Some here wrote off UCLA's struggles in the first two regular season games as just adapting to new personnel. But we have three returning starters which is more than most teams have these days. Returning starters are a endangered species now in college basketball. USC, for example, has an entirely new roster and are doing quite well. Injuries? USC has been without 20 point scorer Rodney Rice. No problem.
When UCLA was playing exhibition games against lower division schools every time they didn't win in a blowout they had a poor to mediocre season. Since we don't play lower division teams anymore, the Eastern Washington game serves as the benchmark. The close game signified that there are problems with this team. The talent is there, but the attitude seems to be lacking sometimes. Lack of focus in the Cal game led to many missed free throws which contributed heavily to the loss.
Now I wouldn't blame Cronin for this because he already made the fatal mistake that will haunt him for not only this season, but for the rest of his career. Mismanaging and losing Mara will make this season difficult. Booker is not the type of player we need at center. He can make open shots but gets outrebounded by players half his size. Mara is averging 15.4 rebounds per 40 minutes. The highest number in UCLA history since minutes were recorded was 14.4 by Kevin Love in 2008. He's averaging 4.8 blocks per 40 minutes. The UCLA high mark is 4.9 by Mara last season. The next is 4.4 by Jelani McCoy in 1996.
Having watched by now many of the better teams, almost all have one or more tall athletic physical players. Here's what we have in our front line:
Dailey - Athletic but not tall or physical.
Booker - Tall and athletic but not physical.
Bilodeau - Tall and physical but not athletic.
Jamerson - Tall.
Williams - None of the above.
But let's wait until everyone gets healthly and Dent gets in gear before we judge. For those who want to get rid of Cronin, be careful what you wish for. After shelling out big bucks for a new football coach, don't you think they would skimp on a basketball hire? We could end up with somebody like Earl Watson, last seen leading the Phoenix Suns to a sparkling 33-85 record or Tracy Murray, who, if you listen to the radio broadcasts, thinks he knows more about coaching this team than Cronin (although sometimes I agree with him).
All of this probably leads to an up and down season. Enjoy the ride.