In Reply to: Rebounding is a valid discussion … posted by mikeo on November 23, 2025 at 11:52:05
like UCLA under Cronin, while possibly overestimating the ability of teams that play at a faster tempo.
For instance, Illinois, which had the 17th fastest tempo last season, collected 1492 total rebounds (Hello Christoper Columbus!) but ended up 22-13, while the 312th fastest Bruins collected only 1109, yet finished with a similar, even slightly better, record of 23-11.
Also, UCLA is usually very good at turning teams over, which means fewer shots; ergo, fewer rebounding opportunities.
Furthermore, this doesn't appear to be a Cronin issue. In 18 seasons at Cincinnati, he had 5 teams finish in the top-10 in Offensive Rebounding Percentage, and 5 more finish in the top-30. That's higher than any of Cronin's Bruin teams, except the first (which finished 20th). This may speak to difference in effort generated by experienced 3-star players vs. pampered 4 and 5-stars, or it may not.
I'm not saying rebounding isn't important, or that this year's UCLA team doesn't need to improve at cleaing the glass on both sides of the court; just that there are other factors that need to be considered beyond just counting numbers.