In Reply to: I too would like to see UCLA always be in the running posted by ej on July 01, 2026 at 21:07:08
Just to clarify, I never said I expected a top-10 recruiting class every year, nor do I think that's necessary. At UCLA, I believe there needs to be a balance. The program should recruit solid high school players who can be developed over time, continue to add proven college talent through the portal, which Cronin has done, and also bring in the occasional elite player. That's the area where I think the program has struggled recently.
There are different ways to acquire that level of talent, but I think this past offseason demonstrated that relying solely on landing proven stars through the portal often means winning expensive bidding wars, and right now it doesn't appear that UCLA has the level of support needed to consistently do that.
Ultimately, I don't really care what avenue is used. The important thing is bringing in enough talent to realistically make a championship run. Where we disagree most is on our assessment of last year's roster. I never felt that team had the talent profile of a legitimate championship contender. There were obvious concerns from the beginning, most notably in the frontcourt. That was also a major weakness the previous year, and instead of strengthening that area, the program lost the player who appeared most ready to take a significant step forward. There were also questions about the backcourt defensively, and I think most people expected Dent to have some defensive limitations. From my perspective, the roster had too many holes to realistically compete for a title.
That said, I don't want to turn this into a broad critique of the past. I only wanted to address the idea that last year's team was championship caliber, because I simply saw it differently. I'm much more interested in discussing how the program moves forward.
I still believe Cronin has an opportunity to succeed at UCLA. However, trying to consistently win championships by taking good-but-not-great talent and coaching it up against programs assembling super teams feels like an increasingly difficult path. I suspect even Cronin recognizes that reality. And to be clear, I would absolutely take three or four Final Four appearances in seven years. But outside of the 2022-23 team, which lost Bona and Clark to injuries at the worst possible time, I don't think UCLA has had a roster that was truly built to make a championship run.
I'm generally a very optimistic fan. In fact, aside from you, I may be one of the bigger optimists on this board, as evidenced by my belief that this year's team will be better than last year's. That said, even if UCLA lands the European prospect and he exceeds my expectations, I still don't see this year's roster as a national championship team. What I do believe is that Cronin can continue to develop the current core, retain that group, add one or two high-level difference-makers, and then have a legitimate chance to compete for a championship the following year. In my view, that's probably his best path to long-term success at UCLA.