When UCLA takes the floor on November 6 against St. Francis in the opening game of the 2023-2024 season, it will be the start of a new chapter for Mick Cronin and the Bruins.
Gone is Jaime Jaquez, UCLA’s do-everything star from the first four years of the Cronin era.
Gone is Tyger Campbell, the steadying force of Cronin’s first four years at point guard.
Gone is Jaylen Clark, the defensive genius; gone is David Singleton, the human superglue; and gone is Amari Bailey, the freshman phenom.
The team that takes the floor for Cronin on Monday will be mostly new: new to fans, new to Cronin, and, in most cases, new to college basketball. It’s a grand experiment in many ways, with Cronin coaching one of the most experienced rosters in college basketball last year, and now coaching one of the very least experienced. Its success or failure, in absolute isolation, will no doubt be extremely interesting to follow.
In macro, though, this is a pivotal year for Cronin and the program. While we led with an analogy of chapters in the same book, the better analogy for what Cronin is attempting to produce here is, instead, a sequel to a successful and completed work. Sequels don’t always work; for every Godfather: Part Two, there’s a Speed 2: Cruise Control. In UCLA’s recent past, you need look no further than Ben Howland to find a coach who struggled to write his sequel with new players after having so much success in his first five years.
Cronin’s challenge is taking an almost entirely new roster and creating the building blocks for another period of sustained success, which he just enjoyed over the last four years. Cronin’s first four years at UCLA were an entire success; no, we’re not going to do the dumb UCLA thing where only titles count. The Bruins improved significantly every year, and last season, before injuries derailed the whole shebang, had arguably the best team in the country entering March. He made a Final Four, had two other Sweet 16s (both of which ended prematurely in large part due to injury), won a regular season Pac-12 title, and won at a 73%+ clip.