...as the season was beginning that we would ultimately finish 7th in the Big 10 and be one and done in the tourney, I can't imagine many here would've smiled upon that news.
No, most would've likely insisted we'd do better. After all, we started the season ranked in the top 10 (or just outside it), and we had an excellent roster with multiple key players back. 2025-26 was going to be a step forward for the program.
And yet, here we are. Arguably worse off than we were a year ago. Dent and Bilodeau are finished at UCLA, and possibly Clark as well. It was an uneven season, with some head-scratching losses and some costly off nights. The bad losses likely cost us a higher seed. So instead we earned a 7 seed and had to face a 2 seed in the second round, instead of in the S16.
I don't have anything left to say about Mick Cronin. He's a shyster and a dimwit, and it's obvious whenever he speaks or whenever he acts like a child for all the world to see. It's a terrible look not only for UCLA basketball but for our alma mater more generally.
It's a very tough pill going into an offseason where Cronin has just been REWARDED with a lucrative contract extension, where there is no real possibility of his dismissal. This could've been a summer of transition and renewed hope. But instead we have to watch this guy salvage however much of his roster he can and likely stumble to an even lower league finish in 2026-27.
Like all of you, I just want to see UCLA basketball at its best, thriving. It's hard to see schools like Purdue and Illinois and (gasp) Nebraska doing better than we have, being led by clearly better coaches.
Here's hoping for better days ahead.
Go Bruins!