LOS ANGELES — The UCLA men’s basketball team is preparing for its Pac-12 home opener against Stanford on Wednesday night after going 1-1 on the road against the Oregon schools last week.
The Bruins (6-7 overall), who beat Oregon State, 69-62, on Thursday night and lost to Oregon, 64-59, on Saturday afternoon, begin a new calendar year with a sub-.500 record for the first time since 2010.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin said developing what it takes to win close games is a learned attribute.
“That’s a learned thing,” Cronin said. “Winning is a learned thing.”
It’s a lesson that Cronin, who is in the midst of his fifth season in Westwood, is teaching his 15-man roster, which includes 12 freshmen and sophomores every day.
“We’re getting there,” Cronin continued before Tuesday’s practice. “My dad laments shots not going in when we talk after games, obviously we let some guys shoot some threes who we should have let shoot threes against Oregon but right now to me we lost that game for one reason … if we don’t turn the ball over, we’re going to beat Oregon. And we would have if we didn’t have 16 turnovers, we would have won the game with the way we rebound the ball and their size disadvantage.”
Redshirt sophomore guard Will McClendon said in his first three seasons he’s learned a lot about what it takes to win close games.
“It takes a team effort, it’s not just one person,” McClendon said. “It takes everybody. It takes people who play, people who don’t play and like I said previously, some days it might not be your day, someone else has to step up so probably what I learned the most is toughness and we’re going to need a group effort if we want to be successful.”
Cronin, whose team has won its last four meetings with Stanford, said freshman guard Jan Vide, a 6-foot-6 point guard from Slovenia, could play for the first time in more than two weeks on Wednesday, after recovering from an ankle injury.
“He practiced (Monday) the first time where he was able to go, where he could move,” Cronin shared.
UCLA’s 7-foot-3 big man
Seven-foot-3 freshman center Aday Mara only played two minutes against Oregon State and did not play in the loss to Oregon. Cronin said Mara’s development is a work in progress.
“Adem (Bona) is our best player,” Cronin said. “But Aday, the physicality of it is a huge adjustment, but we’ve also struggled to play those guys together so that’s an issue. Secondly, I would tell you, it just comes down to production. He got a chance to play against Oregon State and he gave up five points faster than I could go to the bathroom, so it’s not that he’s not trying but we can’t win if we give up points that easy. It becomes a matter of strategy.”
Cronin said Mara’s potential for this season is higher on the offensive end, but he stressed that he has to be serviceable defensively to be an all-around player.
“He had his best practice yesterday (Monday) and it goes back to the process of everybody wants to skip becoming a player and back to what (Michigan State) Coach (Tom) Izzo was talking about,” Cronin said. “You go through these things and you realize I have to be a better defender or I don’t get to play, which would be the case and is the case for these guys when they get to the pros unless you’re the greatest offensive player of all time, which none of them are or they wouldn’t be here. So he’s going through what he needs to go through. I know he’s not going to be our best defender but if he’s not producing offensively, it becomes a strategic thing, but he continues to work hard and it’s hard for him to produce offensively. He doesn’t get extended minutes so it’s a work in progress but again, he had his best practice yesterday.”
Here’s what you need to know about Wednesday’s game:
STANFORD AT UCLA
When: Wednesday, 6 p.m.
Where: Pauley Pavilion
TV/Radio: ESPN2/1150 AM
Records: UCLA is 6-7 overall, 1-1 Pac-12, Stanford is 6-6, 1-1
UCLA’s latest result: The Bruins are coming off a 64-59 loss at Oregon on Saturday afternoon. UCLA sophomore forward Adem Bona had 15 points (on 6-of-7 shooting), 11 rebounds and five blocked shots for his second double-double of the season. Freshman forward Berke Buyuktuncel added a career-high 12 points (on 5-of-7 shooting).
Stanford’s latest result: The Cardinal is coming off a 100-82 home win against No. 4 Arizona on Sunday. Stanford, which was led by freshman guard Kanaan Carlyle’s 28 points off the bench, shot 64% from 3-point range (16 for 25).
Bona’s continued growth
The 6-foot-10 Bona is UCLA’s second-leading scorer (12.4 ppg) and leading rebounder (6.9 rpg) and shot blocker (1.8 bpg) through 13 games, averaging 26.7 minutes per game.
He stepped up his play and output in the Bruins’ first two Pac-12 games, averaging 14 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 steals in 34 minutes, and he did not get into foul trouble in either game.
“The team needs me to play like that and also I’ve been holding myself accountable of things I need to be doing for the team,” Bona said. “I think paying more attention to detail and slowing stuff down has helped me … it’s been good but it can be better.”
Bona is currently shooting 56.9% from the field, which is down from the team-best mark of 67.5% from his freshman season.
“I’m going to have to step it up,” Bona said. “There’s no excuse if I’m a sophomore or a senior, or a junior. I’m just going to have to get the job done.”
Cronin’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. comparison
Over the past several weeks, Cronin has rewarded freshman guard/forward Brandon Williams with increased playing time – at least 17 minutes per game over the past five contests – and the ultimate comparison.
“Brandon reminds me of Jaime (Jaquez Jr.) in that he shows up every day with a great attitude and fight,” Cronin said, referencing the 2022-23 Pac-12 Player of the Year who is now an NBA rookie with the Miami Heat. “He has fight and toughness so therefore they start to get better and the ball goes in for you in practice and eventually that will translate to the game and that’s kind of what’s happened.”
Williams is not taking Cronin’s words lightly.
“It’s a huge honor,” Williams said. “Jaime is a really good player, like my teammate Will said earlier. He’s playing really good for the Miami Heat. That’s where I want to be someday, in the big leagues like him, so it’s a great feeling.”