UCLA Basketball May Need Mick Cronin To Change This Habit

If there’s one thing that Mick Cronin and UCLA basketball do well, it’s taking care of the basketball.

Looking ahead to the 2026-2027 UCLA basketball season, I asked myself, what has UCLA done well, and what can it improve upon? From there, I found an answer in the same vein as the game.

Almost all of #UCLA players in the bottom right quadrant when comparing Steals vs Turnovers.

Mick Cronin takes care of that basketball pic.twitter.com/TNg3PyHQQE
— Kade Nix (@bykadenix) August 10, 2026

When plotting steals versus turnovers, nearly the entire team last season fell in the bottom-right quadrant, according to CBB Analytics, indicating that those players had low turnover and low steal volumes.

Mick Cronin's Philosophy Is Being Put to the Test

This aligns with Mick Cronin’s coaching philosophy, as he is a protect-the-basketball-first kind of coach. While UCLA may protect the ball well, they don’t necessarily take it away at a high enough rate compared to other teams, especially those in-conference.

Mar 22, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Donovan Dent (2) reacts in the first half during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Donovan Dent ranked highest by a large margin with the most steals on the team, and ranked highly across many other players in the country. With his absence, who on the team will step up and start forcing turnovers?

Jaylen Petty, the electric guard transfer from Texas Tech, ranked just about the same as all of the other UCLA players, planting himself firmly in the middle of that bottom right quadrant. This means there isn’t an incoming player we know can be the game-wrecker who may benefit UCLA.

All in all, it’s better to be where UCLA is than where they could be. When you factor in pace, it shows that UCLA plays at a much slower pace than its conference mates, and still manages to take care of the ball.

That’s a much better place to be than fast-paced and reckless, and it’s the kind of branded basketball UCLA has played. But is it time to shift that line of thinking?

Is Protecting the Basketball Really That Important?

Mar 22, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin reacts against the UConn Huskies in the first half during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While protecting the ball is certainly important, a balance is much more crucial. UCLA should continue to focus on protecting the basketball, but also understand that sometimes playing a little faster can help.

Look at Michigan: they ranked first overall in total turnovers among all Power Conference teams, yet won the National Championship. It goes to show that protecting the ball may not be as valued as it once was, and bringing up the tempo to force some steals may be more valuable than people realize.

In fact, many of the top teams that turned the ball over went far in the tournament last year. The national runner-up, UConn, was ranked just below Michigan in total turnovers at third nationally.

It’s an interesting data point that could eventually change how coaches view turnovers. Mick Cronin, for one, could benefit from speeding his guys up and not being afraid of a few turnovers here and there if it meant the Bruins play fearless.

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