In Reply to: I think he always recognized the issue and knew it wasn't posted by ej on July 23, 2025 at 13:21:50
Good or bad, I’ve always felt Mara could have, and probably should have, played more. I recognize he had his deficiencies, but personally, I would have preferred seeing him get pushed around down low rather than watching Bilodeau get overpowered. In my view, it would have been better for the program long term. Mara would have taken his lumps, but it might have toughened him up, he’d have gotten the minutes he felt he deserved, and maybe he stays a Bruin. Of course, it’s all speculation, who knows how it would have played out.
Still, from what I saw, Bilodeau was overmatched in the post, so what was the real difference if Mara had been the one getting beat up down there? At least with Mara, I think we stood to gain more in the long run.
But to your point, Cronin is trying to win every game. I do think he’s a good coach, and I think he believed playing Bilodeau and Dailey together gave him the best chance to run his style of defense and provided an offensive edge. Many of us, though, would have liked to see all three on the floor at the same time. I’m sure he tried it in practice. The irony now is that all reports suggest they plan to do exactly that this year with another big. Call me skeptical, I just don’t see it happening often.
The issue is that Dailey and Bilodeau basically play the same position and bring a similar skill set. Ideally, having them out there together would help offensively, but it limits your perimeter defense. Can Dailey really guard athletic threes? I guess we’ll find out. If he can, I’ll forever wonder why they didn’t try it with Mara last season. That said, I think we’re just as likely to see Dailey and Bilodeau together again, both manning the post while struggling to keep opponents off the boards and scoring over them. I think we'll do just fine against most teams, but we're likely to struggle against big front lines. Another irony...Michigan is huge again.