In Reply to: He let Adem Bona and Amari Bailey play. posted by mh on July 09, 2026 at 15:23:13
acknowledge that its a good point. Watson, I believe, is a good example of what I'm talking about. With more playing time perhaps he might have been more effective. Maybe more importantly, perhaps more playing time might have convinced others to come to UCLA. I believe that is a legitimate issue. It's all a fine line between winning, team building, player development, sustaining a program, continuity and keeping to avenues of recruiting open. Cronin often finds himself on the short end of many of those concerns as he holds on to his ways. Inflexibility can be detriment to the future as well as the present.
Mara should have been playing more whether he stayed close to the basket or hedged and switched. Cronin mishandled Mara and IMO mishandled Peyton as well. Mara was a difference maker and Watson was a bellwether type player. For the sake of the immediate, Cronin might have forsaken the future. Now he's trying to mend those broken connections.
Kusturica is another of those important recruits on many levels. It's not just the immediate that's at stake here. Cronin needs to expand his vision and look more toward the bigger picture IMO.