In Reply to: Were you around for the Lav years? * posted by mikeo on November 18, 2025 at 00:10:20
Lavin recruited INCREDIBLY well at UCLA. Got Baron Davis, Kapono, Ariza, Barnes, Gadzuric, and a bunch of other elite HS recruits. Cronin has done nothing like that.
Lavin also defeated the #1 team in the country in four consecutive seasons. Read that again. It's worlds beyond anything Cronin has done.
Lavin got to the S16 in 5 out of 6 seasons at one point (with one E8 in there).
But most importantly, Lavin was just a great ambassador for UCLA basketball, and he drew players and attention to the program. Ultimately, his inability to get deeper in the tourney and win league titles led to his firing. But man, I'd take him back in a heartbeat right now. He's a MUCH better coach than Mick Cronin. It's not even comparable.