In Reply to: I don't think a big man is a priority... posted by Cachorro on April 28, 2026 at 15:34:46
And maybe Jovic at the 5 will be a defensive improvement over Bilodeau? And maybe Jovic will be a huge surprise and rather than being a back up five he will emerge as the primary big (at 6'8") and UCLA will play really small ball and it will be effective? Maybe!
But I fear Cronin is delusional if he plans on relying on Booker as his primary big. He stretches the floor nicely and that opens things up for the other guys. But, beyond that he is merely adequate to inadequate with everything else. I hope he continues to improve and grows into an effective all around five on both sides of the ball, but right now I'm not holding my breath based on what I saw last season - even considering the improvements.
There were and still are some bigs out there who are in the 7+ foot realm that I can't stop thinking could help the Bruins. We don't know anything about what's going on with the portal, but the only hint that he was looking at bigs was bringing in Like Wilson. He's only 6'9" and nothing came of that. After that there wasn't even a whisper that Cronin was looking at anyone else. I hope this doesn't came back and bite UCLA's ass, but I do have my concerns.