Every year I preface this UCLA basketball season preview by asserting that trying to predict the outcomes of games three months from now is a fool’s errand. Last year, for the 2023-2024 preview, I emphasized that my preview would be particularly a shot in the dark because UCLA would be breaking in 8 new players.
This season, Mick Cronin is again working with 8 new players.
At least, however, there aren’t six freshmen like there was a year ago. Cronin has, actually, a veteran team, it’s just that most of that experience was earned elsewhere and not with him.
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We saw last season that for at least the first couple of months Cronin was trying to get a handle on his own roster, and we suspect that will happen this year, too. The learning curve should probably be a little shorter this season, though, since Cronin will be doing it mostly with experienced veterans who have established skills.
No matter how you look at it, there is still quite a bit unknown about this UCLA team and its personnel. The exhibition against Cal State L.A., really, created more questions. That makes this even more of a fool’s errand than it was normally was just a few year’s ago. But there is nothing too dauntingly foolish for us not to attempt here at Bruin Report Online.
So, here we go…
