First of all, glad to see UCLA get the win and the team celebration is great. This confidence can carry over into the next three games. Kudos to the never die mentality that UCLA has shown all season.
Mick is a much better coach then the last guy who just rolled the ball out there and said good luck. He seems to care about the players and they care about him.
UCLA did not deserve to win this game. I don’t know about out played, but they were out coached for about 33 minutes.
Remy martins plays at the end are what can happen when you depend on one player for the whole game. He seemed to get tired and made bone headed plays at the end as a result. Playing that many minutes is going to wear on any player.
Cronin made a few questionable coaching decisions that made this game closer than it needed to be.
1. He started by playing tyger on remy Martin. Remy scored the first 8 points of the game if I’m not mistaken. Tyger is not quick enough to cover a guard like remy by himself. Anyone should be able to see this but mick didn’t. And he wouldn’t change this for long stretches of the game.
2. Asu missed a host of layups and pull up jumpers. This is because while their guards are quick, they’re giving up size and as they approach the basket are more likely to get blocked. They rush shots inside as a result and missed many of them. This should have been the game plan from tip off. It didn’t show up until the last 5 minutes of the game which allowed UCLA to claw back in. Why this wasn’t the defensive game plan from the beginning is baffling.
3. UCLA had size all game and their big men shot about 100%!!! Pass the ball inside every time! There were so many times where a guard refused to pass inside or penetrate and pass opting for a 3 pt shot. Asu was letting them shoot threes! It was asu game plan to leave them open knowing that UCLA wasn’t shooting the three well.
4. UCLA shot amazing in the zona game from inside the arc. That’s why asu let UCLA have open threes. The zona game worked really well. Why did that get scrapped against a more susceptible team?
5. Lastly is tyger Campbell shooting threes. He’s shooting an abysmal 27-28% on the season and last season was worse. They’re leaving him open for a reason. Mick needs to treat him like a center who isn’t allowed to shoot the three until he’s proven he can. Tyger has a great pull up shot and a pretty good tear drop shot as well. These shots also allow him to pass to a big man if he gets doubled. Instead mick allows him to fire away. This has to be controlled and it’s the coaches responsibility to do so.
Mick won his 400th against a short handed asu team in the final second. I’m glad UCLA won, but mick needs to be better. It’s the end of the season when a team should be clicking on the things they’ve worked on all season. These glaring deficiencies are unacceptable
There were a few points made here from 2 posters that are not taking sone things into account.
1. If Tyger doesn’t guard Remy, who should? And who should Tyger guard in that circumstance? Tyger can’t stay with Verge either. It’s a tough matchup and Tyger HAS to play because we have no offense with him sitting.
2. Tyger has to shoot some 3s. He has to keep the defense honest. If he shoots none, then his defender will just sag off of him and his ability to penetrate will disappear.
3. We didn’t play well at all. Yes, the ball should go inside as mush as possible. In the first half, Riley got in foul trouble. Etienne was not effective in the first half and Nwuba is still very raw. In the 2nd half, when Riley went out, Etienne stepped up big time. We saw a glimpse of the type of player he can become. He has a nice touch and made his free throws.
4. We missed Jalen Hill defensively. His ability to switch and cover guards and protect the rim allows us to be more aggressive in guarding the 3. That seems to go unnoticed.
5. ASU wasn’t the only team that was shorthanded. We were shorthanded as well. Stanford has been shorthanded. It’s been an odd season with COVID. None of us know how that affects the players on a daily basis.
6. We have 3 tough games ahead. The mountain road trip is never easy and USC presents a matchup nightmare as we are overmatched in the frontcourt. Riley isn’t athletic enough or tall enough to go against the Mobleys. If Hill comes back, his physicality could help, but it’s difficult to know what he is dealing with.
Let’s hope we play with intensity to close out the regular season. If not, we could easily lose all 3 games. We don’t have the talent to take any nights off.
Love to see the players so hyped for Coach Cronin. Agree 100% with your 3rd takeaway, Dimitri.
First of all, glad to see UCLA get the win and the team celebration is great. This confidence can carry over into the next three games. Kudos to the never die mentality that UCLA has shown all season.
Mick is a much better coach then the last guy who just rolled the ball out there and said good luck. He seems to care about the players and they care about him.
UCLA did not deserve to win this game. I don’t know about out played, but they were out coached for about 33 minutes.
Remy martins plays at the end are what can happen when you depend on one player for the whole game. He seemed to get tired and made bone headed plays at the end as a result. Playing that many minutes is going to wear on any player.
Cronin made a few questionable coaching decisions that made this game closer than it needed to be.
1. He started by playing tyger on remy Martin. Remy scored the first 8 points of the game if I’m not mistaken. Tyger is not quick enough to cover a guard like remy by himself. Anyone should be able to see this but mick didn’t. And he wouldn’t change this for long stretches of the game.
2. Asu missed a host of layups and pull up jumpers. This is because while their guards are quick, they’re giving up size and as they approach the basket are more likely to get blocked. They rush shots inside as a result and missed many of them. This should have been the game plan from tip off. It didn’t show up until the last 5 minutes of the game which allowed UCLA to claw back in. Why this wasn’t the defensive game plan from the beginning is baffling.
3. UCLA had size all game and their big men shot about 100%!!! Pass the ball inside every time! There were so many times where a guard refused to pass inside or penetrate and pass opting for a 3 pt shot. Asu was letting them shoot threes! It was asu game plan to leave them open knowing that UCLA wasn’t shooting the three well.
4. UCLA shot amazing in the zona game from inside the arc. That’s why asu let UCLA have open threes. The zona game worked really well. Why did that get scrapped against a more susceptible team?
5. Lastly is tyger Campbell shooting threes. He’s shooting an abysmal 27-28% on the season and last season was worse. They’re leaving him open for a reason. Mick needs to treat him like a center who isn’t allowed to shoot the three until he’s proven he can. Tyger has a great pull up shot and a pretty good tear drop shot as well. These shots also allow him to pass to a big man if he gets doubled. Instead mick allows him to fire away. This has to be controlled and it’s the coaches responsibility to do so.
Mick won his 400th against a short handed asu team in the final second. I’m glad UCLA won, but mick needs to be better. It’s the end of the season when a team should be clicking on the things they’ve worked on all season. These glaring deficiencies are unacceptable
There were a few points made here from 2 posters that are not taking sone things into account.
1. If Tyger doesn’t guard Remy, who should? And who should Tyger guard in that circumstance? Tyger can’t stay with Verge either. It’s a tough matchup and Tyger HAS to play because we have no offense with him sitting.
2. Tyger has to shoot some 3s. He has to keep the defense honest. If he shoots none, then his defender will just sag off of him and his ability to penetrate will disappear.
3. We didn’t play well at all. Yes, the ball should go inside as mush as possible. In the first half, Riley got in foul trouble. Etienne was not effective in the first half and Nwuba is still very raw. In the 2nd half, when Riley went out, Etienne stepped up big time. We saw a glimpse of the type of player he can become. He has a nice touch and made his free throws.
4. We missed Jalen Hill defensively. His ability to switch and cover guards and protect the rim allows us to be more aggressive in guarding the 3. That seems to go unnoticed.
5. ASU wasn’t the only team that was shorthanded. We were shorthanded as well. Stanford has been shorthanded. It’s been an odd season with COVID. None of us know how that affects the players on a daily basis.
6. We have 3 tough games ahead. The mountain road trip is never easy and USC presents a matchup nightmare as we are overmatched in the frontcourt. Riley isn’t athletic enough or tall enough to go against the Mobleys. If Hill comes back, his physicality could help, but it’s difficult to know what he is dealing with.
Let’s hope we play with intensity to close out the regular season. If not, we could easily lose all 3 games. We don’t have the talent to take any nights off.
Etienne! The future looks good.
The couch coaches love to criticize Cronin. It's not easy when you're missing your best all around player and best interior defender.