Late this spring, the obituary on the Mick Cronin era at UCLA was flooding message boards.
A coach who hadn’t reached the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend since 2023 had missed on too many prime transfer-portal targets, particularly at small forward and center. The roster didn’t have nearly enough offensive firepower after losing its top two scorers.
At best, it seemed, Cronin’s latest batch of Bruins was bound for another long flight to play another top team early in the NCAA Tournament. Back-to-back second-round losses — to Tennessee in 2025 and UConn in 2026 — had soured even some of the coach’s most devoted supporters.
Others were still simmering over the coach’s ejection of Steven Jamerson II, the backup center who was sent to the locker room after committing a hard foul. Almost no one could envision a path back to the coach’s early successes that included a 2021 Final Four run.
Then, in midsummer, came a development as breathtaking as fireworks streaming across a black July sky.
The signing of Nikola Kusturica, a 6-foot-9 budding superstar from Serbia who was widely considered an early contender to be the top pick in the 2028 NBA Draft, wildly shifted the narrative around the Bruins to something else entirely.
We’re so back.
The addition of a precocious 17-year-old who was a gifted scorer and defensive disruptor changed the perception of the roster and the coach who assembled it.
Suddenly, the Bruins had star power. They had another rim protector in addition to center Xavier Booker. They had their starter at small forward, not to mention a massive draw for those pricey courtside Hollywood Seats inside Pauley Pavilion.
“He’s just a special guy,” Cronin said of a player who could routinely flirt with triple-doubles. “He can shoot, pass, handle it and he’s 6-10, but it’s like he’s 7 feet with his arms.”
If Kusturica was the headliner, his supporting cast was starting to build its own buzz ahead of the No. 22 Bruins’ season opener against No. 5 Arizona on Monday in Las Vegas.
Cronin and his expanded front-office staff had outfitted the roster with transfers and freshmen who better fit the coach’s preferred style. These Bruins were longer and more athletic than recent editions, filling deficiencies in defense and rebounding that had forced them to try and outscore everybody.
Perhaps that’s why Cronin recently said he looked forward to coaching this team every day.
“These guys, they fit his personality when it comes to playing competitive basketball, practicing hard, competing,” said associate coach Darren Savino, who has worked with Cronin for nearly two decades.
Auburn transfer Filip Jovic, a native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, fits the bill of “the biggest, nastiest, vodka-drinking Eastern European” that Cronin had famously ordered his staff to find — minus only the vodka.
“He’s that guy,” Cronin said of the springy 6-8 forward-center. “He is a ferocious player of toughness.”
Other newcomers could also help make this team resemble the early ones under Cronin beloved by fans for their grit and resolve.
Freshman Joe Philon III should snag a significant role immediately because of his magnetic draw toward balls coming off the rim — “He really believes,” Cronin said, “that every shot is a pass to him” — and transfer guard Azavier Robinson is considered an elite on-ball defender.
No one has been able to reliably stop Jaylen Petty, a sophomore transfer from Texas Tech described by multiple teammates as the best shooter they have ever played alongside.
Making Petty’s supremeskill all the more valuable is the ability of the 6-1 guard to get his shot off and finish at the rim over considerably taller defenders.
“I don’t understand how he gets it over the 7-foot guys on our team or even me,” said Eric Dailey Jr., a 6-8 forward.
Dailey was one of five players Cronin re-signed — don’t say retained, lest you risk irking the coach — from the team that beat Central Florida in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament before getting outclassed by UConn while missing injured forward Tyler Bilodeau.
Those two games represented a breakthrough for Booker, the converted center who suddenly stopped overthinking everything and played more instinctively. He averaged 14 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks while making 4-of-7 3-pointers (57.1%), giving him a template for what could be his final college season.
“To be honest, I wouldn’t even say I unlocked really anything,” Booker said. “I just kind of just played more free.”
Orchestrating it all will be Trent Perry, who is moving into the lead guard role after Cronin’s season-long public campaign to bring him back proved successful.
The early response to this team is reminiscent of the one late in Cronin’s first season, when the tenacious Bruins won seven of their final eight games before the COVID-19 shutdown. During a recent exhibition, the biggest roar came when Kusturica dove on the court for one loose ball before grabbing another offensive rebound on the same possession.
Having brought some passion back to Pauley Pavilion, along with a roster suited to his coaching strengths, Cronin may be commencing his own comeback.
UCLA BUZZER BEATERS
NEWCOMER TO WATCH
Nikola Kusturica. The Serbian Savior could be one of the most electrifying players to grace Pauley Pavilion in years. Fans will often have to remind themselves that he’s only 17 years old given his ability to score in a variety of ways while also being a defensive stopper. While he’ll have to adjust to the physicality of college basketball, Kusturica has already shown a willingness to make hustle plays.
MOST IMPORTANT DECISION
How to navigate the center spot. A year ago, Xavier Booker struggled so mightily with defense and rebounding that the Bruins eventually went back to the undersized Tyler Bilodeau as a small-ball center until Bilodeau was lost to injury late in the season. That seemed to unlock a better version of Booker, who played more instinctually in the NCAA Tournament. Can he repeat that showing for an entire season? If not, the Bruins could turn to Auburn transfer Filip Jovic as another undersized option to man the post.
GOOD DAYS TO COME
The Bruins have the talent and makeup to advance to the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend for the first time since 2023. While a Sweet 16 or Elite Eight appearance might be the ceiling, it would be a welcome return to meaningful basketball for fans who have grown tired of early exits.
FINDING HIS FOOTING
Filling a major need for length on the wing, freshman Joe Philon III should be a top contributor immediately off the bench. It also helps that the 6-foot-8 forward possesses the athleticism to become an elite rebounder for a team looking to improve in that area. Coach Mick Cronin has already labeled Philon as “the steal of the recruiting class.” One possible issue: Can the handsy Philon stay out of foul trouble?
DON’T BE SURPRISED IF …
Kusturica logs UCLA’s first triple-double since Kyle Anderson collected 13 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists against Morehead State on Nov. 22, 2013. In fact, Kusturica impacts the game in so many ways that he might even flirt with a quadruple-double that includes blocks or steals.
STORY THAT WON’T GO AWAY
Mick Cronin’s sideline demeanor. One season after he threw his own player out of a game and sternly ordered others to the sideline as if they were pets, the Bruins coach might need to be on his best behavior. Why’s that? The new Hollywood Seats next to the UCLA bench will provide unfettered access to everything Cronin says. Fans under 17 may require accompanying parent or adult guardian.
THREE BOLD PREDICTIONS
1. Nikola Kusturica is the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Exceeding the hype, the 17-year-old sends conference historians in search of determining whether he’s the youngest player to win the award.
2. A calmer, gentler Mick Cronin emerges. This team embodies the defense and toughness that its coach wants, meaning he’ll be less inclined to throw a sideline fit. He’s already said he enjoys getting to coach this team every day. If that keeps up, these Bruins might be able to help their bald coach regrow some hair by season’s end.
3. The entire roster returns for 2027-28. Yes, thanks to the brave new world of college athletics, everyone is eligible to come back next season. Here’s betting the Bruins flash enough potential to make that happen.
FIVE GAMES TO WATCH
MONDAY VS. ARIZONA It’s the renewal of a heated Pac-12 rivalry, not to mention a chance to make an early statement.
DEC. 5 VS. GONZAGA Something dramatic always happens when these former Final Four combatants face off against one another.
JAN. 9 VS. MICHIGAN STATE Fans hope for a reprisal of having Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sitting on one baseline, Magic Johnson on the other.
JAN. 26 VS. MICHIGAN Can the Bruins finally deliver some payback for the Wolverines poaching Aday Mara
FEB. 13 VS. USC Rivalry could go to another level given the Trojans are entering the season ranked higher than Bruins.
THE POST’S FORECAST
25-8
The Bruins take a step forward from their recent malaise, snagging a 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament while also providing an enticing glimpse of what might be in 2027-28.