. The season opened with a o out to an ok SDSU team. UCLA played one good full game this year against Utah, but outside of that, UCLA hasn’t played a complete game start to finish. That’s a sign of a coach who can’t cut it. Good coaches play quality basketball for 40 minutes consistently. That’s something mick can’t do. He’s not consistent for a full game... in 3 years he’ll be gone.
I hope UCLA lose their next game so we don’t have to watch any more of the players regression and poor coaching decisions. It will also help expedite the moving on of mick.
I can’t be a part of these discussions anymore because my thoughts are seen as delusion. I’ll be back when everyone comes around and starts seeing what I’ve said all along. Mick can’t be gone fast enough. The more UCLA loses the better
Ok, I cannot believe I have to type this up, but here we are.
We want this to be a space where people can feel comfortable posting their opinions, and to that end there has to be a level of respect shown no matter how much you disagree with that post. But we are rapidly approaching a point where we're going to have to start taking away certain poster's ability to do just that because they cannot handle the difficult task of having an adult conversation without resorting to insults. I get that emotions have been running high the last few weeks, but that is no excuse for this level of vitriol.
So for those of you who might even have an inkling that you would be considered a part of this group, consider this your final warning in this regard. Do better.
I look forward to another 8 seasons or more of Mick Cronin. If he leaves before that, it will be if his own volition. He’s a very good basketball coach who has had us competitive in games against teams with more talent. I look forward to him being able to fill the roster with his own recruits.
On the VIPs, yeah absolutely Alford would do that. In fact, it was his ability to butter up major donors that helped keep him around well past his expiration date.
This game put UCLA in the exact position is should be in the Pac 12....4th best team. No argument about. They have been playing above their ability and have squeaked quite a few games with wins.
We're in Oregon's bracket. I hope the Bruins win on Thursday and get a shot at revenge against Oregon.
Recruiting will help? Gee, thanks. Because some poster thinks Cronin's recruiting is atrocious.
Hey mgibby? You need to knock this petty sniping off. It isn't a good look.
Then tell the guy who says that recruiting is atrocious that he's mistaken. After every game now he bags on recruiting. It's become a nuisance.
It seems to me that this years recruits, Clark and Etienne show excellent potential. And Etienne should still be in high school. Complaining about recruiting rankings which favor classes with more recruits and ignoring the fact that we have small classes because we don’t have open slots is simply disingenuous.
ArmyBruin, exactly.
You think he’s recruiting well, I don’t. Of course it isn’t his fault nix decided to go pro, but isn’t it convenient that he is one of the very few that took this opportunity this year while others held their commitments? It says that nix was never really fully committed to mick to begin with. How many duke, Kentucky, unc, Gonzaga, players opted to go pro instead of honoring their commitment? Nix was always half in as he took the bait when many others stuck to the coach they signed up with... duke player left mid season, so there is always a player that does, but there certainly wasn’t 10 others that joined nix in leaving for the g league.
Next years class is NOT great. It’s currently ranked 31. If that’s your definition of great, then we can respectfully agree to disagree.
Finally, saying we have no scholarships is very disingenuous IMO. Most teams have space for 2-4 freshman scholarships every year. This season ucla had 3 and next season they will have 2-3. Most of these recruiting ranking boards are based on 2-3 players. UCLA currently has one 5 star for next year and one 4 star.
UCLA NEEDS A PG! I agree with you there. There isn’t one on the recruiting commit list last I checked. That’s why next year won’t be better. Tyger should be the pg that subs off the bench. Mick doesn’t have a pg in the pipeline. Why doesn’t that seem to bother anybody else but me? It’s a shame.
Everyone that’s watched this year knows that there’s only one pg on this team at the moment and he’s not that good. Even if a worse pg was available, it would be great to have a replacement for tyger for at least a few minutes a game. Right now they have Jules and Singleton... are they really going to start that again next season?
Fair that UCLA only has two slots this upcoming season. Is Cody Riley going to graduate, or is he in a five year program that gets one more year at UCLA.
Also, see my other comment for context on recruiting... why in the world isn’t one of the commits a pg? Tyger isn’t good enough to be a starter, but even if you think he was, opting to have zero other pg’s on the roster is insanity. He slows down the offense, hogs the ball, and has a tendency to force things.
That should have been the priority for the incoming class... so far it appears it wasn’t... and based on having only two other slots means they don’t even have room for one if a transfer shows up. If they do have a 3rd slot available, then why hasn’t cronin filled it by now? UCLA is in desperate need of a pg even if it’s just complimentary to the current. Ignoring this gaping hole is setting UCLA up for failure next year before the season starts
Again, using a fresh comment to call someone out in various threads is the kind of bad posting that I have said we won't be accepting going forward, so knock it off.
Fine. Your rules. Bye.
UCLA went from the 1st place to 4th place in a week. Maybe they should skip the postseason altogether, and avoid another embarrassing loss.
If they lose their next game they won’t have to worry about a post season
UCLA should still be in at the moment but we have definitely reached a point where they will need to win their first-round matchup to feel comfortable about that.
I think we will make the tournament but I would be surprised if we last long. We simply have too many limitations.
You are correct. The problem was not the long possessions but the shot we ended up with. Plus, we shot it much better in the 1st half. I disagree completely on the travel. It was obvious. A huge SPTR whistle swallow. BUT, we also missed the front end of two 1 and 1s. A lousy way to lose.
Yeah see that's why I don't blame the refs because I was honestly shocked Campbell wasn't called for a blocking foul there. very much a "your mileage may vary" situation, where ultimately I don't think it was the worst thing in the world that no call was made.
But yeah, make free throws, or run any sort of good offense in the final 5 minutes, and then it doesn't matter.
UCLA has performed up to the limitations of mick all season. The last three games have exposed the difference between good coaching and great coaching. Say what you will about these players, but they are more than capable of being a great team. They start a team with lots of experience most games and almost all of them were 4 star recruits prior to coming to UCLA. There are no stars, but as a whole, this team can compete with anyone. They just need a great coach.
Mick said himself that the last three games would show what sort of team this is, and show it did. Mick took a strategy that was working well for the first three quarters of a game and threw it in the trash for the last quarter of the game. Why he goes from something working to changing it up is questionable.
I know others have said that mick just needs time and scholarships. Well, he has had a few and they need to count... so far they just haven’t.
Again, mick is a good coach, but just not great. I think UCLA fans are blinded by the last coach who was so bad that anything is better. He gets a lot out of his players and makes good coaching decisions, but when crunch time comes, he falls flat.
Even before smith went down and hill left, the coaching showed as awful. The season opened with a o out to an ok SDSU team. UCLA played one good full game this year against Utah, but outside of that, UCLA hasn’t played a complete game start to finish. That’s a sign of a coach who can’t cut it. Good coaches play quality basketball for 40 minutes consistently. That’s something mick can’t do. He’s not consistent for a full game... in 3 years he’ll be gone.
I hope UCLA lose their next game so we don’t have to watch any more of the players regression and poor coaching decisions. It will also help expedite the moving on of mick.
I can’t be a part of these discussions anymore because my thoughts are seen as delusion. I’ll be back when everyone comes around and starts seeing what I’ve said all along. Mick can’t be gone fast enough. The more UCLA loses the better
Hoping the Bruins lose? Wow.
Now he's a good coach? Because in the game thread you said he was not.
Ok, I cannot believe I have to type this up, but here we are.
We want this to be a space where people can feel comfortable posting their opinions, and to that end there has to be a level of respect shown no matter how much you disagree with that post. But we are rapidly approaching a point where we're going to have to start taking away certain poster's ability to do just that because they cannot handle the difficult task of having an adult conversation without resorting to insults. I get that emotions have been running high the last few weeks, but that is no excuse for this level of vitriol.
So for those of you who might even have an inkling that you would be considered a part of this group, consider this your final warning in this regard. Do better.
I look forward to another 8 seasons or more of Mick Cronin. If he leaves before that, it will be if his own volition. He’s a very good basketball coach who has had us competitive in games against teams with more talent. I look forward to him being able to fill the roster with his own recruits.
On the VIPs, yeah absolutely Alford would do that. In fact, it was his ability to butter up major donors that helped keep him around well past his expiration date.
This game put UCLA in the exact position is should be in the Pac 12....4th best team. No argument about. They have been playing above their ability and have squeaked quite a few games with wins.