In Reply to: 1H Game Notes. posted by NYBruin on November 04, 2024 at 21:45:10
UCLA appears to be better defensively this year than last and they are certainly more athletic as a team and have more scoring options. I like the fact that they are pressing more and with the added depth they have this year, that's going to be one of their strengths in the BIG and one they will need IMO.
I've watched several of the BIG teams and have seen Michigan play 3 games already. If the bruins have a weakness this year, I believe it is going to be in the paint against some of the talented big physical centers and PFs they will face. Michigan for instance has two 7 footers who are very good, especially Wolf. Plus they have two PFs around 6'10 who hit the boards hard and can score. And they are projected to be near the bottom of the conference. But they sure don't look like a bottom feeder the way May has them moving and playing. They are much better than last year's team. We are looking forward to the Mich/UCLA game at Pauley in Dec. Wife and I will be sitting on opposite ends of the couch in that one :-))
But like you said, it's difficult to make a good assessment of the teams potential against this early season competition. By the 10th game, we should have a very good idea of what their true potential is and what may be the top 8 players Cronin will settle on. It will be interesting to see if he goes that way or continues to play 11 or so players in highly competitive games. But who knows for sure, maybe he will go with a deeper bench. Hard to tell as he has never had this much depth on any team he has coached in the past. Should be a fun season though but in this new conference, it's going to be tough as there are some excellent talented and physical teams in the Bruins new conference.