UCLA Basketball: Mick Cronin Unpacks Positives of Bruins Tough International Competition
Your UCLA men's basketball team has their sights set on nothing less than a national championship this season. They have had the talent and roster capability to get it done in the past but injuries, tough schedules and other factors have stopped them.
However, the college basketball world is very excited to see the squad that head coach Mick Cronin is rolling out this season with the mix of young, energetic athletes and international superstars. It is a very different team compared to other ones that have taken the floor in recent years but experts agree they have the potential to make a serious run once March rolls around.
Fans got their first look at part of the Bruins new squad in their recent summer tour where they won two games and lost one to international squads. Their final match resulted in a defeat where Adem Bona and Jan Vide did not play and the final score was not shared with the public.
Cronin spoke to the media after the game and even though they lost, he was happy to see them learn some valuable lessons from their opponents.
"It was a great practice for us," said , The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "Our guys learned how good ACB league players are in Spain. That's why I wanted to play an ACB team. Too many young guys think that pro basketball is easy. They got a taste of pro basketball tonight and it was great for us in a lot of ways – individually, for the guys to learn that and collectively, to play somebody that's much better than you."
(Via UCLA Athletics)
He had made it clear before the tour as well that he was not too concerned with losses and wanted this trip to be more about the guys getting accustomed to playing with one another.
