Mick Cronin and the UCLA Bruins have a big week ahead of them, as they’re set to begin Big Ten Conference tournament action on Thursday but during Cronin’s media availability on Tuesday, he discussed the reality of modern recruiting.
“When we start to talk about recruiting, it’s how much? Let’s just be honest,” Cronin said. “You get 15 scholarships, if you can afford to have 15 guys. I’d love to be able to develop players. I just believe in it.”
UCLA has three freshmen on their roster this year, Eric Freeny, Markell Alston and Christian Horry, with two more sophomores in Trent Perry and Brandon Williams. Under Cronin, UCLA hasn’t seen too many success stories of young players coming to the Bruins and leaving ready to head to the NBA.
Peyton Watson and Jaime Jaquez Jr. have been the only two UCLA players taken in the first round of the NBA Draft since Cronin was hired by the Bruins.
“There are certain teams you look at, Michigan State but Purdue is about to graduate a lot of them guys,” Cronin said. “I would love to be able to have guys for 4-5 years. We’re not going to stop trying to do that.”
Cronin has pressure to compete in the Big Ten. UCLA is 21-10 this year and sixth in the conference and it’s been a disappointing season. That pressure forces Cronin to look for immediate-impact players rather than focus on developing young players over multiple years.
We’ll see if Cronin brings a new strategy into recruiting this offseason.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Mick Cronin is interested in having players at UCLA for 4-5 years
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
