In Reply to: The myth about Cronin's recruiting posted by Dr.Bruin on January 19, 2026 at 17:52:23
My main concern is the last two years of high school recruiting.
That said, the landscape has changed significantly. It’s hard to fault a coach for prioritizing older, proven transfer players over incoming freshmen in the current environment. Still, Cronin’s best teams have always featured players he’s developed within his system, and that process rarely happens in just one year. Because of that, I think it’s important for him to continue bringing in talented high school freshmen. They don’t need to be centerpiece players right away, but they do need to play, gain experience, and develop.
Perry feels like the roadmap Cronin should be following. I think Trent has made substantial progress and could be a very good player next year—whether that’s here or elsewhere remains to be seen. He’s also the only player on the roster who I can realistically envision as a future NBA player.
More broadly, the best teams in college basketball consistently feature elite freshmen—Duke, Kansas, UConn, Houston, even Arizona (including players we were involved in recruiting). That hasn’t really been the case here over the past couple of seasons, and that’s where my concern lies.
Ultimately, I don’t think you can afford to completely ignore high school recruiting. Cronin signed zero high school players last year and just one this year. In my view, that’s a concerning trend if sustained development and long-term success are the goals.