The new head guy

[pfbradley]

I haven't opined on basketball in a long time so here goes.
No one in his right mind would want to follow John Wooden as the coach at UCLA but a bunch of people have tried. Only Jim Herrick had the success UCLA basketball fans want. Since then, it's been really difficult to get the guys UCLA has wanted. I HOPE the new coach has more success than the past few. I also hope Admin. and the fans will give him enough time, I say 2 years to get back to the
tournament and 4 to get to the finals.
The problems at UCLA are many. First, it's tough to qualify academically and it should be. This IS after all, a highly rated university for good students.
Second, the one-and-done rule has hurt UCLA more than others. I think coaches here have to ask recruits if they plan to stay more than 1 year and not recruit them if they say "No". You can't build a program if you have to reinvent it every year. Also, look at the rosters of the teams that make the Final 4 frequently. Most of them are loaded with seniors.
Third UCLA can't offer the money Kentucky and other places can.
With all that, I wish the new guy luck. He's gonna need it.
P.S. I'm not a new guy. I just haven't had anything to say for a while.

 

[Kevin Bryan]

Cronin is an angry little leprechaun but decent coach. His ex-wife is a friend of mine. She moved to LA too, just so their kid can be close to them both.

 

[Big_Blue79]

Second, the one-and-done rule has hurt UCLA more than others. I think coaches here have to ask recruits if they plan to stay more than 1 year and not recruit them if they say "No". You can't build a program if you have to reinvent it every year. Also, look at the rosters of the teams that make the Final 4 frequently. Most of them are loaded with seniors.

UCLA's last FF team was led by one and done Kevin Love. Jrue Holiday was very solid, as was Lonzo Ball. And there's a wide variety of team types that "make the Final 4 frequently," with UK and Duke on one end, and programs like Villanova (mix of upper and lower classmen) and, say, UNC on the other end.

Third UCLA can't offer the money Kentucky and other places can.

Sam Gilbert was not a UCLA employee, and neither is Under Armour. UCLA has the largest shoe company contract of any school; they can hire/pay whatever they want.

 

[Hank_]

UCLAs biggest problem is that LA will never be a college town.

It’s too big. There’s too many people, too much traffic, and too much to do. The fan and media support to sustain a major college sports program will never be what it needs to be in this day and age.

UCLA ran the biggest media circus in college basketball when Lonzo was a freshman, and it gave them zero staying power.

 

[Wall2Boogie]

Someone say the new head guy?

 

[SheriffBufordTJustice]

UCLAs biggest problem is that LA will never be a college town.

It’s too big. There’s too many people, too much traffic, and too much to do. The fan and media support to sustain a major college sports program will never be what it needs to be in this day and age.

UCLA ran the biggest media circus in college basketball when Lonzo was a freshman, and it gave them zero staying power.

UCLAs biggest problem is expectations.
Don't think Ben Howland would have been fired anywhere else.
Even Kentucky or UNC.

Ghost of John Wooden is strong at that job.

 

[dukedevilz]

Just about every university on planet earth has a special admissions process which allows athletes to be admitted with much lower test scores than the general student body population. Sure, they probably want their athletes to at least be within certain standard deviations, so perhaps they'll decline a few guys who are barely hovering over 800 on the SAT. But it's not overly burdensome to recruit a talented group of players who also aren't complete idiots.

 

[lurkeraspect84]

Someone say the new head guy?

Isn't he the former head guy?

 

[Hank_]

UCLAs biggest problem is expectations.
Don't think Ben Howland would have been fired anywhere else.
Even Kentucky or UNC.

Ghost of John Wooden is strong at that job.

I would agree, expectations don’t correlate with support for the program.

Wooden is an amazing piece of history, but he’s history. Guy coached his last game more than 25 years before current recruits were born. UCLA hasn’t been to a final four in a decade, and struggles to fill half capacity in a 13K seat arena.

Mick Cronin isn’t going to change any of that.

 

[SheriffBufordTJustice]

I would agree, expectations don’t correlate with support for the program.

Wooden is an amazing piece of history, but he’s history. Guy coached his last game more than 25 years before current recruits were born. UCLA hasn’t been to a final four in a decade, and struggles to fill half capacity in a 13K seat arena.

Mick Cronin isn’t going to change any of that.

Support doesn't equal success all the time.
Having a bunch of fans who live for your program doesn't always equal success.
You can say the opposite as well.

Problem with UCLA is there are expectations without the huge fanbase.
It is by far one of the toughest jobs in college sports.

You are going to see the same thing at Duke if they fail to secure a proper replacement.

 

[lurkeraspect84]

IMO, most ppl that have watched Cronin from his assistant days, knows he ain't going to do shit at UCLA. He's probably their worst hire in a while and that's saying something.

If I'm wrong, he can put a spell on me or block my next bridge.

 

[WestTexasRaider]

I'm more interested in a new head woman. But, to each their own.