UCLA Basketball: 3 Areas Mick Cronin Needs to Address During Offseason
This was not a good season for Mick Cronin or the UCLA Bruins.
Finishing 16-17, this was the worst season Cronin has had as a head coach dating back to 2007 when he went 13-19 with the Cincinnati Bearcats. As for the UCLA Basketball program, it's only the sixth losing season over the last 76 years.
Things have to change to get the program back on track ahead of the move to the Big Ten. There's no reason to think Cronin can't get there. His track record as a very good coach is inarguable. Still, a heavy amount of introspection must be taken into account by the head man.
The decision to sign one transfer and bring on seven true freshmen did not work out. Four of those freshmen came from Europe, where Cronin wasn't able to readily watch them/get to know them as well as he could with those prospects residing stateside.
The combination of extreme youth along with a lack of collective experience made this season a very challenging one. Sophomores Adem Bona and Dylan Andrews were forced to lead the team after playing fringe roles as freshmen.
Lazar Stefanovic transferred in from Utah, where the pressure is far less compared to Westwood. Like Bona and Andrews, he was thrust into a role he was not necessarily ready for.
Berke Buyuktuncel and Aday Mara were widely projected to be first-round picks. This could still be the case down the line -- but it was quite evident that neither is at that point just yet.
If we zoom out on more of a macro level, there are three things Cronin can do to help get this program back competing for National Championships as soon as next year.
1. Retain Adem Bona
Keeping Bona in school should be priority number one. The sophomore big man was named Defensive Player of the Year this past year in the Pac-12. His athletic ability and energy level are as good as anyone's in the country.
Where Bona falters a bit is with concentration. He's still picking up needless fouls at an alarmingly high rate. When he stays on the floor, UCLA has proven to be pretty good. When he's on the bench, the team tends to falter.
He's still raw from an offensive standpoint, though he's made big strides with his post offense as well as his passing. A junior version of Bona would undoubtedly be contending for All Big-10 honors.
At this current time, most projections have him as a second-round pick. With a strong NIL package, UCLA stands a good chance to retain its best player. Pairing Bona with a rising Andrews next year would provide Cronin with a strong nucleus to build around.
2. Acquire Shooting and Depth at the Wing Spots
Stefanovic is a good player. He led the team in three-point shooting, is a fantastic rebounder for his size, and is one of the more reliable players Cronin can count on.
With all of that said, if UCLA is to reach a ceiling where a National Championship is possible a year from now, it would be better served to see Stefanovic come off the bench as a valuable Sixth Man type.
His effort level is great, though his lack of functional athleticism leaves UCLA susceptible when facing players actively looking to attack the rim off the bounce.
Cronin will hit the transfer portal extremely hard. It doesn't take a rocket science to come to that conclusion. For UCLA, landing longer, quicker athletes at the two and three spots is imperative. This would not only help to improve the defensive prowess of the team but also in theory aid the team in getting easier buckets via the transition game.
From a shooting standpoint, UCLA was woeful. The team collectively converted on only 33.2 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc. Someone along the lines of Pepperdine wing Michael Ajayi would be a perfect fit to target in the transfer portal. The 6'7" guard averaged 17.2 PPG, 9.9 RPG, and shot 47.0 percent from three.
3. Figure Out Continuity
This one is simple...Cronin needs to decide who is "in" and who is "out" in terms of long-term fit. We saw what UCLA looked like this past year with mass turnover. Cronin can't do the same thing yet again.
Surely there will be guys looking to play elsewhere. In today's current day and age, that's to be expected. However, having some semblance of continuity should help this team grow next year. We saw glimpses of young players fighting through the freshmen wall and proving to be contributors.
Imagine what Buyuktuncel, Mara, and others will look like with a full offseason/summer in Los Angeles training with the staff and the hoard of NBA guys at the Men's Gym on campus. You need guys who understand how Cronin coaches -- and that includes his schemes on both ends of the floor.
By bringing back a good chunk of the youngsters from a year ago, Cronin should -- in theory -- be able to avoid some of the pitfalls he experienced this year.
