In Reply to: Follow-up on yesterday's post posted by Dr.Bruin on February 17, 2026 at 12:16:58
Short-handed? The reality is we were mediocre with Sky, mediocre without him, and we’ve remained mediocre since his return. As much as I like him as a player, he hasn’t fundamentally changed our trajectory, because our biggest issue isn’t on the perimeter — it’s our interior defense.
This team has beaten one truly quality opponent all season, and that result stands out as the exception rather than the norm. Against the upper tier of the conference, the results speak for themselves:
Losses:
Michigan
Iowa
Wisconsin
Ohio State
Indiana
Wins:
Penn State
Oregon
Washington
Purdue
Out of conference, we lost to Arizona, Gonzaga, and California — a loss that’s especially difficult to justify.
If you remove Purdue from the equation, we’ve beaten just one team ranked in the NET top 50. One. Most of our wins have come against teams ranked outside the top 100. That’s not the résumé of a strong team.
Whether someone likes or dislikes Mick Cronin is beside the point. The bottom line is that this is not a good team right now, and ultimately, the head coach is responsible for the product on the floor. I hope I’m wrong, but it’s hard to see this team comfortably making the tournament. And even if they do, it will likely be because they squeezed in, not because they earned their way in convincingly. This was a preseason top-15 team. Finishing squarely in the middle of the conference would reasonably be viewed as a disappointment.
I don’t believe my expectations are unreasonable. In fact, they’re lower than what many would argue they should be. UCLA Bruins men's basketball team should be competing for conference championships. They should be making the NCAA Tournament consistently. And every few years, they should be positioned to make a meaningful run.
Cronin deserves the benefit of the doubt for navigating the European recruiting approach and the early NIL transition, when the program — like many others — was adjusting to a new reality. But while NIL budgets are often discussed in vague terms, there’s no credible reason to believe UCLA can’t be competitive in that space. Maybe they’re not top 10 nationally in NIL resources, but this isn’t a mid-major program either. Cronin himself has acknowledged the expectation of raising significant NIL funds. That’s simply part of the job now.
More concerning, though, is the outlook for the roster moving forward. Cronin has proven he can develop players. People here are down on guys like Williams and Freeny. Not me. I think we need guys like that as upperclassmen. But where is the next wave of those guys? In a region as rich in basketball talent as Southern California, not securing high school commitments raises legitimate questions about the program’s recruiting momentum.
At this point, the optimistic approach is to hope this team finds a way to beat upper-tier opponents and build momentum — something they haven’t consistently shown they can do. And while the transfer portal always offers opportunities, recent results make it difficult to assume that help will automatically arrive in the form needed to elevate the program.
Still not calling for Cronin's head but let's not stick our head in the sand either.