In Reply to: Enjoying Kris Johnson's perspective on 247 Podcasts posted by ucla'93 on May 16, 2026 at 10:15:37
His last podcast was excellent for a number of reasons. First off, I absolutely loved the anecdote about Ed O and Bailey after that Kentucky win during the ’95 season. Great story. Beyond that, I found myself agreeing with many of his takes. I think I’m probably wearing the same rose-colored glasses when it comes to next year’s team.
Contrary to last year, though, I didn’t share the same optimism that many others seemed to have about that roster. For me, the big difference was the age and makeup of the team. Last year felt like a culmination year with a veteran-heavy group, so naturally the expectations were high. But even then, I felt we were going to struggle defensively up front, and because of that I thought the ceiling was probably Sweet 16 at best. They underperformed even that, but the outcome itself didn’t really surprise me.
This coming season, I actually think the ceiling might be similar, but the context is completely different because the team will be so young. In essence, the core we’re bringing back is still a group that won an NCAA Tournament game, beat a tough Michigan State team, and competed hard against UConn. On top of that, the additions look much more like typical Cronin-type players to me.
I also think there’s a real possibility this becomes a top-10 defensive team, and if that happens UCLA is going to be very good. I believe UCLA finished around No. 49 in KenPom defensive efficiency this past season. I’m not 100% sure on the exact number, but for a Cronin-led team that’s unusually low.
Anyway, Kris touched on a lot of other interesting things in the podcast too, including the perception of Cronin — whether fair or not. I’ll save that discussion for another post, but if you haven’t listened to the podcast yet, you should. It’s not on YouTube yet, but I’ll try to link the Apple feed below.