UCLA basketball has not been what it once was, to say the least. In the past three seasons, the Bruins have finished the year with fewer than 25 wins and have not advanced past the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
In fact, most Bruin fans are still holding on to that Final Four run in 2021. With the status of a blue blood in college basketball, you must live up to the expectations every single year, and unfortunately, UCLA has failed to do that.
What's the Issue With the Bruins?
With the recent results coming out of Bruin basketball, you have to ask: What's going wrong? It doesn't seem as if UCLA is devoid of any serious talent. Talented players like Tyger Campbell, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Donovan Dent have come and gone without much to show for it.
Even talented players like Aday Mara have come through the program, but eventually found a key to unlock their potential elsewhere, as Mara did at Michigan. It's discouraging if you're a Bruins fan, and eventually you start looking for someone to blame.
Mick Cronin is a great basketball coach, no question about it. But when things don't live up to how they are supposed to, coaches receive the blame. For Cronin's future to be in full tact, it may be imperative that he doesn't give anyone a reason to fire him this season.
Coaches Like Cronin Have Gotten Fired
In fact, coaches have gotten fired with essentially the same resume. Fellow blue-blood program North Carolina fired their head coach, Hubert Davis, this offseason, as the Tar Heels hadn't lived up to the expectations the program set.
Much like Cronin, Davis boasted a Final Four appearance, a 69.8 overall win percentage, and five seasons with the program, including one where they missed the tournament entirely. To compare, Cronin also has a Final Four appearance, a 68.1 overall win percentage (less than Davis'), and seven seasons with the Bruins, with one season missing the tournament.
Although the comparison is intriguing, it doesn't mean Cronin is due to sit in the hot seat, but it may raise some alarms for Bruins fans.
The grass is not always greener, and it can pay dividends to have an experienced head coach at the helm. The one thing Bruins fans can hope for is that with the college basketball game changing so rapidly, it's imperative that Cronin stays with the times and adapts accordingly.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/ucla as The Hard Truth Facing Mick Cronin With UCLA Basketball.