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
This is crazy. Without Tyger letting Remy score nearly at will, Hurley takes the ball out of Remy's hands in the final minutes. Who's gonna turn it over and foul Tyger, allowing him to tie the game then? Gotta think of these things, bb.
Good point. I am incorrect there... I think my 3 pt concern is purely around tyger. He took all three of his 3 pt shots in the second half. He was fairly wide open, missed all of them badly with plenty of time on the shot clock. He’s not a 3-pt shooter and taking them upsets the flow to the offense IMO
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.
Clark would be a good choice, although Martin still has a quickness advantage as he does over everyone we have. So does Verge. And given that the Bruins switch on every pick, no defender is on any player at all times. That’s also why I mentioned that the loss of Hill hurt us in this game and will from here on out. Cronin’s roster flexibility has taken a big hit this year.
Good points... I have some thoughts on 1-2... tyger should literally have been covering the third guard not verge or remy... for most of the game it was woods that he should have been on. There is absolutely zero reason to put your shortest worst defender on their quickest fastest, best shooting player.... zero. It should never have happened unless they were forced to switch. In the beginning it was actually intentional though, and that’s bad coaching, sorry
As to the three point shooting. I like keeping them honest, but in this game they weren’t even sagging off, they just double teamed the other shooter leaving him open to drive every time. He should do that every time it’s available because it’s a much higher percentage score for this team. Every time he is dismissed entirely, which was a lot
I know you don’t like my overall opinion of cronin. But if you’re going to reply, at least add something tangible to the conversation. Tell me why the above statements are wrong or say nothing at all. Your comment literally adds nothing to the conversation at hand
How is constantly complaining and being negative about a lot of his coaching decisions doing anything here? It's relentless negativity. Jesus, you even try to be negative about his recruiting by insinuating since Nix went to the G-league, others will. Cronin can't win with you. I don't have to prove anything that you say is wrong. You think building a program is easy? Especially with Alford players who have bad habits, egos, and sometimes refuse to listen. Mick can't afford to kick everyone off the team like the idiot football coach did. Fans like you would complain. You have no patience.
You could have commented this on army above as well. The whole point of these threads is to have open dialogue about what’s going on. It’s well established that I don’t like cronin as a long term coach and you and army do. So why the slight? Just because you don’t like my stance as a whole doesn’t mean that some of my thoughts are wrong. I get that you’ve written me off, but some of the things I write are obvious flaws that cronin has failed to address. Your one line comment doesn’t change that. I’d rather be able to chat about it... prove me wrong! I dare you
All I see are complaints.I asked you last week to name a coach who would come here and do better than Cronin. You didn't name one! If you're not going to do that, then stop bitching about every little decision he makes.
We talked about the lack of a better coach and I replied that you were correct, nobody better wanted to come. I don’t think UCLA had better options. I’ve already agreed with your points on that topic.
I’ve provided what I see as problems that should be fixable and Cornin refuses. If you see that as complaining then so be it. I refuse to turn a blind eye to bad coaching.
Tyger defending man to man one of the highest scoring fastest players in the conference doesn’t make sense. It’s the second time they played asu and he didn’t make the correct changes. It’s obvious to everyone watching.
Mick refuses to address the slow starts as a problem. He’s gone so far to specifically address the questions in multiple press conferences as a non issue. It’s an issue and not adequately preparing how to start games is a PROBLEM.
Why is it that I’m unable to be critical of mick’s obvious mistakes without your incessant backlash. If there are obvious coaching flaws, they should be discussed. What else are these threads for? If you came to a discussion thread where everyone had the same opinion, there wouldn’t be a lot of discussing going on
Cronin isn't going to read your critiques and complaints. LOL @ bad coaching! Tyger cannot really guard anyone with any consistency. If he doesn't play, then the offense is trash. SMH.
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
UCLA is shorthanded too. Duh!
This is crazy. Without Tyger letting Remy score nearly at will, Hurley takes the ball out of Remy's hands in the final minutes. Who's gonna turn it over and foul Tyger, allowing him to tie the game then? Gotta think of these things, bb.
Touché! Didn’t think about that for sure 😂
It's this level of 4D Chess that shows just how much better Cronin is as a coach compared to chumps like Bobby Hurley.
39% isn't shooting the three well? We were 7-18. FFS.
Good point. I am incorrect there... I think my 3 pt concern is purely around tyger. He took all three of his 3 pt shots in the second half. He was fairly wide open, missed all of them badly with plenty of time on the shot clock. He’s not a 3-pt shooter and taking them upsets the flow to the offense IMO
Tyger shoots about 28% from out there. I am not in love with the idea that he should shoot them, but I understand it..
Man, this day... I love all of our Bruin athletes, but there is a name I have not missed seeing.
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.
Clark would be a good choice, although Martin still has a quickness advantage as he does over everyone we have. So does Verge. And given that the Bruins switch on every pick, no defender is on any player at all times. That’s also why I mentioned that the loss of Hill hurt us in this game and will from here on out. Cronin’s roster flexibility has taken a big hit this year.
Good points... I have some thoughts on 1-2... tyger should literally have been covering the third guard not verge or remy... for most of the game it was woods that he should have been on. There is absolutely zero reason to put your shortest worst defender on their quickest fastest, best shooting player.... zero. It should never have happened unless they were forced to switch. In the beginning it was actually intentional though, and that’s bad coaching, sorry
As to the three point shooting. I like keeping them honest, but in this game they weren’t even sagging off, they just double teamed the other shooter leaving him open to drive every time. He should do that every time it’s available because it’s a much higher percentage score for this team. Every time he is dismissed entirely, which was a lot
Everyone is an expert.
I know you don’t like my overall opinion of cronin. But if you’re going to reply, at least add something tangible to the conversation. Tell me why the above statements are wrong or say nothing at all. Your comment literally adds nothing to the conversation at hand
How is constantly complaining and being negative about a lot of his coaching decisions doing anything here? It's relentless negativity. Jesus, you even try to be negative about his recruiting by insinuating since Nix went to the G-league, others will. Cronin can't win with you. I don't have to prove anything that you say is wrong. You think building a program is easy? Especially with Alford players who have bad habits, egos, and sometimes refuse to listen. Mick can't afford to kick everyone off the team like the idiot football coach did. Fans like you would complain. You have no patience.
You could have commented this on army above as well. The whole point of these threads is to have open dialogue about what’s going on. It’s well established that I don’t like cronin as a long term coach and you and army do. So why the slight? Just because you don’t like my stance as a whole doesn’t mean that some of my thoughts are wrong. I get that you’ve written me off, but some of the things I write are obvious flaws that cronin has failed to address. Your one line comment doesn’t change that. I’d rather be able to chat about it... prove me wrong! I dare you
All I see are complaints.I asked you last week to name a coach who would come here and do better than Cronin. You didn't name one! If you're not going to do that, then stop bitching about every little decision he makes.
We talked about the lack of a better coach and I replied that you were correct, nobody better wanted to come. I don’t think UCLA had better options. I’ve already agreed with your points on that topic.
I’ve provided what I see as problems that should be fixable and Cornin refuses. If you see that as complaining then so be it. I refuse to turn a blind eye to bad coaching.
Tyger defending man to man one of the highest scoring fastest players in the conference doesn’t make sense. It’s the second time they played asu and he didn’t make the correct changes. It’s obvious to everyone watching.
Mick refuses to address the slow starts as a problem. He’s gone so far to specifically address the questions in multiple press conferences as a non issue. It’s an issue and not adequately preparing how to start games is a PROBLEM.
Why is it that I’m unable to be critical of mick’s obvious mistakes without your incessant backlash. If there are obvious coaching flaws, they should be discussed. What else are these threads for? If you came to a discussion thread where everyone had the same opinion, there wouldn’t be a lot of discussing going on
Cronin isn't going to read your critiques and complaints. LOL @ bad coaching! Tyger cannot really guard anyone with any consistency. If he doesn't play, then the offense is trash. SMH.
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.