UCLA Basketball: Pac-12 All-Defender's Uneven Season Start Diagnosed By Mick Cronin

Your UCLA Bruins men's basketball team has shown incredible grit so far this season, despite not all the results going the way they would have hoped. They almost took down both Marquette and Gonzaga in recent days, and it proved that they are on the right track.

The team entered the new season unsure of what to expect since they were a very inexperienced team, and at times, the lack of experience has shown itself. Entering the year, sophomore Adem Bona was supposed to take more of a leadership role for this young team, and he has seen an up-and-down start.

Bruins head coach Mick Cronin spoke about what has been going on with him, and what happened with him against Gonzaga.

“Sometimes his intensity, he can’t think because he’s too intense,” Cronin said. “It’s why he dropped a few balls, because he’s anxious to dunk it. We needed those points; it happened twice.”

Per Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times

Bona only scored 11 points against the Bulldogs, and his team needed a better effort from him. And normally great on defense, Bona looked out of sorts at times in the game as well.

“He had a couple of times defensively where he left Watson,” Cronin said. “What happens with breakdowns early, any guy can see the ball go in the basket and your confidence grows, you start to feel like it’s your night.”

Per Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times

Even with their star playing poorly, the Bruins also come back to take down Gonzaga. There is plenty to be proud of in the game, and they can take this game to learn from it going forward.

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