Basketball
Previous topic | Next topic Return to Forum
OswegoBruin
Joined: 11/11/10 Posts: 16,935
Dent thread is full.
Posted Sat, Mar 29 10:19 am
Cronin deserves massive props for landing him, a highly sought after player who played his best games against the best competition. Very, very good get at an extremely important position.

Now we need to lock Mara and Perry up, figure out our wing situation and backup SG/C situation, and we're off to the races.

Cronin's problem has never been assembling talent. I still maintain that even the '23-24 team was much better than its record. Cronin's problem that he will have to overcome is easing up on his kung fu grip, trusting the talent he's assembled to make mistakes and recover from them without coaching intervention or anger, and getting staff together to put an offense on the court that can attack good defenses. If he's able to do that, I think our ceiling is extremely high.

As of now, assuming expected departures and returns, I see our lineup like this:

Dent
Skyy
?
Dailey
Mara

6th: TB
7th: Perry
8th: Brandon Williams
9th: ?

I think Perry slots well behind Dent, and can fill in at SG if necessary, but we need to lock down wings and a backup SG, not to mention a backup C.
"Every day at UCLA was a good day." -Coach John Wooden
This page is in overload mode. If you wish to read all messages, please click here.
alfablue
Joined: 2/10/15 Posts: 1,153
Freeny is really good
Posted Sat, Mar 29 10:28 am (Edited Sat, Mar 29 10:38 am)
In response to Dent thread is full. (OswegoBruin)
Curious to see how he fits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7aRVRO9bGQ


tomodach
Joined: 12/27/14 Posts: 5,453
We sure do need to lock up Mara
Posted Sat, Mar 29 10:33 am
In response to Dent thread is full. (OswegoBruin)
I think we need a strong rebounding back up center, a wing who can defend like Kobe, but a much better shooter.
Replies to this subthread

LBBruin
Joined: 10/18/10 Posts: 1,402
Bilo off the bench?
Posted Sat, Mar 29 11:03 am
In response to Dent thread is full. (OswegoBruin)
I don’t see MC doing that. He loves that guy.
Replies to this subthread

harry bruin
Joined: 11/01/05 Posts: 938

Avatars available for donors only
Learning from your mistakes...
Posted Sat, Mar 29 11:34 am (Edited Sat, Mar 29 11:41 am)
In response to Dent thread is full. (OswegoBruin)
Not just a random "anti-Cronin" comment... but Wooden was known for his coaching philosophy that emphasized allowing players to make mistakes and stay in the game, believing that mistakes are a natural part of the learning process and that players should be trusted to learn from them. The absolute opposite of Cronin, where if a player let an opponent blow by him you'd immediately see Cronin turn to the bench to get a player ready to replace the player in error.

I would imagine that results in players like dogs who are beaten... always looking for the hand that's going to slap them.

Cronin has produced good teams and good results... at Cincinnati and Westwood. I don't think we can get a better coach now. I also don't think that players like Andrews (gone), Mara, Perry, Mack, Daily have grown and developed as much as they would have if.... allowed to stay in a game and learn from their mistakes.

Specifically, going forward... I've seen/sensed a couple times this year a potential productive relationship with Perry and Mara. Exactly this kind of potential could be undermined by pulling them out of the game when they breathe in the wrong way. Especially in the first third of a season... let them play. Build, not dismantle, their confidence.
Replies to this subthread

wanabbruin
Joined: 2/22/12 Posts: 1,026
I sure wish Devin Williams was willing to be b/u center.
Posted Sat, Mar 29 12:16 pm
In response to Dent thread is full. (OswegoBruin)
I don't know if Cronin can land a better prospect, or not. I just wanted to see him play since he's been a Bruin for a couple of seasons. Maybe Cronin wants more of a bruiser to back up Mara.

Note: Earlier when I said it was no surprise he had declared for the Portal, I didn't mean to say I WANTED him to leave, just that it's not surprising that he might want to start somewhere. It's hard to tell at this time if Portal-goers are searching more for playing time or for $$. I don't hold either motive against them.
Replies to this subthread