"There’s no crying over spilled milk": Mick Cronin promises a Bruins bounce-back as UCLA set to shine with revamped roster
Mick Cronin and the UCLA Bruins experienced a rare 16-17 losing record last season, highlighting an immediate need for a shakeup. While the school realized it early, it couldn't retain key players, as five prime scoring options entered the portal in the offseason.
Nevertheless, with a revamped roster and altered approach, considering the potential of NIL deals, Mick Cronin promises that the Bruins will bounce back in the upcoming season.
“Our NIL program just wasn’t what it needed to be,” Cronin said on College Hoops Today podcast with Jon Rothstein.
“There’s no crying over spilled milk. It’s a waste of time talking about it. But it wasn’t a reality for us to be competitive in the portal, so we ended up with a lot of freshmen. But now it is. Course now they are announcing that the rules are changing again,” he added.
The UCLA Bruins have replenished their roster by retaining a few returning players and acquiring promising transfers like Skyy Clark, Eric Dailey Jr., Tyler Bilodeau, Dominick Harris, William Kyle III and Kobe Johnson.
Cronin believes that alongside experience, older players bring a sense of maturity, allowing for a better culture and chemistry within the program.
The 2024-25 season will be a new beginning for Mick Cronin and the UCLA Bruins
The Bruins have a new path when it comes to their roster and NIL approaches. Moreover, they enter a completely new landscape in the 2024-25 season.
They are a part of the four-program lineup entering the Big Ten conference, alongside the USC Trojans, Oregon Ducks and the Washington Huskies, being part of an 18-team league.
Moreover, the stakes will be high from day one, as only 15 of the 18 teams will qualify for the Big Ten tournament. Moreover, only six of 14 Big Ten teams earned the NCAA bid last season (42%), meaning the Bruins need to be a part of at least the top-seven bracket throughout the conference games.
Mick Cronin begins UCLA’s quest for a 12th banner in November with a set of non-conference games before the Big Ten matchups.