UCLA coach Mick Cronin sounded exasperated as he cataloged his team’s crimes against his brand of basketball, pointing out his players didn’t play defense and allowed their opponents to push them aside to collect rebounds. The details he recalled during his 10-minute postgame news conference were intended to support an overarching thesis.
“We’re soft,” he said.
The blunt appraisal after No. 22 UCLA’s 94-75 crushing defeat to No. 24 Michigan at Pauley Pavilion on Tuesday night was part of an annual tradition during which Cronin questions the character of his players and declares they lack the ability to win without exerting maximum effort.
Not everyone is enamored with the approach, a segment of UCLA’s fan base insisting he should temper his sideline behavior and take greater responsibility for his team’s failures.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin instructs guard Sebastian Mack during the team’s loss to Michigan at Pauley Pavilion Tuesday.
But here’s the thing: His approach works.
While it’s fair to be suspicious of his acumen as an offensive coach or wonder whether his old-school style will prevent him from landing or retaining the caliber of player required to win a national championship, what’s irrefutable is that he knows what he’s doing.
Every season, he knows how he wants his teams to play, and he gets them to play that way. Every season, his teams improve, and that was even the case last season, when his inexperienced team finished with a losing record and missed the NCAA tournament.
Exactly how Cronin does this remains a mystery, but some insight was offered by how sophomore forward Eric Dailey Jr. responded to his characterization of the players.
Dailey, the team’s second-leading scorer, pushed back.
“I know we’re not soft,” he said. “I’m definitely not soft. The man next to me is not soft.”
Junior forward Tyler Bilodeau was by Dailey’s side in Pauley Pavilion’s interview room.
“Those guys in the locker room are not soft,” Dailey continued. “They’re just words right now. We gotta show him that we’re tough. So it’s just motivation to fight.”
This was almost certainly the reaction Cronin was intending to elicit. Dailey didn’t sound pleased with Cronin, but the guess here is that he will be willing to run through a wall for his coach by the end of the season, just like dozens of players before him were.
With a favorable draw in the NCAA tournament, UCLA could be making a postseason run.
The Bruins have depth, but they don’t have a center and junior Dylan Andrews’ slump has them searching for consistency at point guard. There might not be an answer for either problem. What Cronin might be able to find is a leader, and he challenged his players to step into that role.
“Why should I have to challenge your manhood and your character and your toughness?” Cronin asked. “Why should I have to do that?”
He lamented the absence of a player in the mold of his previous team leaders.
“Adem Bona last year would’ve been going crazy,” he said.
Before that, Cronin added, players such as Tyger Campbell, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and David Singleton shouldered that responsibility.
Cronin said, “We don’t have that.”
Or, in other words, someone on this transfer-heavy roster has to become that.
“I have to run on the court to get guys to play hard,” Cronin said. “It’s crazy, you know? And it’s every day. I’m tired of it. It’s every day. I have the most energy of anybody at practice.”
He was particularly upset with how Tre Donaldson was allowed to make back-to-back three-pointers shortly after a second-half timeout.
“I mean, it’s a joke,” Cronin said. “Again, I come in and have more passion and energy and pride than everybody in there and that’s the problem.”
He said his players behaved as if they were playing for the Lakers.
The more Cronin spoke, the more it became clear that he wasn’t disparaging his players as much as he was warning them about the grind of the Big Ten season.
“I mean, look, there’s lulls,” he said. “The truth of this is, if you look at our schedule since December, it’s been really tough, and I was worried about our gas tank [against Michigan] because this was going to take a monumental defensive effort if they shoot the ball [well].
“I was worried about, is our gas tank where it needs to be? Is our mental state? Because if your mental state’s there, you fight through it. Our guys are delusional about what it’s going to take to win games.”
He repeated the concept near the end of his news conference.
“Cause it ain’t going to get any easier,” he said.
Cronin made a reference to how No. 1 Tennessee was beaten by 30 points by Florida that night.
“It’s hard, man,” he said.
Cronin is right. The conference schedule will be demanding. However, if his track record is an indication, the Bruins will develop the necessary resilience to navigate through it. And however his comments after the Michigan loss are viewed by the fan base at this moment, they will be part of the reason the team plays the way it does.
