Tag: Mick Cronin

UCLA hoops jumps to No. 24 in latest AP college basketball poll

The Bruins land back in the Top 25.

The UCLA Bruins have hit their stride after a shaky start to the college basketball season. Taking down No. 12 Oregon, the Bruins returned to the AP Top 25 ranking this week.

Landing at No. 24 in the AP Poll, just behind San Diego State, Cincinnati, and Big Ten comrade Michigan State, the Bruins are a perfect 7-0 since their sole loss to New Mexico in early November.

After knocking off two Big Ten opponents in a row, first Washington, then Oregon, the Bruins are finally rolling. Entering the season as the No. 22 team in the AP Poll, the Bruins are right around where they started. With Big Ten play to ramp up over the next two months, UCLA has an opportunity to continue to build momentum.

Given the transfer additions of Skyy Clark, Kobe Johnson, and Tyler Bilodeau, UCLA rightfully had high expectations this season. If their newly-added star players can take to Mick Cronin’s coaching, the Bruins should be in the hunt for a long run in the NCAA tournament this spring.

Mick Cronin speaks on ‘push’ for statues to honor Bill Walton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Cronin wants some statues.

UCLA men’s basketball head coach Mick Cronin voiced the desire to commemorate Bruins’ basketball legends Bill Walton and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with statues around Pauley Pavilion according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. 

“Behind the scenes there’s a lot of push from their teammates and I’m right with them. What you find at state schools, it’s unbelievably hard to get a wall painted, let alone a statue built.”

Currently, the only statue at Pauley Pavilion is one of the legendary John Wooden, who was honored with the 8-foot bronze statue in 2012, two years after Wooden passed away in 2012. 

Wooden joined the Bruins as their head coach for the 1948-1949 season after signing to a three-year deal worth $6,000. Wooden remained in the position until 1975, by the time he retired he was 10-time National Champion and a record of 620-147 with the Bruins while establishing UCLA as an elite program over his tenure. 

Abdul-Jabbar, a Bruins’ Hall of Famer in his own right, had a near-flawless UCLA career, starting his career with a 56-point debut. Adbul-Jabbar, known then as Lew Alcindor, won three national championships in three seasons with the Bruins while also earning three national Player of the Year awards before collecting the first-ever Naismith College Player of the Year award before heading to the NBA. Alcindor had his No. 33 retired by UCLA in 1990, one of ten Bruins basketball players to receive the honor. 

Walton didn’t lose a single game in his first two seasons with the Bruins, with UCLA having consecutive unbeaten seasons that resulted in national titles. Walton won the Naismith award three straight years along with three national Player of the Year awards. Walton had his No. 32 retired along with Abdul-Jabbar’s in 1990.

Photos from UCLA’s win over Boston University

Through the lens from Monday night.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team dropped out of the top 25 polls following a Friday night loss to New Mexico. 

However, the Bruins turned around and easily handled Boston University on Monday night in Westwood, winning the game 71-40. 

UCLA once again used a flurry of players, and Lazar Stefanovic and Eric Dailey Jr. led the way with 13 apiece as Sebastian Mack chipped in 12 off the bench.

UCLA now moves to 2-1 with a game coming up against Lehigh and a favorable schedule for the next couple of weeks.

Here are some photos from UCLA’s win over Boston on Monday.

UCLA-New Mexico a game to watch in opening weekend

UCLA-New Mexico should be a good one.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team had no issues in the opening night win over Rider at home.

However, Friday’s game against the New Mexico Lobos in Henderson could be a tough test.

College basketball insider Jon Rothstein picked five games to watch for the weekend, and one of them was UCLA taking on New Mexico in Las Vegas.

“How much better are the Bruins than last season’s team that finished 16-17? We’ll have a pretty good idea after this neutral site clash in Las Vegas. Keep a close eye on how UCLA’s depth affects New Mexico point guard Donovan Dent over the course of 40 minutes. Tip off for this game is at 11 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.”

The others on his list were North Carolina-Kansas, Tennessee-Louisville, Arkansas-Baylor, and Auburn-Houston. However, all eyes will be focused on Mick Cronin’s team as they face the Lobos in a tough game.

Mick Cronin chimes on decision to honor Bill Walton

Mick Cronin shares his thoughts.

The UCLA Bruins will honor Bill Walton against Ohio State on February 23, 2025 at Pauley Pavilion.

It is a big move for the Bruins to honor one of the all-time greats in program history.

After the release came out, UCLA men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin spoke about the decision to honor him this season and why they chose to do so on the Ohio State game.

“It’s a difficult reality to know we’re getting ready to start a basketball season in Westwood without Bill’s presence,” said Mick Cronin. “He will forever be an icon in our great game, and his memory will forever live on at UCLA. For our program, especially over the past 12 seasons, he’s been a fixture while working as a broadcaster. On gamedays, he routinely chatted with our players, he shared advice with me, and he meant so much to everyone around our program. We want to honor Bill this season, and we’re grateful to have the support of his family. After conversations with his former teammates and with the blessing of his family, we wanted to select a game when we’re at home on the weekend, playing before a national television audience.”

Pauley Pavilion is always a packed house, and on that day, it should be an emotional night.

Mick Cronin opens up on transfer portal, NIL transformation

It was a busy portal season for UCLA.

The UCLA Bruins basketball program had a terrific offseason and added a ton of players in the transfer portal. 

After missing the NCAA Tournament this past season, Mick Ceronin brought in some high-profile additions in the portal.

Cronin discussed the offseason with Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times and it shows how the times have changed due to various circumstances.

“It took us a year longer than I would have liked to get things where they needed to be and without naming names, there were obviously some people who really carried the weight,” Cronin said. “But there’s also grassroots level, so there’s literally people out there who are donating $10 a month, but we’re talking about people who don’t have that to give; their $10 a month is maybe hurting their pocketbook as much as somebody who gave $100,000.”

But, even with big-time additions and a team that is regularly picked as a top-10 program for the 2024-2025 season, Cronin knows they have to do it again next season.

“The craziness of it for now is, we had a good year in the portal and we were able to compete in free agency,” Cronin said, “but next year, you’ve got to be able to do it again.”

Mick Cronin chimes in on UCLA’s logjam of minutes

There will be a lot of minutes to distribute to a lot of talented players.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team will enter the season as an undisputed top-25 team and a potential threat to win the Big Ten Conference. 

The Bruins landed a large number of players in the transfer portal, and as such, they are among the favorites for the Big Ten.

Cronin opened up on the tough lineup decisions that are going to come with all of the talent this season but he didn’t seem too worried (h/t Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times).

“People say, ‘Well, they’re going to have this guy, they’re going to have that guy,’” Cronin said. “Well, first of all, if you’re a competitor and you really want to be on a great team that has a chance to win the Big Ten [Conference] in its first year and have a chance to go to a Final Four or compete for a national title, you should want other great players on the team. That’s No. 1. No. 2, in this day and age, everybody wants to go play in the NBA, don’t you think it would behoove you to play every day against another good player that would make you better and wouldn’t it help you get more exposure if you’re on a great team?”

Too much talent is never a bad thing, and that’s exactly what UCLA has this season.

Mick Cronin credits NIL to transfer portal frenzy

Mick Cronin gives credit to NIL.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team added six high-impact players in the transfer portal this offseason. How did that happen?

Well, Mick Cronin discussed how things are different this time around than last year. And, it begins with NIL, per Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times.

“Our NIL grew exponentially,” Cronin told The Times this week, referring to the team’s name, image and likeness resources. “All you have to do is look at our recruiting class this year versus last year.”

The NIL landscape has drastically changed the world of college sports. While it took time for UCLA to reap the benefits, Cronin and the men’s basketball program have landed a lot of big names in the portal this offseason.

As time goes by, UCLA should be even to play a bigger factor in the NIL landscape.

Mick Cronin sends message to Trent Perry on NBA hopes

Trent Perry can certainly develop at UCLA.

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.

Mick Cronin dishes on how veteran presence has changed the game

The veteran presence is in effect.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team struck gold a lot in the transfer portal this offseason.

There are plenty of veterans coming into Westwood, something that has proven to be a success for other college programs.

Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times and Cronin talked about the changes in the sport.

“The days of having a young team and trying to grow that team to where they all get older and get better as they get older, that’s not happening anymore,” Cronin said. “And you can’t compete at a high level with a young team. So it’s exponentially changed in the direction of where you’re bringing in older guys to fill spots.”

The days of having four or five freshmen has become a rarity, especially for top teams and veterans and older players have been making more of a difference as of late.

Mick Cronin knows that, and it will be interesting to see if the 2024-2025 season is a replication of that.