No, I think there is a middle ground between "you should sit a guy with two fouls early in the 1st half" and "this is a senior who probably understands how to play with two fouls, especially because he half-asses defense already". Jaime could have come back into the game earlier, especially since his defense didn't get any better in the second half when he was theoretically unhindered by foul trouble.
If Jaime picked up more fouls and wasn't taken out, the same people here complaining about Cronin taking him out, would be complaining about Cronin leaving him in.
I think Mick wanted to send a message. Jaime's defense hasn't been great lately (it's never been great, tbh) and after the fouls, I'm pretty sure Coach Cronin wanted Jaquez to sort of reevaluate his game. It sure looked better in the second half, and that's what you'd expect from a senior leader, too. Glad it worked out. We sure missed his offense in the first half, but the defense kept Oregon from running away with things, too.
Bad news...The Bruins are a mess when Jaime basically doesn't play a half and Tiger can't make a shot.
Good news...The Bruins can respond to adversity and play a really good half of basketball to beat a solid opponent.
It's great seeing Bailey becoming a more reliable offensive threat. That's key for this offense to have another scorer besides Tiger and JJJr (and Singleton from the outside) and it will force the defense to not simply focus on those two.
I didn't think they were "a mess" - but like ANY time who loses a starter for large portions of the game, they aren't the same. THat coupled with your starting guard going 0-9 just makes for a bad half of roundball. But, even with all that woe, only down by 6 at the break. I'm glass half-full kind of person. The shooting in the first half was Antarctic cold (it wasn't just Tyger). The best thing was the Bruins got themselves "righted" at the break. They are going to have less-than-stellar play, cold streaks, and other maladies. They have to learn to shake that off and do what they did in the second half.
And Bailey was joyful to watch.. what WAS that block? Other world kind of talent!
We're on the same page, PBD. Mess vs bad half of roundball, we agree that wasn't our game. But big credit for still keeping it close and finding their offense in the second. And yeah, that block was sick!
I was actually most happy to see Bailey continue to grow… I harp on cronin a lot, but Bailey is the first true slasher ucla has had in years. He is getting more freedom which is in contrast to what I said earlier… if he can use his quickness to get to the rim, then ucla might actually have a chance this season.
No. It's what normally happens when players pick up two fouls in the first half. Stop calling coaching decisions you don't understand "dumb."
No, I think there is a middle ground between "you should sit a guy with two fouls early in the 1st half" and "this is a senior who probably understands how to play with two fouls, especially because he half-asses defense already". Jaime could have come back into the game earlier, especially since his defense didn't get any better in the second half when he was theoretically unhindered by foul trouble.
If Jaime picked up more fouls and wasn't taken out, the same people here complaining about Cronin taking him out, would be complaining about Cronin leaving him in.
I think Mick wanted to send a message. Jaime's defense hasn't been great lately (it's never been great, tbh) and after the fouls, I'm pretty sure Coach Cronin wanted Jaquez to sort of reevaluate his game. It sure looked better in the second half, and that's what you'd expect from a senior leader, too. Glad it worked out. We sure missed his offense in the first half, but the defense kept Oregon from running away with things, too.
That last three minutes were the Bruins we know we have. Go Bruins!
I like this team, a good balance of new and old.
Bad news...The Bruins are a mess when Jaime basically doesn't play a half and Tiger can't make a shot.
Good news...The Bruins can respond to adversity and play a really good half of basketball to beat a solid opponent.
It's great seeing Bailey becoming a more reliable offensive threat. That's key for this offense to have another scorer besides Tiger and JJJr (and Singleton from the outside) and it will force the defense to not simply focus on those two.
And the mark of an inconsistent team. That part has gotta get cleaned up.
I didn't think they were "a mess" - but like ANY time who loses a starter for large portions of the game, they aren't the same. THat coupled with your starting guard going 0-9 just makes for a bad half of roundball. But, even with all that woe, only down by 6 at the break. I'm glass half-full kind of person. The shooting in the first half was Antarctic cold (it wasn't just Tyger). The best thing was the Bruins got themselves "righted" at the break. They are going to have less-than-stellar play, cold streaks, and other maladies. They have to learn to shake that off and do what they did in the second half.
And Bailey was joyful to watch.. what WAS that block? Other world kind of talent!
Go Bruins!
We're on the same page, PBD. Mess vs bad half of roundball, we agree that wasn't our game. But big credit for still keeping it close and finding their offense in the second. And yeah, that block was sick!
No mention of Wil seeing action for the first time.
I was actually most happy to see Bailey continue to grow… I harp on cronin a lot, but Bailey is the first true slasher ucla has had in years. He is getting more freedom which is in contrast to what I said earlier… if he can use his quickness to get to the rim, then ucla might actually have a chance this season.