In Reply to: Re: It's all there to plainly see if one chooses to see. posted by Cachorro on July 20, 2026 at 09:09:27
the "casual" fan in mind, whose knowledge and appreciation of basketball is limited and fairly one dimensional at best. That would be no way to teach and coach basketball. I do believe that this dependence on offensive individual skills driven by a popular vision of the game is what's making the NBA almost unwatchable to anyone with more of a nuanced appreciation of the game. I know a lot of ex-basketball players and coaches who don't watch the NBA anymore. It's a shame. In the most recent NBA playoffs I probably watched a total of maybe 5 minutes including the final series.
An ambitious modern day college coach (and even high school in some cases), however, can't live in a purist vacuum and ignore the elements that can have a direct link to keeping his job. It's a delicate balance between staying true to one's self, staying true to the game, winning, and keeping those happy who may have an influence (perhaps even a big influence) on the viability of one's job. The latter has to be acknowledged or it may (and probably will) come back to bite one in their ass. And even if that wasn't true, today it is probably imperative to get the highly recruits to be able to give them something. Bringing in and keeping talented players is essential for long term success. That's just basic.
That's why I believe Cronin needs to bend somewhat. Embrace (maybe not fully, but some) a more exciting progressive style of offense while holding on to his own personal integrity and his basketball principles. A good offense is still mostly designed to get as many good shots as possible whether playing fast of slow. If he doesn't I fear his tenure at UCLA may inevitably come to end within the next few seasons.