All the 'unrealistic over the top demands' narrative that was spewed by irresponsible sports outlets turns out to be fake news or propaganda if you believe what Mara has to say - I do.
Mara's right about Dusty May knowing how to utilize BIGs and he poin…
All the 'unrealistic over the top demands' narrative that was spewed by irresponsible sports outlets turns out to be fake news or propaganda if you believe what Mara has to say - I do.
Mara's right about Dusty May knowing how to utilize BIGs and he points out Cronin's fatal flaws - doesn't know how to use big men and doesn't utilize a fast paced game to use big men in transition.
I honestly don't care anymore about labeling Cronin as a good or great or bad or average coach. He blew it with Mara and Mara isn't the only one who has not been utilized or developed in the right way.
Cronin has fatal flaws in developing and utilizing players, and his offensive schemes and style do not embrace the strengths of his players. He stifles them and that's what caused Mara to leave.
Get ready for a likely BIG 'L' when we play Michigan.
Of course, ironically, if we had played an uptempo, fast-paced transition game, Mara would have been able to play even less due to his lack of "conditioning" which, as someone who was an athlete a million years ago, is primarily an athlete's responsibility. Of course, strength and conditioning coaches can and should enhance the foundation the athlete starts with but no structure can stand with a flawed foundation which is the case here.. Or, to put it another way, can you imagine Coach tolerating a player saying "I can only play 6 minutes at a time"? It's a sad and unfortunate saga all around.
Conditioning and player development go hand in hand and are both the responsibility of the coach and player. Cronin is not blameless in this - and his system has never been known for developing BIGs.
We shall see, but I bet Dusty May develops Mara into a great player with a big role in their success. If not, then I will admit I am in error.
I really don’t see how Mara will integrate with Dusty May’s system. He wants to play uptempo at Michigan but Mara barely had the stamina to play Cronin’s grind-it-out approach.
Chen, so you don't see any fault with Cronin in this whole ordeal? Perhaps they both need to shoulder some responsibilty. Cronin is not blameless in what happened.
And I agree, Mara's lack of stamina was an issue as you pointed out. But this was his 2nd season so why was stamina still an issue - should have been resolved his first year and that lies in player development, imho.
Please don't misunderstand, of course strength and conditioning coaches and programs are crucial in development and refining what is brought to the table - but if Msra came back from summer in Spain out of condition to play NCAA B1G basketball, that's not on Cronin, right? I mean, he wasn't the only one affected by the various viruses that apparently swept through the team mid-season but his lack of a base of conditioning means he was always more likely to be affected more than most...
No one is blameless for what happened but IMHO it starts with Mara returning to UCLA out of condition - and that is primarily on the athlete, especially in the 2nd year in the program as you pointed out. Perhaps he'll take staying in condition more seriously going forward - for his sake, I hope so - but he wouldn't be the first player to have had it easy early in his career (being 7', throwing harder, being bigger and stronger than your peers, &c) to find it hard to adjust to having to work hard when everyone is suddenly as good/gifted as you are...
So prior to the end of the season, I did fault Cronin for not playing Mara more and thought that his handling of Aday would lead him to transfer. Now, I'm not so sure Cronin is at fault with how he handled Mara. I didn't know the extent of the conditioning issues. What I do know was that Mara did not practice with the team the summer before his freshman year, and then again, he didn't practice with the team the summer prior. Prior to his freshman year, I believe his issue was that his pro team wouldn't release him, and last summer, he played for his national team and then got injured.
I said above that I don't think coaches are responsible for making sure a player's conditioning is up to the rigors of the college game. A player needs to work at it, and Mara, who appeared to have fallen behind, didn't do so. He went back to play in Spain, which by most accounts, is less intense than your typical high school basketball game here in the US. Instead of competing against NBA players at UCLA like Clark and Dailey did in the summer pickup games, Mara went to play against easier competition and still got himself injured. At UCLA's level, a player has to have his own drive when it comes to conditioning. I am honestly a bit shocked at Mara's admission about his difficulties playing 6 minutes at a time and I wonder how Dusty May must feel about that interview.
I think the next season will be telling for what sort of work Mara is willing to put in. If he’s a hard worker then it will show at Michigan. I don’t think anyone will know before another season because crnin didn’t give him enough game minutes to actually see what he was capable of…
I'm actually fascinated by the choice because Michigan already has two guys who are likely ahead of him in the post pecking order in Morez Johnson Jr. and Yaxel Lendeborg. There's the question of whether Lendeborg actually sticks at Michigan or goes to the NBA Draft, but both of those guys are interior players who fit Michigan's faster pace much better than Mara does. He's still going to be the tallest guy on the team but they won't be able to replicate the Wolff/Goldin pairing with this group because none of the three interior guys are an outside threat like Wolff was (to say nothing of his dribbling ability). I'm also not sold on Lendeborg as a real game-changer, but I think a lot of that has to do with watching him against UCI in the NIT and coming away unimpressed that the Anteaters were able to dictate play against him.
(I also think Michigan is getting a major downgrade at guard going with Cadeau, and I imagine most teams will just pack the paint against them because they won't have the same level of guard play as they did last season, but that's a personal opinion on that one.)
Here's the story by Ben Bolch about why Mara left for Michigan.
https://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla/story/2025-04-20/aday-mara-talks-about-why-he-left-ucla-for-michigan
All the 'unrealistic over the top demands' narrative that was spewed by irresponsible sports outlets turns out to be fake news or propaganda if you believe what Mara has to say - I do.
Mara's right about Dusty May knowing how to utilize BIGs and he points out Cronin's fatal flaws - doesn't know how to use big men and doesn't utilize a fast paced game to use big men in transition.
I honestly don't care anymore about labeling Cronin as a good or great or bad or average coach. He blew it with Mara and Mara isn't the only one who has not been utilized or developed in the right way.
Cronin has fatal flaws in developing and utilizing players, and his offensive schemes and style do not embrace the strengths of his players. He stifles them and that's what caused Mara to leave.
Get ready for a likely BIG 'L' when we play Michigan.
Of course, ironically, if we had played an uptempo, fast-paced transition game, Mara would have been able to play even less due to his lack of "conditioning" which, as someone who was an athlete a million years ago, is primarily an athlete's responsibility. Of course, strength and conditioning coaches can and should enhance the foundation the athlete starts with but no structure can stand with a flawed foundation which is the case here.. Or, to put it another way, can you imagine Coach tolerating a player saying "I can only play 6 minutes at a time"? It's a sad and unfortunate saga all around.
Conditioning and player development go hand in hand and are both the responsibility of the coach and player. Cronin is not blameless in this - and his system has never been known for developing BIGs.
We shall see, but I bet Dusty May develops Mara into a great player with a big role in their success. If not, then I will admit I am in error.
I really don’t see how Mara will integrate with Dusty May’s system. He wants to play uptempo at Michigan but Mara barely had the stamina to play Cronin’s grind-it-out approach.
Chen, so you don't see any fault with Cronin in this whole ordeal? Perhaps they both need to shoulder some responsibilty. Cronin is not blameless in what happened.
And I agree, Mara's lack of stamina was an issue as you pointed out. But this was his 2nd season so why was stamina still an issue - should have been resolved his first year and that lies in player development, imho.
Please don't misunderstand, of course strength and conditioning coaches and programs are crucial in development and refining what is brought to the table - but if Msra came back from summer in Spain out of condition to play NCAA B1G basketball, that's not on Cronin, right? I mean, he wasn't the only one affected by the various viruses that apparently swept through the team mid-season but his lack of a base of conditioning means he was always more likely to be affected more than most...
No one is blameless for what happened but IMHO it starts with Mara returning to UCLA out of condition - and that is primarily on the athlete, especially in the 2nd year in the program as you pointed out. Perhaps he'll take staying in condition more seriously going forward - for his sake, I hope so - but he wouldn't be the first player to have had it easy early in his career (being 7', throwing harder, being bigger and stronger than your peers, &c) to find it hard to adjust to having to work hard when everyone is suddenly as good/gifted as you are...
All good points, Clio 💙💛
So prior to the end of the season, I did fault Cronin for not playing Mara more and thought that his handling of Aday would lead him to transfer. Now, I'm not so sure Cronin is at fault with how he handled Mara. I didn't know the extent of the conditioning issues. What I do know was that Mara did not practice with the team the summer before his freshman year, and then again, he didn't practice with the team the summer prior. Prior to his freshman year, I believe his issue was that his pro team wouldn't release him, and last summer, he played for his national team and then got injured.
I said above that I don't think coaches are responsible for making sure a player's conditioning is up to the rigors of the college game. A player needs to work at it, and Mara, who appeared to have fallen behind, didn't do so. He went back to play in Spain, which by most accounts, is less intense than your typical high school basketball game here in the US. Instead of competing against NBA players at UCLA like Clark and Dailey did in the summer pickup games, Mara went to play against easier competition and still got himself injured. At UCLA's level, a player has to have his own drive when it comes to conditioning. I am honestly a bit shocked at Mara's admission about his difficulties playing 6 minutes at a time and I wonder how Dusty May must feel about that interview.
it just seems like he wants to be nba ready without putting in the work
I think the next season will be telling for what sort of work Mara is willing to put in. If he’s a hard worker then it will show at Michigan. I don’t think anyone will know before another season because crnin didn’t give him enough game minutes to actually see what he was capable of…
I'm actually fascinated by the choice because Michigan already has two guys who are likely ahead of him in the post pecking order in Morez Johnson Jr. and Yaxel Lendeborg. There's the question of whether Lendeborg actually sticks at Michigan or goes to the NBA Draft, but both of those guys are interior players who fit Michigan's faster pace much better than Mara does. He's still going to be the tallest guy on the team but they won't be able to replicate the Wolff/Goldin pairing with this group because none of the three interior guys are an outside threat like Wolff was (to say nothing of his dribbling ability). I'm also not sold on Lendeborg as a real game-changer, but I think a lot of that has to do with watching him against UCI in the NIT and coming away unimpressed that the Anteaters were able to dictate play against him.
(I also think Michigan is getting a major downgrade at guard going with Cadeau, and I imagine most teams will just pack the paint against them because they won't have the same level of guard play as they did last season, but that's a personal opinion on that one.)