Mick Cronin addresses decision to use more full-court press this season

The UCLA basketball team is fighting for one of the top seeds in the NCAA Tournament, but coach Mick Cronin is still thinking about ways he can get more out of his lineup. And UCLA’s full-court press might be just the answer he’s looking for.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Cronin outlined why he believes the full-court press for UCLA can be effective with the right players leading the charge.

“Knowing Adem (Bona’s) in the back, knowing Dylan (Andrews) and Amari (Bailey) have added to our quickness, and Will (McClendon), because he’s back now, he’s back to normal practice,” Cronin said. “Those three freshmen, obviously we signed Sebastian Mack early and he’s an unbelievably aggressive ball-hawking guy. He’s got great quickness.”

There are some veterans in the backcourt that don’t fit that mold quite as well.

So Cronin will be picky and choosy about when he chooses to run the UCLA full-court press. But given the right circumstances, don’t be surprised to see Cronin bust it out.

“It’s never been Tyger (Campbell) and Dave (Singleton’s) total strength,” Cronin said. “So adding the three freshmen, Dylan, Will and Amari on the perimeter with that to go with Jaylen Clark, I thought we could be better at it. And I still think it’s going to be a big key for us.”

Erasing freshman mistakes a key for UCLA

UCLA has turned the corner the last two games after a two-game losing streak. But the team still sees room for improvement after winning two in a row. After beating Washington State this past weekend, senior guard David Singleton was asked how the team can elevate to a great team.

He highlighted the team’s freshman — Amari Bailey, Dylan Andrews, Adem Boma — and said he and his fellow senior leaders needed to continue helping them along.

“To be a great team, I feel like we just need to handle the little mistakes,” Singleton said after the win. “For us experienced guys, we got to erase the mistakes of young guys. We have we have a lot of freshmen, a lot of great freshmen: Amari Bailey, Dylan Andrews, Adem. They make freshman mistakes.”

While Singleton then added some more things they need to improve upon, he made it very clear that he and his fellow senior leaders need to step up.

“In order us for being a great team, first, we have to be a great defensive team,” Singleton said. “We have to move the ball, share the ball, trust each other, and we have to erase their mistakes. They’re gonna make freshman mistakes that’s who they are. We can’t control that. But what we can control is our effort to erase those mistakes and how you do that is with hustle, talking to them, extra talk to ’em on rotations and everything like that. I think that’s our next step.”