Week of 1/1/24 Other Games

[aceboon]

Cronin got Juzang as a transfer but his UCLA success was also mainly built off of Alford's recruits(the BY picks and chooses which coaches they will hang that over their head), his first year without them and we see how that's going. Let's see if he pivots from his current recruiting strategy that has him 6-10 and getting his doors blown off.

 

[connVA]

I hope Fairfield can make the NCAAT. I like seeing other Connecticut teams in the NCAAT. Remember this guy, Brycen Goodine? He dropped 40 points in one game and is their leading scorer. He was a transfer from Providence. I could never imagine him being the top dog on a team and scoring 40 points in a game. I don't think he scored 40 points in his entire career at Providence.

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I remember 1997 when an 11-19 Stags team made a run to the MAAC title and then came within 8 points of a colossal upset of the top-seeded Dean Smiths in the 1-16 game. I imagine those four guards would be a big headache for Zach Eady & co.

 

[gsmooth]

They were a 2 Seed and in the Sweet 16 last year and probably an injury away from playing us in the E8. They were a 4 seed in the Sweet 16 the year before that. And they were in the Final Four the year before that.

It's possible the UCLA boosters and press are sick of Cronin's curmudgeonly behavior, or that he'll leave because of their lack of NIL, but the man has been successful there multiple years in a row. If his team sucks next year, well, then we'll see.

UCLA lacks NIL? I am not saying you are wrong, because I don't know their NIL situation nor have I researched it.
@tzzandrew or anyone else please answer this question:
Why would UCLA lack NIL? They would seem to have an abundance of resources.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Can someone tell me why Providence fans are commenting “thank you” on everything?
@FriarJ do you know?

 

[Tenspro2002]

It's possible the UCLA boosters and press are sick of Cronin's curmudgeonly behavior

Part of Cronin's problem is that his demeanor just screams "small time" (and no, I don't mean his leprechaun-like stature).

A program like UCLA who is desperately clinging to blue blood status despite not winning a championship in 30 years, and only once in the last 50, may be especially sensitive to having a coach only looks comfortable in the plucky underdog role.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

UCLA lacks NIL? I am not saying you are wrong, because I don't know their NIL situation nor have I researched it.
@tzzandrew or anyone else please answer this question:
Why would UCLA lack NIL? They would seem to have an abundance of resources.

UCLA definitely lags behind other P5 schools in their commitment to NIL, and Cronin himself has not been particularly committed on that score. There's also just a more generally fraught relationship with boosters than there is at comparable schools. They're not all in on athletics like the school across town. It's why I can't imagine there's much appetite for paying Cronin a $20M buyout. There are a lot of people who are more than happy to just be known as a world class university with reasonably competitive major sports.

 

[Waquoit]

Anyone see the Sparty-Illinois game last night? I barely watch anything besides UConn but I caught a lot of this one. If these teams had Secret Service code names; they would be Suck and Blow. More bricks than the Aetna building.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Gonzaga screwed that one up pretty good. I don't particularly like then so I'm good with it.

I'm hoping that Gonzaga coming back to earth puts an end to the idea that the Big East should add them.

 

[HuskyHawk]

UCLA definitely lags behind other P5 schools in their commitment to NIL, and Cronin himself has not been particularly committed on that score. There's also just a more generally fraught relationship with boosters than there is at comparable schools. They're not all in on athletics like the school across town. It's why I can't imagine there's much appetite for paying Cronin a $20M buyout. There are a lot of people who are more than happy to just be known as a world class university with reasonably competitive major sports.

Is it fair to say UCLA is more like Berkeley than it is like Southern Cal? Not super passionate about sports. Always seemed that way to me.

 

[kobe]

UCLA definitely lags behind other P5 schools in their commitment to NIL, and Cronin himself has not been particularly committed on that score. There's also just a more generally fraught relationship with boosters than there is at comparable schools. They're not all in on athletics like the school across town. It's why I can't imagine there's much appetite for paying Cronin a $20M buyout. There are a lot of people who are more than happy to just be known as a world class university with reasonably competitive major sports.

micks, uh, not exactly the guy you want if you need to schmooze boosters for more money. never been something he's interested or good at doing.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Is it fair to say UCLA is more like Berkeley than it is like Southern Cal? Not super passionate about sports. Always seemed that way to me.

These are obviously huge schools so they contain multitudes - my professional mentor is a Cal alum and booster who travels with the football team in the fall - but by and large, I'd say that's pretty fair. There is more passion for sports in Westwood than at Berkeley but SC seems more in line with SEC schools as compared to those other two. SC's alumni network is also - in my experience - much more Southern California-focused (and frankly a bit unbearable) while UCLA alums tend to be more widely dispersed.