In Reply to: This is classic. posted by ej on April 20, 2025 at 07:21:46
it was obviously not in sync with what Mara expected. But IMO, with his new coach, Dusty May, he will have absolutely no excuse as he will get every chance to perform in the post. Dusty uses and coaches big men very differently than Cronin and a good example of his results is illustrated with how 7 footer Golden improved last year. Mara isn't nearly as mature, mobile or physical as Golden but he will have sufficient opportunity to prove his worth at Michigan.
And for my Michigan wife, she wasn't a big fan of Mara at UCLA but she has hopes he will mature and come into his own under May. We watch all of Michigan's games so we will be able to easily compare the difference/improvement in his play at UCLA vs his play at Michigan. Of course, we are wishing him the best.
That being said, we also hope that Mara's 6'11 replacement, (Xavier Booker) pans out for UCLA and responds much better to Cronin's style and coaching than he did in his 2 years with Izzo at MSU. Both have similar coaching styles but IMO, the jury is still out on this one.