My take is don't compare to the almighty, compare to the alternative. Cronin is as good as any coach Ucla could get, and better than most. otoh it's Ucla we're talking about, not Podunk U (ahem Indiana). Tom Izzo is a great example of what continuity can do for a program, MSU is pretty good year in and year out. One problem I see, beyond the Alford fiasco which was a waste of resources and still leaves a bad taste in my mouth, is we need a coach for the next 10-15 years or so and in that context it makes sense to stick with Cronin.
Long time reader, first time poster. Thank you for the emotional and mental Bruin cleanse. Seriously needed a cathartic process after feeling stuck in feelings of frustration and what-could-have-beens after the last several weeks, in particular. Your analyses are always logical, thoughtful, and wry--like a dry martini (shaken, not stirred). As a class of '85 alum born into Bruin blood (my Dad lettered in swimming in the early 50s) who watched the Wooden teams in the late 60s and 70s, I've been pondering: With the bar set so impossibly high by the Wizard, will any UCLA coach ever meet the expectations of those of us who lived during the Wooden era? It's the 30-year anniversary of our last NC (wow), and still (and I will speak for myself and my friends here) we have Coach's ghost hanging around those banners in the rafters. Perhaps those born after Coach retired (Millennials and GenZ) have it best. Oh, and yeah, keep Cronin.
Welcome, Kyle. I love when our long time lurkers join in on the convo. We have a lot of amazing fans, especially from different eras, and it's great to have new voices here.
So, as a guy who started in '86 (and finished in '91, yay 5 years!) I gotta ask a guy who graduated in '85...
Hey Greg, thanks for the warm Bruin welcome. Well, I believe Twain was the one who said, "Youth is wasted on the young." And while I took a lot for granted earning my English Lit degree, I did not take for granted those Donahue-led teams that thrice won the Rose Bowl. I attended two out of three, and it was a pretty incredible experience. Attended the '99 RB as well, but that didn't quite end so well (thanks to Ron Dayne). But hey, you ended your five-year run as a student by helping to kick off our 8-year run beating $C, so that's a feather in your cap!
I disagree. Regardless of expectations, It's certainly reasonable to expect UCLA to win a NC in basketball more often than once in 30 years and the next one is who knows how many years away if ever. I agree he's a good coach but not for UCLA. Under Cronin, UCLA has not been good year in and year out depending on your definition of good. And at some point, you can't blame all the misfires on the players. His record says he has not been the greatest recruiter. He had one good run a few years ago and that's it. I do not know who the right choice is but my expectation is that UCLA should be top 15 annually and top 10 more often than not. Our program is not as good as Oregon or Gonzaga, at it should be. If you feel that is unreasonable I understand but don't agree. Cronin was a better coach before he came here. Mara sounds like a problem that is good not to have.
Like to know your definition of “good”. Cronin 2021 final 4 sprinkled with some Sweet 16’s. Good. Under the circumstances Cronin has been a magician navigating through stuff. The NIL deal has really hurt UCLA. Our university donors are cheap contributors compared to other universities. When was the last time you contributed? Money talks and bullshit walks.
The final 4 run was a season that UCLA snuck into the playin game as an 11 seed when many didn't even think they should be in the tournament. The rest of that season was absolute garbage to watch.
Who is going to contribute to a program when they don't support the coach? RJ just hashed through several good reasons why he doesn't think cronin is good for UCLA. Why would you put of money to a coach that you don't believe should be here in the first place?
Basketball is much more competitive now than it was 30 years ago or much earlier, when Coach Wooden was creating miracles year after year. If you wonder about how competitive basketball is now, just ask the amazing Duke team that could not defeat Houston or Florida, even with what analysts consider the strongest basketball team in many, many years.
I don't think a championship winning team is the measure of a successful season. Yes, Duke cratered at the end of their game to another 4 loss team that nearly won the national championship. That doesn't diminish the fact that Duke was a fun program to watch for the ENTIRE season. Can you truly say that you enjoyed watching the full season of UCLA basketball this year? I doubt it...
What is your logical/reality based reason that UCLA should always be in the top 15 annually and top 10 more often than not? I am probably the oldest poster on this board and went to UCLA during the Wooden era and the building of Pauly. We now have a completely different era in college basketball. To expect another Wooden like era at UCLA is not realistic. Woden was coaching over 50 years ago and in a completely different environment with some of the greatest basketball players of all time. Since Wooden's last championship, over 50 years ago, we have had only one National Championship 30 years ago under Harrick, who was not a great coach and certainly not better than Cronin, but he had a group of players that jelled at the right time. Other than that, we have reached the Final Four only four times since Wooden. Unfortunately, the Wooden era is long gone.
Coach said in his book "They Call Me Coach" that you can not win without great players (and he was referring to himself.) NIL makes it difficult to impossible to get the top players without tremendous financial donors coughing up wads of money. When I read about the multi-million dollar"contracts" that the best players in college basketball get now, realistically, UCLA as a public school and without the enthusiastic alumni financial support that other schools have, can not expect to be in the top 10 most of the time. Look North to the Oregon Ducks and Knight, the founder of Nike, and billionaire who gives millions to Oregon university funding these mega "contracts" for their athelets.
I understand all of that. So how low does that mean the bar should be now? I didn't really say anything about Championships. Do you not think we should be a top 15 team on an annual basis? Are we giving up now and we just accept whatever we have? Those are serious questions. I am not criticizing other views, just stating what mine are.
There are 365 Division I schools. The real question is why do you think UCLA should always be in the top 10 or 15? Because of what Wooden did 50 years ago in a different environment than today including a far smaller number of teams in the NCAA tournament? Accepting what we have does not equal "giving up" as long as, to paraphrase Wooden, that team did its best to become the best it was capable of.. UCLA will go as far as the amount of NIL money available to spend on top players along with good choices in the Portal and recruiting, and good coaching with Cronin. Some years they may be a top 10 or 15 team, more years they will not be.
So that answers my question. For you there is no longer a bar. We just get whatever we get. And yes I do believe in part that UCLA should be good in basketball because of their history and legacy, just like other schools in the same sport or different sports. We're really nobody in College Basketball right now. Not top 20 maybe not top 25. We just have different expectations. You have provided your reasons why UCLA is no longer relevant in College Basketball nor should they be expected to be. I don't necessarily disagree with your reasons, just that I don't find them acceptable. UCLA has an outstanding academic reputation. Are you ok with that going by the wayside as well because times have changed? The university has a history of excellence and I believe it should be maintained.
Try reading my post again. Did not say UCLA is "no longer relevant"--do not put words in my mouth. Not being in the top 10 or 15 every year does not make UCLA "not relevant"--just makes UCLA a school that sometimes will be in the top whatever and sometimes not. By your definition of "relevant", only a very few basketball schools are "relevant" and the rest of the 365 are "not relevant" I suppose you would say UNC Tarheels are not relevant because they did not make top 10 or 15 the last few years?
And do not equate academic excellence with having a top ten basketball/football team as that is mixing apples with oranges. .
I would agree that hoping for a top 15 annual team is unrealistic. However, hoping that happens more than once in a 6 year span doesn’t seem like an unreasonable bar to set. I think that’s why the question they posed for a fan like you is not unreasonable. What is your new bar for ucla? We can all agree that wooden wont be rising from the grave, and even if he did the years of college basketball dynasty are more of a myth. Will you answer the question of what your bar is? RJ stated their bar for satisfaction, why is it so hard for you to answer that question?
For reference, a number one seed has one the national championship in more than 50% of all tournaments in the 2000’s if I’m not mistaken. So my bar is to be a number one seeded tourney team at least once every 10 years at a minimum. I also think that the team should be a top 25 team at least 9-10 seasons. And a top 10 team in 5-10 seasons. Is that unrealistic? Maybe, but thats what my bar of success looks like. Cronin hasn’t done that and I don’t think he’s capable of it as he has to rebrand his offense and we all know how that turned out for Ben howland
Since 2021 (Cronin’s first yr where postseason was played), ucla has made 1 FF and 2 Sweet Sixteens. In that same time frame; Oregon has made *checks notes*…. One sweet sixteen.
Really good article. I like the way you outlined your stance on Cronin and the future of the program. I too think Cronin is an overall 'good' coach, but you will never convince me he is a 'good' offensive coach. As someone so aptly pointed out regarding the sweet 16 teams, Cronin's offense just isn't as entertaining as any of those programs (for me), which is the whole point in watching basketball games. It has to be entertaining, and the slow drawn out style of the Virginia, Drake, Tennessee, and of course UCLA programs is just not my style. You could even throw Houston into this conversation in some sense, but their defense is the most smothering defense the NCAA has seen in years... UCLA isn't even close to what Houston does on defense in my opinion.
I will ask a question in regards to the comment about "an elite inside-out game". What evidence from Cronin's tenure leads you to believe that this was a possibility with Mara and Dent? I wouldn't say any of Cronin's teams had an elite inside-out game. Maybe with Jaquez, but even Jaquez wasn't playing the 5.
I don't think Cronin can develop the offensive prowess of a 5. At this point, he hasn't shown that he can do that. This is one of his major flaws in my opinion in that a strong offensive college level 5 is important if you want to win a championship. The zach edey, drew timme, etc... players that are developed appropriately for college level scoring. UCLA hasn't seen a 5 that can put up big numbers since... Kevin Love? That's a shame, but I do think it limits UCLA ceiling on another big tournament run until it's figured out. Mara may have been someone that with proper coaching could have become that player. I'm interested to see what another program like Michigan can accomplish with him next year.
The Dylan Andrews mystery is perplexing. Both him and Mack regressed significantly from the prior season. I'm surprised you didn't bring up Mack as well. Both of these players were the only players that might have developed into true slashers that could drive and go for a layup, drive and take a step back jumper, drive and dish, drive and lob to the 7'3' player on the court... This level of development was completely absent in my opinion and is why ultimately, they are both now on different teams. This is the reason why my expectations of Dent are highly tempered under a coach like Cronin. Given what he did to those two players between the last two years gives me some extreme hesitation with regards to Dent. He will only have one season with Dent, and the Cronin lovers will say, well he didn't have enough time to teach him defense... or he didn't have enough time to get him into the form required.
The last comment on Cronin... there are so many excuses by the Cronin lovers on why he wasn't responsible for this or that... yada yada yada. He's the head coach who should take responsibility for his team. He's consistently throwing his players, assistant coaches, NIL money, whatever makes sense that week as the reason for his short comings. I've said many times that a true leader will lead by example. I've yet to see Cronin ever do that in any of his press conferences. The one time he took responsibility in a post game loss was as a sarcastic dig that everyone could see through. I've said from the beginning that I think Cronin is the wrong guy for UCLA basketball and I'll feel that way until he's gone. My expectations on what he can accomplish are capped at what he accomplished at Cincinnati. A good team every 3-5 years where his lack of offensive coaching ability dooms him at the end of the season.
Did Mack really regress? Yes, his numbers were down, but that was a function of 6 less mpg. He lost playing time to better players that were not on the roster his freshman season.
Did Andrews really regress? I never thought he was that good to begin with. His best season at UCLA was his sophomore season when he had an embarrassing 2:1 assist to turnover ratio.
I don't think any of that is Cronin's fault, unless you want to blame him for recruiting them in the first place which is a fair criticism, but again, he was very limited by NIL when he recruited those 2 players.
Very excited to see what Cronin can do with Dent and especially the other transfers.
I didn’t bring up Mack in part because I don’t believe he regressed (I actually felt he improved this year compared to last year when he was a one-trick only) and because he wasn’t integral to how the roster was constructed. If Mack regressed or had a bad game, it wasn’t going to be a big deal because Skyy Clark was brought in to stabilize the guards and Trent Perry was brought in as an upside play. But none of those guys are true point guards like Andrews, hence the problem.
As for the inside-out game, that lies more with personnel than anything. UCLA had a had an elite player at one of those positions (Tyler Campbell for years, Adem Bona last year) but lacked both at the same time, and really lacked the shooting as well. Dent is a great passer to go with excellent slashing and finishing, while Mara is an elite passer with his size, and last year’s team could actually shoot. More than enough ingredients to say that it was possible, but without Mara that chance is diminished.
Don’t you think an elite inside out game takes an elite scoring 5 though? If there isn’t the risk that player is going to score with their back to the basket (see adem bona) then the inside out game will never be elite. Both players have to be capable of scoring or taking it to the basket in order for that to be effective. Cronin has yet to develop an elite 5 with good footwork, good rebounding, good vision, and can score lots of points with their back to the basket. Thats why I’ll ask again, what 5 has he developed into the elite scoring threat that is required for a truly elite inside out game?
In addition to the specific disappointments with Mara and Andrews, I thought the entire team lacked the consistency, toughness, and resilience that we've seen in previous teams under Coach Cronin. Whatever issues they had with traveling, scheduling of games, or completing schoolwork, the Bruins had a really tough time trying to win on the road against B1G teams in the eastern time zones. Many of their losses this season weren't competitively close, either. But a 4th-place finish as a B1G newcomer (and better than their former Pac-12 rivals) with a revamped "Year-1" team is about where they were predicted to be in preseason projections. The Bruins might have exceeded those expectations if Mara and Andrews had been performing more successfully.
As far as the HC goes, Coach Cronin did much better this year with more NIL funds being made available after experiencing that NIL debacle and alternative Euro-recruiting disaster the previous year. Look forward to seeing how next season's new transfers perform alongside his returning players. With NIL, the transfer portal, and NBA draft, it also doesn't seem likely that any program can field a top-10 team on an annual basis anymore. And for those with anti-Cronin fever, winning seems to be a proven antidote, while the Martin Guerrero HC search committee is an unreliable and highly-experimental remedy. :-)
I think Cronin was hampered by an athletic department that was resistant to accepting the realities of the new NIL world. Even now, the department hasn’t been at the forefront of fundraising for our teams.
As for Mara, the LA Times released an interview that seemingly confirms some of the reporting while he also denies them.
For example, Mara confirms that he could only play 6 mins at a time before he took himself out of games. Because he doesn’t know how long he plays, he gives 100% for those 6 mins? What kind of excuse is that? Why not give 90% and play for 7 minutes? That confirmation regarding his conditioning explains why Cronin would be reluctant to play him to begin with. Mara doesn’t address, and Bolch doesnt seem to ask, about the tampering allegations.
You beat me to the LA Times article but I have a different POV. Yes, that was kinda odd the way Mara talked about giving 💯 but I think the truth is found in the fact that Cronin doesn't know how to develop and utilize Bigs and his offensive 'system' is flawed in the way it stifles players. Dusty May is the opposite.
I find the criticism of Mara's conditioning to be way overblown and is being used as an excuse for the poor handling of a player with his skillset. Had Cronin been playing Mara from the start of the season against several overmatched teams, it would have improved his game shape. Plus, it's not uncommon for a player to signal he needs a breather. It doesn't mean he's asking out for the rest of the game. Play him in 6 minute stretches and let him rest for a few. You can easily get 25 minutes a game from him with that strategy. Frankly, he's lucky to get 6 minutes given Mick's quick hook for any mistake. Mick Cronin had no plans for Mara to be a contributor on this team from the beginning. How do we know that? Because he penciled in Tyler Bilodeau at the 5. I have argued that Bilodeau should have been the 4, Dailey the 3 and a combo of Mara and Kyle at the 5. We never had the opportunity to see that because Mick Cronin is inflexible and stubborn. His mind was made up heading into the season. The rest is smokescreen. Mara and Kyle needed development and needed minutes on the floor for the benefit of the team. Next year, we will get to see Bilodeau at the 4 and Dailey at the 3 if reporting is correct. Unfortunately, we lost an excellent passing big man in the process with a lot of finger pointing and smokescreens regarding his departure. In one week he went from playing NO minutes against Iowa in a blowout win and 3 nights later played 21 minutes in a dominant performance against Wisconsin. Logically speaking, that makes no sense at all. If you want to criticize his stamina late in the season, blame the norovirus that greatly affected his cardio fitness down the stretch. But, the continued nonsense about him being in poor shape and the lies about his supposed demands look worse by the day. Mick simply did not trust Mara and thought he was soft. Mara did not trust Mick to play him based upon his track record of not playing him, even as the coach said he would play him more. This one is on Cronin.
Cronin making excuses for his short comings and flaws as a coach? That would never... HAS never happened. Cronin is an amazing coach, could be the best coach in the world for his age. He said it himself, he's already got 500 wins! Dude is heading to the hall of fame for sure, just ask Cronin, he'll tell you.
"Mick Cronin had no plans..." there is no evidence that Cronin doesn't plan well. Just look at the team he recruited and put together in 23-24. Look no further, that was the best planned season Cronin has EVER had. It's not his fault his players didn't work hard enough. It's not his fault none of those players meshed as a unit. It's not his fault the team has been rudderless for two seasons. I mean what do you expect, it's not like he recruited these teams. He doesn't assemble the players at UCLA. He's not responsible for any of those things.
All of that baloney aside, we can just forget the last two seasons even happened at this point, because NEXT YEAR is going to be better! Hall of famer Cronin has Donovan F'ing Dent ya'll. With Cronin's joystick coaching prowess, Dent is sure to get his 40 points a game each night next year. Get out your checkbooks and pencil in your donation to Cronin because superman coming to town. Cronin is rewriting his offensive strategy and his entire playbook to match his defensive genius! He's making room for this amazing player on offense Just like Mr. Benny Howland did with Muhammed! Most of you watched that season. It completely transformed Benny Howland and saved his coaching career! Don't believe me?! Just wait, you'll see, you'll ALL see. It's easy to flip the switch to go from a poor offensive coach to an amazing offensive coach over night. All you need is ONE player...
Just give it time! There's no reason to stop supporting Cronin now. He's just needs another decade under his belt. Besides, as long as these players are performing to their maximum potential, then nothing else even matters. Most of us can agree here that Cronin got the absolute maximum out of his players like Aday Mara, Peyton Watson, and the slew of freshman players from the 23-24 season! CRONIN IS A COACH THAT KEEPS PLAYERS ON FOR YEARS SO HE CAN DEVELOP THEM!!!! All those freshman transfers from the 23-24 season that left... they were just undevelopable trash players. Just ask the one line commenters in this forum, they'll tell you. None of those players were worth developing. Daddy Cronin knows what's up, next season UCLA will be a top 25 team with a 4-5 seed for the national tourney. Again, I implore you please get out your check books and put your money where your mouth is, Cronin needs all of your money so he can stay here... I was hoping forever!
Thank you Army for your excellent analysis - it is truly on point. I also believe Cronin should take some responsibility for Mara's stamina issue if it was an issue beyond the virus - just saying.
ok, real question here for you. In regards to this comment "Why not give 90% and play for 7 minutes?"
Do you actually think Cronin would play someone under his coaching style if they were only giving it 90%??!! Come on man!!! Cronin pulls players out of a game if they give him the wrong look, especially Mara!
I'll give you my opinion even though you didn't ask and I'm sure despise my thoughts. If Mara said I'll give you 90% for 7 minutes, Cronin is probably making him ride the bench for the entire game for suggesting he would play games with less effort so he could stay in longer. That's who Cronin has demonstrated he is as a coach...
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.)
Crnin on Xavier Booker, "We really wanted an athletic big man with size and length to run the floor, alongside our guards, and he provides us with shot blocking at the rim."
Booker said that Crnin wants him "to run like a gazelle" up and down the floor.
I guess Mara wasn't the guy to do so.
We'll see how player development and utilization unfold under the genius of Coach Mick Crnin, whom UCLA is fortunate to have.
Sea... you are so astute, my friend. The truth about the Mara saga lies somewhere and the only thing we can 💯 count on with BRO and BSPN, is wanting clicks and subscriptions. But I do believe Bolch has his heart in the right place even if the full truth is not always revealed.
Mara just didn’t have the stamina… it isn’t genius cronins fault Mara used all his energy at the World Cup. What was Cronin supposed to do, coach the Spanish national team so he could save some of that energy for the ucla season? I mean, he is in his own mind the hardest working best coach on the planet… 500 wins at his age is just sheer brilliance. The Spanish national team should have offered cronin the job. Definitely Mara’s mistake to play so many minutes prior to going to daddy cronins camp
Ok you can't compare the US team to all the other international teams! They beat all the other teams in the competition that year by an average of 39 points lol
Ironically, Cronin signed most of the top euro performers from that tournament in Fiblieul (France finished 3rd place), Vide (avg the most points in the tournament), Mara (Spain finished 2nd) and all 3 have struggled so far adjusting to the college game.
I finally went and read the Mara article. Two things stuck out to me:
First, this quote:
“Also, I think I felt like I was playing good, practicing good, practicing hard, you know, putting in extra work and until Wisconsin I never had the opportunity to show that I was able to play, you know? And once [Cronin] gave me the opportunity, I saw — not a lot, but I saw what I could do, so those are the two reasons.”
The portion that sticks out is where he says, "I never had the opportunity to show that I was able to play"... That tells you what he thinks about his play time up until the Wisconsin game after the season was already halfway through. Regardless of injury, sickness, or whatever, Mara feels like he didn't get enough opportunity. This I truly agree with.
Second, there is zero praise for and loving admiration for Cronin. Little daddy Cronin and Mara didn't get along, that seems pretty obvious after reading through some of the statements.
Question: Why has Cronin had to almost exclusively rely on the transfer portal the last 2 (and now coming up 3) seasons? The NBA mock draft 1st rounders is still filled with freshmen.
Duke is an exception on that front, especially given what they are willing to spend in relation to everyone else (Duke is one of the few teams with a $12+ million NIL budget, and I’d guess at them being the highest).
Duke is definitely an exception. I think experience in college counts more nowadays.
Rutgers had 2 freshmen that are predicted top 5 picks… did they even make a postseason tourney? Just browsing some mock drafts, not a lot of teams that have freshmen FRPs seem to have had much regular season and/or postseason success with Duke as the only exception.
Yep. Our incoming class is Sienna Betts and Lena Bilic, and CLW is good to go. But so far, no one else. I am super happy Timea and Dug are staying. But Jones leaving for suc is a shocker. Janiah leaving not so much.
We really need a shooter (hopefully Kneepkins), but also a PG for when Kiki is out (Arnisalo leaving surprised me), and a defensive stopper. Jones and Dudley leaving hurts in the D dept (Gardiner can hit the three like Jones, but she’s too slow on D and gets beat too often). On top, we need underclassmen. As of right now, in a year’s time we only have the 2 incoming freshmen I think. Kneepkins would be awesome, but she’ll be a senior like most of our team. No way we can fill 12 spots in 1 recruiting cycle, even with portal chaos. Expected Barker to leave, but think S. Betts fills that hole
My take is don't compare to the almighty, compare to the alternative. Cronin is as good as any coach Ucla could get, and better than most. otoh it's Ucla we're talking about, not Podunk U (ahem Indiana). Tom Izzo is a great example of what continuity can do for a program, MSU is pretty good year in and year out. One problem I see, beyond the Alford fiasco which was a waste of resources and still leaves a bad taste in my mouth, is we need a coach for the next 10-15 years or so and in that context it makes sense to stick with Cronin.
Long time reader, first time poster. Thank you for the emotional and mental Bruin cleanse. Seriously needed a cathartic process after feeling stuck in feelings of frustration and what-could-have-beens after the last several weeks, in particular. Your analyses are always logical, thoughtful, and wry--like a dry martini (shaken, not stirred). As a class of '85 alum born into Bruin blood (my Dad lettered in swimming in the early 50s) who watched the Wooden teams in the late 60s and 70s, I've been pondering: With the bar set so impossibly high by the Wizard, will any UCLA coach ever meet the expectations of those of us who lived during the Wooden era? It's the 30-year anniversary of our last NC (wow), and still (and I will speak for myself and my friends here) we have Coach's ghost hanging around those banners in the rafters. Perhaps those born after Coach retired (Millennials and GenZ) have it best. Oh, and yeah, keep Cronin.
Welcome, Kyle. I love when our long time lurkers join in on the convo. We have a lot of amazing fans, especially from different eras, and it's great to have new voices here.
So, as a guy who started in '86 (and finished in '91, yay 5 years!) I gotta ask a guy who graduated in '85...
What's it like to win a Rose Bowl? Or three?
sigh...
But, sincerely, welcome! :-)
Hey Greg, thanks for the warm Bruin welcome. Well, I believe Twain was the one who said, "Youth is wasted on the young." And while I took a lot for granted earning my English Lit degree, I did not take for granted those Donahue-led teams that thrice won the Rose Bowl. I attended two out of three, and it was a pretty incredible experience. Attended the '99 RB as well, but that didn't quite end so well (thanks to Ron Dayne). But hey, you ended your five-year run as a student by helping to kick off our 8-year run beating $C, so that's a feather in your cap!
I disagree. Regardless of expectations, It's certainly reasonable to expect UCLA to win a NC in basketball more often than once in 30 years and the next one is who knows how many years away if ever. I agree he's a good coach but not for UCLA. Under Cronin, UCLA has not been good year in and year out depending on your definition of good. And at some point, you can't blame all the misfires on the players. His record says he has not been the greatest recruiter. He had one good run a few years ago and that's it. I do not know who the right choice is but my expectation is that UCLA should be top 15 annually and top 10 more often than not. Our program is not as good as Oregon or Gonzaga, at it should be. If you feel that is unreasonable I understand but don't agree. Cronin was a better coach before he came here. Mara sounds like a problem that is good not to have.
Like to know your definition of “good”. Cronin 2021 final 4 sprinkled with some Sweet 16’s. Good. Under the circumstances Cronin has been a magician navigating through stuff. The NIL deal has really hurt UCLA. Our university donors are cheap contributors compared to other universities. When was the last time you contributed? Money talks and bullshit walks.
The final 4 run was a season that UCLA snuck into the playin game as an 11 seed when many didn't even think they should be in the tournament. The rest of that season was absolute garbage to watch.
Who is going to contribute to a program when they don't support the coach? RJ just hashed through several good reasons why he doesn't think cronin is good for UCLA. Why would you put of money to a coach that you don't believe should be here in the first place?
Basketball is much more competitive now than it was 30 years ago or much earlier, when Coach Wooden was creating miracles year after year. If you wonder about how competitive basketball is now, just ask the amazing Duke team that could not defeat Houston or Florida, even with what analysts consider the strongest basketball team in many, many years.
I don't think a championship winning team is the measure of a successful season. Yes, Duke cratered at the end of their game to another 4 loss team that nearly won the national championship. That doesn't diminish the fact that Duke was a fun program to watch for the ENTIRE season. Can you truly say that you enjoyed watching the full season of UCLA basketball this year? I doubt it...
What is your logical/reality based reason that UCLA should always be in the top 15 annually and top 10 more often than not? I am probably the oldest poster on this board and went to UCLA during the Wooden era and the building of Pauly. We now have a completely different era in college basketball. To expect another Wooden like era at UCLA is not realistic. Woden was coaching over 50 years ago and in a completely different environment with some of the greatest basketball players of all time. Since Wooden's last championship, over 50 years ago, we have had only one National Championship 30 years ago under Harrick, who was not a great coach and certainly not better than Cronin, but he had a group of players that jelled at the right time. Other than that, we have reached the Final Four only four times since Wooden. Unfortunately, the Wooden era is long gone.
Coach said in his book "They Call Me Coach" that you can not win without great players (and he was referring to himself.) NIL makes it difficult to impossible to get the top players without tremendous financial donors coughing up wads of money. When I read about the multi-million dollar"contracts" that the best players in college basketball get now, realistically, UCLA as a public school and without the enthusiastic alumni financial support that other schools have, can not expect to be in the top 10 most of the time. Look North to the Oregon Ducks and Knight, the founder of Nike, and billionaire who gives millions to Oregon university funding these mega "contracts" for their athelets.
I understand all of that. So how low does that mean the bar should be now? I didn't really say anything about Championships. Do you not think we should be a top 15 team on an annual basis? Are we giving up now and we just accept whatever we have? Those are serious questions. I am not criticizing other views, just stating what mine are.
There are 365 Division I schools. The real question is why do you think UCLA should always be in the top 10 or 15? Because of what Wooden did 50 years ago in a different environment than today including a far smaller number of teams in the NCAA tournament? Accepting what we have does not equal "giving up" as long as, to paraphrase Wooden, that team did its best to become the best it was capable of.. UCLA will go as far as the amount of NIL money available to spend on top players along with good choices in the Portal and recruiting, and good coaching with Cronin. Some years they may be a top 10 or 15 team, more years they will not be.
So that answers my question. For you there is no longer a bar. We just get whatever we get. And yes I do believe in part that UCLA should be good in basketball because of their history and legacy, just like other schools in the same sport or different sports. We're really nobody in College Basketball right now. Not top 20 maybe not top 25. We just have different expectations. You have provided your reasons why UCLA is no longer relevant in College Basketball nor should they be expected to be. I don't necessarily disagree with your reasons, just that I don't find them acceptable. UCLA has an outstanding academic reputation. Are you ok with that going by the wayside as well because times have changed? The university has a history of excellence and I believe it should be maintained.
Try reading my post again. Did not say UCLA is "no longer relevant"--do not put words in my mouth. Not being in the top 10 or 15 every year does not make UCLA "not relevant"--just makes UCLA a school that sometimes will be in the top whatever and sometimes not. By your definition of "relevant", only a very few basketball schools are "relevant" and the rest of the 365 are "not relevant" I suppose you would say UNC Tarheels are not relevant because they did not make top 10 or 15 the last few years?
And do not equate academic excellence with having a top ten basketball/football team as that is mixing apples with oranges. .
Sorry we disagree but you are absolutely correct. I said based on your expectations they are no longer relevant.
I would agree that hoping for a top 15 annual team is unrealistic. However, hoping that happens more than once in a 6 year span doesn’t seem like an unreasonable bar to set. I think that’s why the question they posed for a fan like you is not unreasonable. What is your new bar for ucla? We can all agree that wooden wont be rising from the grave, and even if he did the years of college basketball dynasty are more of a myth. Will you answer the question of what your bar is? RJ stated their bar for satisfaction, why is it so hard for you to answer that question?
For reference, a number one seed has one the national championship in more than 50% of all tournaments in the 2000’s if I’m not mistaken. So my bar is to be a number one seeded tourney team at least once every 10 years at a minimum. I also think that the team should be a top 25 team at least 9-10 seasons. And a top 10 team in 5-10 seasons. Is that unrealistic? Maybe, but thats what my bar of success looks like. Cronin hasn’t done that and I don’t think he’s capable of it as he has to rebrand his offense and we all know how that turned out for Ben howland
By what metric is ucla not as good as Oregon?
Since 2021 (Cronin’s first yr where postseason was played), ucla has made 1 FF and 2 Sweet Sixteens. In that same time frame; Oregon has made *checks notes*…. One sweet sixteen.
Thank you for another excellent analysis of the UCLA situation -- something that an old alumnus could not otherwise find 3000 miles from Westwood.
Really good article. I like the way you outlined your stance on Cronin and the future of the program. I too think Cronin is an overall 'good' coach, but you will never convince me he is a 'good' offensive coach. As someone so aptly pointed out regarding the sweet 16 teams, Cronin's offense just isn't as entertaining as any of those programs (for me), which is the whole point in watching basketball games. It has to be entertaining, and the slow drawn out style of the Virginia, Drake, Tennessee, and of course UCLA programs is just not my style. You could even throw Houston into this conversation in some sense, but their defense is the most smothering defense the NCAA has seen in years... UCLA isn't even close to what Houston does on defense in my opinion.
I will ask a question in regards to the comment about "an elite inside-out game". What evidence from Cronin's tenure leads you to believe that this was a possibility with Mara and Dent? I wouldn't say any of Cronin's teams had an elite inside-out game. Maybe with Jaquez, but even Jaquez wasn't playing the 5.
I don't think Cronin can develop the offensive prowess of a 5. At this point, he hasn't shown that he can do that. This is one of his major flaws in my opinion in that a strong offensive college level 5 is important if you want to win a championship. The zach edey, drew timme, etc... players that are developed appropriately for college level scoring. UCLA hasn't seen a 5 that can put up big numbers since... Kevin Love? That's a shame, but I do think it limits UCLA ceiling on another big tournament run until it's figured out. Mara may have been someone that with proper coaching could have become that player. I'm interested to see what another program like Michigan can accomplish with him next year.
The Dylan Andrews mystery is perplexing. Both him and Mack regressed significantly from the prior season. I'm surprised you didn't bring up Mack as well. Both of these players were the only players that might have developed into true slashers that could drive and go for a layup, drive and take a step back jumper, drive and dish, drive and lob to the 7'3' player on the court... This level of development was completely absent in my opinion and is why ultimately, they are both now on different teams. This is the reason why my expectations of Dent are highly tempered under a coach like Cronin. Given what he did to those two players between the last two years gives me some extreme hesitation with regards to Dent. He will only have one season with Dent, and the Cronin lovers will say, well he didn't have enough time to teach him defense... or he didn't have enough time to get him into the form required.
The last comment on Cronin... there are so many excuses by the Cronin lovers on why he wasn't responsible for this or that... yada yada yada. He's the head coach who should take responsibility for his team. He's consistently throwing his players, assistant coaches, NIL money, whatever makes sense that week as the reason for his short comings. I've said many times that a true leader will lead by example. I've yet to see Cronin ever do that in any of his press conferences. The one time he took responsibility in a post game loss was as a sarcastic dig that everyone could see through. I've said from the beginning that I think Cronin is the wrong guy for UCLA basketball and I'll feel that way until he's gone. My expectations on what he can accomplish are capped at what he accomplished at Cincinnati. A good team every 3-5 years where his lack of offensive coaching ability dooms him at the end of the season.
Did Mack really regress? Yes, his numbers were down, but that was a function of 6 less mpg. He lost playing time to better players that were not on the roster his freshman season.
Did Andrews really regress? I never thought he was that good to begin with. His best season at UCLA was his sophomore season when he had an embarrassing 2:1 assist to turnover ratio.
I don't think any of that is Cronin's fault, unless you want to blame him for recruiting them in the first place which is a fair criticism, but again, he was very limited by NIL when he recruited those 2 players.
Very excited to see what Cronin can do with Dent and especially the other transfers.
I didn’t bring up Mack in part because I don’t believe he regressed (I actually felt he improved this year compared to last year when he was a one-trick only) and because he wasn’t integral to how the roster was constructed. If Mack regressed or had a bad game, it wasn’t going to be a big deal because Skyy Clark was brought in to stabilize the guards and Trent Perry was brought in as an upside play. But none of those guys are true point guards like Andrews, hence the problem.
As for the inside-out game, that lies more with personnel than anything. UCLA had a had an elite player at one of those positions (Tyler Campbell for years, Adem Bona last year) but lacked both at the same time, and really lacked the shooting as well. Dent is a great passer to go with excellent slashing and finishing, while Mara is an elite passer with his size, and last year’s team could actually shoot. More than enough ingredients to say that it was possible, but without Mara that chance is diminished.
Don’t you think an elite inside out game takes an elite scoring 5 though? If there isn’t the risk that player is going to score with their back to the basket (see adem bona) then the inside out game will never be elite. Both players have to be capable of scoring or taking it to the basket in order for that to be effective. Cronin has yet to develop an elite 5 with good footwork, good rebounding, good vision, and can score lots of points with their back to the basket. Thats why I’ll ask again, what 5 has he developed into the elite scoring threat that is required for a truly elite inside out game?
In addition to the specific disappointments with Mara and Andrews, I thought the entire team lacked the consistency, toughness, and resilience that we've seen in previous teams under Coach Cronin. Whatever issues they had with traveling, scheduling of games, or completing schoolwork, the Bruins had a really tough time trying to win on the road against B1G teams in the eastern time zones. Many of their losses this season weren't competitively close, either. But a 4th-place finish as a B1G newcomer (and better than their former Pac-12 rivals) with a revamped "Year-1" team is about where they were predicted to be in preseason projections. The Bruins might have exceeded those expectations if Mara and Andrews had been performing more successfully.
As far as the HC goes, Coach Cronin did much better this year with more NIL funds being made available after experiencing that NIL debacle and alternative Euro-recruiting disaster the previous year. Look forward to seeing how next season's new transfers perform alongside his returning players. With NIL, the transfer portal, and NBA draft, it also doesn't seem likely that any program can field a top-10 team on an annual basis anymore. And for those with anti-Cronin fever, winning seems to be a proven antidote, while the Martin Guerrero HC search committee is an unreliable and highly-experimental remedy. :-)
I think Cronin was hampered by an athletic department that was resistant to accepting the realities of the new NIL world. Even now, the department hasn’t been at the forefront of fundraising for our teams.
As for Mara, the LA Times released an interview that seemingly confirms some of the reporting while he also denies them.
For example, Mara confirms that he could only play 6 mins at a time before he took himself out of games. Because he doesn’t know how long he plays, he gives 100% for those 6 mins? What kind of excuse is that? Why not give 90% and play for 7 minutes? That confirmation regarding his conditioning explains why Cronin would be reluctant to play him to begin with. Mara doesn’t address, and Bolch doesnt seem to ask, about the tampering allegations.
You beat me to the LA Times article but I have a different POV. Yes, that was kinda odd the way Mara talked about giving 💯 but I think the truth is found in the fact that Cronin doesn't know how to develop and utilize Bigs and his offensive 'system' is flawed in the way it stifles players. Dusty May is the opposite.
I find the criticism of Mara's conditioning to be way overblown and is being used as an excuse for the poor handling of a player with his skillset. Had Cronin been playing Mara from the start of the season against several overmatched teams, it would have improved his game shape. Plus, it's not uncommon for a player to signal he needs a breather. It doesn't mean he's asking out for the rest of the game. Play him in 6 minute stretches and let him rest for a few. You can easily get 25 minutes a game from him with that strategy. Frankly, he's lucky to get 6 minutes given Mick's quick hook for any mistake. Mick Cronin had no plans for Mara to be a contributor on this team from the beginning. How do we know that? Because he penciled in Tyler Bilodeau at the 5. I have argued that Bilodeau should have been the 4, Dailey the 3 and a combo of Mara and Kyle at the 5. We never had the opportunity to see that because Mick Cronin is inflexible and stubborn. His mind was made up heading into the season. The rest is smokescreen. Mara and Kyle needed development and needed minutes on the floor for the benefit of the team. Next year, we will get to see Bilodeau at the 4 and Dailey at the 3 if reporting is correct. Unfortunately, we lost an excellent passing big man in the process with a lot of finger pointing and smokescreens regarding his departure. In one week he went from playing NO minutes against Iowa in a blowout win and 3 nights later played 21 minutes in a dominant performance against Wisconsin. Logically speaking, that makes no sense at all. If you want to criticize his stamina late in the season, blame the norovirus that greatly affected his cardio fitness down the stretch. But, the continued nonsense about him being in poor shape and the lies about his supposed demands look worse by the day. Mick simply did not trust Mara and thought he was soft. Mara did not trust Mick to play him based upon his track record of not playing him, even as the coach said he would play him more. This one is on Cronin.
Cronin making excuses for his short comings and flaws as a coach? That would never... HAS never happened. Cronin is an amazing coach, could be the best coach in the world for his age. He said it himself, he's already got 500 wins! Dude is heading to the hall of fame for sure, just ask Cronin, he'll tell you.
"Mick Cronin had no plans..." there is no evidence that Cronin doesn't plan well. Just look at the team he recruited and put together in 23-24. Look no further, that was the best planned season Cronin has EVER had. It's not his fault his players didn't work hard enough. It's not his fault none of those players meshed as a unit. It's not his fault the team has been rudderless for two seasons. I mean what do you expect, it's not like he recruited these teams. He doesn't assemble the players at UCLA. He's not responsible for any of those things.
All of that baloney aside, we can just forget the last two seasons even happened at this point, because NEXT YEAR is going to be better! Hall of famer Cronin has Donovan F'ing Dent ya'll. With Cronin's joystick coaching prowess, Dent is sure to get his 40 points a game each night next year. Get out your checkbooks and pencil in your donation to Cronin because superman coming to town. Cronin is rewriting his offensive strategy and his entire playbook to match his defensive genius! He's making room for this amazing player on offense Just like Mr. Benny Howland did with Muhammed! Most of you watched that season. It completely transformed Benny Howland and saved his coaching career! Don't believe me?! Just wait, you'll see, you'll ALL see. It's easy to flip the switch to go from a poor offensive coach to an amazing offensive coach over night. All you need is ONE player...
Just give it time! There's no reason to stop supporting Cronin now. He's just needs another decade under his belt. Besides, as long as these players are performing to their maximum potential, then nothing else even matters. Most of us can agree here that Cronin got the absolute maximum out of his players like Aday Mara, Peyton Watson, and the slew of freshman players from the 23-24 season! CRONIN IS A COACH THAT KEEPS PLAYERS ON FOR YEARS SO HE CAN DEVELOP THEM!!!! All those freshman transfers from the 23-24 season that left... they were just undevelopable trash players. Just ask the one line commenters in this forum, they'll tell you. None of those players were worth developing. Daddy Cronin knows what's up, next season UCLA will be a top 25 team with a 4-5 seed for the national tourney. Again, I implore you please get out your check books and put your money where your mouth is, Cronin needs all of your money so he can stay here... I was hoping forever!
I see Evan has finally hacked Bruinbaskets' account lol
Ok Greg, this is damn funny 🤣🤣🤣
Thank you Army for your excellent analysis - it is truly on point. I also believe Cronin should take some responsibility for Mara's stamina issue if it was an issue beyond the virus - just saying.
ok, real question here for you. In regards to this comment "Why not give 90% and play for 7 minutes?"
Do you actually think Cronin would play someone under his coaching style if they were only giving it 90%??!! Come on man!!! Cronin pulls players out of a game if they give him the wrong look, especially Mara!
I'll give you my opinion even though you didn't ask and I'm sure despise my thoughts. If Mara said I'll give you 90% for 7 minutes, Cronin is probably making him ride the bench for the entire game for suggesting he would play games with less effort so he could stay in longer. That's who Cronin has demonstrated he is as a coach...
I was being facetious.
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.)
Crnin on Xavier Booker, "We really wanted an athletic big man with size and length to run the floor, alongside our guards, and he provides us with shot blocking at the rim."
Booker said that Crnin wants him "to run like a gazelle" up and down the floor.
I guess Mara wasn't the guy to do so.
We'll see how player development and utilization unfold under the genius of Coach Mick Crnin, whom UCLA is fortunate to have.
Is there a sarcasm font, Sea?
Absolument!
There's an old saying that goes, "There's BRO, there's UCLA Athletics, there's Bolch, there's Mara, but then there's also the truth."
Water under the bridge.
Sea... you are so astute, my friend. The truth about the Mara saga lies somewhere and the only thing we can 💯 count on with BRO and BSPN, is wanting clicks and subscriptions. But I do believe Bolch has his heart in the right place even if the full truth is not always revealed.
Mara averaged 18.5 mpg in the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup.
Mara just didn’t have the stamina… it isn’t genius cronins fault Mara used all his energy at the World Cup. What was Cronin supposed to do, coach the Spanish national team so he could save some of that energy for the ucla season? I mean, he is in his own mind the hardest working best coach on the planet… 500 wins at his age is just sheer brilliance. The Spanish national team should have offered cronin the job. Definitely Mara’s mistake to play so many minutes prior to going to daddy cronins camp
That’s not that impressive playing what’s essentially on a HS JV team with and against other 16 year olds….
HS JV compared to whom?
Team USA "HS JV caliber" players: Koa Peat, Cameron Boozer, Tyran Stokes.Cayden Boozer, AJ Dybantsa, Caleb Holt, JJ Mandaquit, Brandon McCoy, Jalen Montonati, Darryn Peterson, and Tyran Stokes.
Ok you can't compare the US team to all the other international teams! They beat all the other teams in the competition that year by an average of 39 points lol
Ironically, Cronin signed most of the top euro performers from that tournament in Fiblieul (France finished 3rd place), Vide (avg the most points in the tournament), Mara (Spain finished 2nd) and all 3 have struggled so far adjusting to the college game.
Alternately, one could infer that Mara was expending only 33% effort for those 18 minutes.
I will embrace your data point, Sea 🤣
I finally went and read the Mara article. Two things stuck out to me:
First, this quote:
“Also, I think I felt like I was playing good, practicing good, practicing hard, you know, putting in extra work and until Wisconsin I never had the opportunity to show that I was able to play, you know? And once [Cronin] gave me the opportunity, I saw — not a lot, but I saw what I could do, so those are the two reasons.”
The portion that sticks out is where he says, "I never had the opportunity to show that I was able to play"... That tells you what he thinks about his play time up until the Wisconsin game after the season was already halfway through. Regardless of injury, sickness, or whatever, Mara feels like he didn't get enough opportunity. This I truly agree with.
Second, there is zero praise for and loving admiration for Cronin. Little daddy Cronin and Mara didn't get along, that seems pretty obvious after reading through some of the statements.
Question: Why has Cronin had to almost exclusively rely on the transfer portal the last 2 (and now coming up 3) seasons? The NBA mock draft 1st rounders is still filled with freshmen.
transfer portal much more important in today's game than hs recruits, for both football and basketball
I think you need a mix of both. Duke had a stacked team with 3 freshmen 1st rounders, with 2 veteran guards.
Duke is an exception on that front, especially given what they are willing to spend in relation to everyone else (Duke is one of the few teams with a $12+ million NIL budget, and I’d guess at them being the highest).
Duke is definitely an exception. I think experience in college counts more nowadays.
Rutgers had 2 freshmen that are predicted top 5 picks… did they even make a postseason tourney? Just browsing some mock drafts, not a lot of teams that have freshmen FRPs seem to have had much regular season and/or postseason success with Duke as the only exception.
(until we get a women's Bball thread...)
Et tu, Londynn?
smfh
Truly unbelievable. LJ's senior year and she flips to suc - and it's not the same as KJ flipping as suc coach left.
Our depth is not great after all the exits.
Hope we get Kneepkens but looks like the other suc is the likely landing spot - who really knows.
Very worried about the lack of any incoming transfers. We have a few immediate needs and need some longer term players
Yep. Our incoming class is Sienna Betts and Lena Bilic, and CLW is good to go. But so far, no one else. I am super happy Timea and Dug are staying. But Jones leaving for suc is a shocker. Janiah leaving not so much.
We really need a shooter (hopefully Kneepkins), but also a PG for when Kiki is out (Arnisalo leaving surprised me), and a defensive stopper. Jones and Dudley leaving hurts in the D dept (Gardiner can hit the three like Jones, but she’s too slow on D and gets beat too often). On top, we need underclassmen. As of right now, in a year’s time we only have the 2 incoming freshmen I think. Kneepkins would be awesome, but she’ll be a senior like most of our team. No way we can fill 12 spots in 1 recruiting cycle, even with portal chaos. Expected Barker to leave, but think S. Betts fills that hole