The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball program got a massive commitment from Trent Perry after he decommitted from USC.
Perry’s arrival in Westwood is expected to be a big one, although it remains to be seen what his role will look like in his freshman campaign.
Nonetheless, Mick Cronin revealed the message he delivered to Perry to land him in Westwood, and he used NBA players that went to UCLA as an example, per Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times.
Cronin’s message to Perry was that he was a winner who could help the Bruins raise their first national title banner in 30 years and enhance his NBA stock even if he didn’t start immediately, just like former first-round picks Russell Westbrook, Zach LaVine and Peyton Watson before him.
“It’s just a fallacy that you have to come in and play 35 minutes with the ball in your hands to make it in the NBA; it’s just not true,” Cronin said. “I mean, all you’ve got to do is look at Reed Sheppard, who didn’t start at Kentucky [except five games] this year and he’s going to go third or fourth according to every mock draft.”
That is a valid point from Cronin, and perhaps Perry made the right choice.