In Reply to: Mara... posted by Cachorro on April 01, 2025 at 07:53:08
Cronin has never embraced having a true center. He has never brought a true center to UCLA, with the exception of Myles Johnson who was discouraged from basketball after one season with CMC. The recruitment of Mara was accidental as Cronin was forced to recruit overseas with no $NIL. CMC's prototype center is 6'8"-6'9" (Bona). He prefers playing a PF at center (Bilodeau). Then when the undersized Bruins get dominated in the paint, he deflects blame on the players for being soft. CMC likes small ball, forever trying to fit that square peg into the round hole. By the end of this yr Mara had developed to the point that he changed the way opponents were playing UCLA when he was in. But CMC kept him on the bench no matter the situation (eg, 2nd half against Minnesota). I don't blame Mara for leaving, and I am surprised that Bilodeau stays because he should be a PF. And don't expect CMC to bring in a true center and play him.