UCLA Basketball: Why Mick Cronin Had A Quick Hook For This Rookie In Stanford Loss
Things haven't been going well for Mick Cronin and the UCLA Bruins.
After losing to Stanford on Wednesday evening, the Bruins sit at 6-8. This team is a far cry from the one that had a Final Four core of Tyger Campbell, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Jaylen Clark, and David Singleton.
With seven freshmen on the roster, UCLA is the youngest team in the country. Cronin has been pulling out what little hair he has left on his head. Turnovers and poor shooting have doomed this team so far.
In his postgame press conference from Wednesday, Cronin was asked about several players. One of those was freshman wing Ilane FIbleuil. The French wing has played sparingly this year despite having above-average athleticism and a gifted set of physical tools.
Fibleuil entered the game in the first half versus Stanford. In literally less than a minute of game time, Fibleuil was taken out after turning the ball over on a baseline drive. Cronin spoke about that play -- along with Fibleuil's struggles as a whole (seen in the video above):
"That’s on him, not me. Like I tell guys at this level, you know, I tell ‘em all, it’s hard. So you can quit and go home, make an excuse and transfer like 1,900 guys or you get better. Look in the mirror. But you gotta look in the mirror first. You’ve been told to get in there and make open shots and go rebound, play defense.
First time you touch the ball you try to be Michael Jordan and look what happens. Great kid, but we got a lot of guys really, to be honest with you, who are struggling on the aptitude right now."
- Cronin on freshman Ilane Fibleuil
Fibleuil has had some bright moments, though he's struggled with consistently performing. He had a wrist/hand injury early in the year after falling off a scooter. This likely hindered his development, as he wasn't fully able to practice or play with full health.
In 14 games this year, Fibleuil is averaging 8.0 minutes a game. He's averaging 1.3 PPG and 1.9 RPG on 46.7 percent from the floor and 16.7 percent from three.
The sample size isn't overly big, but there's a talented player here. FIbleuil is the best athlete on the roster not named Adem Bona. He's drawn comparisons to Jaylen Clark earlier in the year for his prowess on the defensive end of the floor. There have also been glimpses of Fibleuil being a very good offensive rebounder.
At some point, Cronin has to let Fibleuil play extended minutes. He's too talented of a player to be languishing on the bench. Even then, with how poorly UCLA has started the year, Cronin has nothing to lose in this scenario. The more floor time Fibleuil gets, the quicker his development will occur.
