WATCH: Mick Cronin on Tyger Campbell Adjusting, UCLA's Foul Trouble
UCLA men's basketball coach Mick Cronin spoke with reporters ahead of Wednesday afternoon's practice session at the Mo Ostin Basketball Center. Cronin talked about recruiting in Southern California, Ben Howland's return to Pauley Pavilion on Sunday, Final Four banners and retired numbers, Tyger Campbell fitting into his new role, Will McClendon's health and how he handles players in foul trouble.
What was it like to catch up with Kenyon at Sierra Canyon last night?
Oh, it was great to see my man. I coached Kenyon all four years, so a lot of 1-on-1 time in the gym, you know? Most competitive, tough guy I've ever coached. And probably, what people don't know about Kenyon, one of the smartest basketball players, unbelievable aptitude. Just gotta get him out of the valley, trying to get him down here to talk to the team.
In regards to recruiting in Southern California, what's it like to sit in one place and watch a handful of games and there are so many prospects out there?
Yeah, but the thing about recruiting is it's become such a longer process, you know? You gotta go see kids that are freshmen and sophomores, you know? But it's always good to be able to get in your car and recruit, it's a great thing. A lot easier than getting on planes. Cause for the head coach, in-season recruiting's really hard if you gotta get on a plane to do it. You've got practice, you've got games, I've got media sessions, so it's just – but it's great to be able to get in your car and recruit, it's the best thing ever. Coach Howland and I talk about it all the time, he used to brag to me about it when he was here. You know, so it's nice. More players in Southern California, the better.
What was it like having Howland at the game on Sunday?
Oh, see coach Howland? Great, something we wanted to get done. When I knew he was retiring, I knew he was going to that house in Santa Barbara, so you know. Honoring our past is something UCLA's great at, and we've got somebody who loves the school, had an unbelievable run as the coach, three Final Fours, just great to have him here. That ovation was – you know, I wish I could've stood up, but the game was close so I was coaching. So I wish I could've got up, but hopefully it was – I could tell talking to him after, he really appreciated it, he really appreciated it. Just got him our practice schedule, so I'll see him over the holidays.
Where do you stand on hanging Final Four banners?
Well the problem in our arena is there's not enough room, you know? I would say that's six one way, half-a-dozen the other. I think – look, there's different eras. There was a time where 16 teams made the tournament. In the era of 68 teams, it's really hard to make the Final Four. I'm not advocating for change, I try to worry about things that matter. For me, that's neither here nor there. I think the hardest thing here, the toughest thing here, is probably way more – I know for a fact – that there's guys, their jerseys aren't retired here, that if they had the careers they had at other schools, they would be one of the top-three jerseys retired, you know? So for a guy like Don MacLean, you know, that's tough, you're the all-time leading scorer in the Pac-12 and the all-time leading scorer for the school. To not have your jersey retired, like to me, that's the big issue. Mike Warren's a good buddy of mine – if you look at his All-American stuff, his stats, and I'm sure there's 25, 30 other guys, that if they had their same career at other schools, their jersey would be – but we wouldn't have any numbers. That doesn't make it right, though, so, you know. At Louisville they had retired jerseys and honored jerseys. Yeah, that way somebody could wear the number. That'd be the only way to do it here, you have to have enough numbers.
How would you assess how Tyger is fitting into his new role this season?
I think he's still evolving in it, and it's not just him, it's me as well. Cause I want him to be more aggressive this year, and in doing – it's a new thing for him, figuring out his shot selection is probably the biggest thing for him. So there's growing pains when you go from a guy that's really just running a team to a guy that is one of the best scorers on the team. And he's got the ball a lot, so there's a balance that goes with it. I think he's learning and I'm learning as well to help him with it. Cause what we do, it's easy for him in transition, but play calls at times, at times, he's probably – like I said, against Oregon, I asked him to do too much in the first half with Jaime out. I should've done things to make sure we had more ball movement. It wasn't him, it was me calling his number and putting a lot of pressure on him. So like I said, it's a process for both of us.
Tyger's scoring is up, but field goal percentage is down and turnovers are up?
Yeah, it all goes to me asking him to do more, be more aggressive. I would say the biggest thing, he's had a few late-game turnovers, a travel the other day, an errant pass, an ill-advised pass against Stanford, those are things he's better at, he knows better than that. I'd be shocked if that happens the rest of the year, but I think the shooting percentage will go up. That's just all part of him getting comfortable in his new role and me helping him with that.
What can you do to help?
Again, transition's easy, just helping him with his decision making. With guys who can really shoot – for instance, he and David – you can really shoot and make a high percentage when you're open and your feet are set. It's really hard to make it when you're half open and you're rushing it. So just cause you're a really good shooter, you're not going to be if you're rushing it or your feet aren't set. Shot selection is the most important thing on offense, cause you'll never get to the great shot if you take the half-open shot. You'll never get to the foul if you take the first one you can get off. To be a high percentage team, which we were much better at, this is the best we've been at it, is because we have more ball movement and have more passing. But again, I'm asking the guy to be aggressive, so it's learning that, you know, instead of taking the real hard one or hunting the hard one, just make sure you never pass up an open one. But it's a process.
Will we see more of Will McClendon?
Oh yeah, just tried to get him out there for a little bit. Um, get his feet wet, he's got a whole week here to get there. but it's been a big process for Will. The thing for Will – you've got to factor this in, and the same for Mac – coming back, Mac came here early and got to play a little bit. Bishop Gorman had no season, so Will hasn't played organized basketball for over two years. That's tough. No, but my opinion of Will as a player is extremely high and the career I think he's gonna have here, I'm very confident in. But again, I caution people. I mean, you put the uniform on and go running out there with officials and you haven't done it in over two years, You go from COVID-canceled high school season to an ACL. Guy hasn't played since his junior year, so it's like two-and-a-half years since he's been in a real game.
Is that kind of process more of a priority than where he fits in with the team for you?
Uh, just getting him comfortable. There's two parts – him getting comfortable, and he'll evolve as the year goes on, and then the other thing is where do I get him minutes. But like I've said to you guys, Tyger, Jaime and even Amari and times, have had to play fatigued. When you have to play tired players, your defense always takes a hit, and that's when you also turn the ball over. Got us against Illinois, got us in the second half against Stanford. And, like you're starting to see, because I believe in Will, Dylan, Abramo, David that we can be a full-court defensive team. I think the more we build on that, it's gonna make us a much better team come March. Those guys being able to play quality minutes and us to be able to get Tyger some rest so we don't have fatigued players. Best teams I've had, you gotta have enough depth to where you're not playing fatigued players. I'm talking about against, you know, when you're playing Illinois.
Jaime didn't pick up another foul after coming out with foul trouble early and then checking back in – are there guys you can trust to play through that?
Well I thought I could trust Jaime, until he whacked that guy for his second foul. I said 'What were you doing?' He said 'Going after the ball.' You know, he gave me – this is the correct answer, right? But you had no chance to get it, you whacked a guy, what were you doing? He goes 'Going after the ball.' Did you not know you had one foul? And you're out the rest of the half. I mean, there's fouls where you're playing D and somebody's beat and the guy runs – it's not your fault. He coulda made a much better decision right there. Again, we won the game, but he has to learn from that. If I'm gonna leave him out there for 15, 16 minutes left in the half, he can't just go – he's gotta make a better decision.
What's the genesis of your philosophy when it comes to taking guys out with fouls?
Time and score, situation is all different, you know? You're on the road and, like, I told him when we got down four or five, I said 'You better get your mind right, cause you may have to go back in and play with two.' I told him that during one of the timeouts. So it all – it depends. There's no need to risk it if you're winning, but you're on the road in a raucous environment and they're starting to go on the run and you can save him, but it would be for the rematch. There's a time to save him, and there's a time to play him. There's just so many other factors.
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