In Reply to: Condolences. posted by NYBruin on January 13, 2025 at 21:25:57
I'm not sure head coaches really "recruit" anymore. Pre-NIL, sure, the coach, the University, the amenities, the campuses, the weather, etc., all combined to attract or repel players. Now, with NIL, aren't head coaches really General Managers, working with booster (NIL) groups to hire the best players they can with whatever resources are provided? And, that being the case, the amount of money available to the GM, and the GM's ability to evaluate talent and get the most for their money is what it's all about. Plus being able to coach that talent to perform its best.
I don't know where UCLA stands with regard to other teams in terms of NIL money. If they are perpetually less well funded than other Universities, UCLA won't be able to compete, especially in a major conference like the B1G. If that's the case, I will, after 60 years of UCLA BB fandom, finally lose interest in following UCLA.
Something certainly seems amiss right now. Maybe UCLA is still underfunded. If not, either CMC is very bad at evaluating talent or for the second year in a row he has not been able to develop that talent into a cohesive unit. UCLA's performance over the past 4 games is among the worst I have seen in many, many years, and harkens back to some of Lavin's teams.
I hope I'm overreacting and Cronin and the team turn this around. At this point, I doubt it. I just don't see adequate talent, size or athleticsim on this team.
Go Bruins! Please!