Mick Cronin explains why this UCLA team is special

UCLA head coach Mick Cronin know that he has a special team this year. He gives all the credit to the players.

“We got good players,” Cronin said ahead of Tuesday’s practice in Los Angeles. They care. Like I’ve said many times, our guys on our team have been extremely loyal to the school and to the program, especially the older guys on our team. It gives you a chance to build something, and they’re good players. All you got to do is turn on the TV. Most teams are constructed of multiple transfers. This team is special. We don’t have one because we didn’t need one. Because our guys didn’t transfer. Our guys didn’t go to free agency and the open market, and all that type of stuff that goes on today.”

One player that he highlighted was star Jamie Jaquez. He is averaging 16.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game this season and on the shortlist for Pac-12 Player of the Year as a leader for the 21-4 Bruins team.

Jaquez is not only a great player but also an old soul in the college basketball world, Cronin said.

“You have a rare guy like Jaime Jaquez, (who) values the college experience and wants to have a pro career,” Cronin said. “He didn’t want to just get NBA socks. That’s my terminology for you get the socks, get the summer league and then play in the G League. But you get the socks. A very mature guy, but he really valued just going to UCLA, the opportunity.”

He also highlighted other players on his team — like Tyger Campbell, David Singleton, Jaylen Clark and Kenneth Nwuba — as great people who have helped build the program back up.

“There was a time where everybody was like…going to a prestigious university, with a great basketball program was an honor,” Cronin said. “Everybody looked at it that way. We’re now it’s a vehicle to get to the pros. That’s just how it is. It’s okay.”

Mick Cronin says UCLA’s success at home is because of the players they have

What started Mick Cronin on his answer about his UCLA team was actually a question about the team’s success at home. While he took a long way to get there, he said the Bruins are so good at home because of the players they have.

“Great programs, you got to win a lot of your home games,” Cronin said. “Bill Self’s been great at Kansas for a long time because look at his home record. We did a pretty good job at Cincinnati, Darren and I and all the kids there. There was a time we won like 43 in a row. It’s just a byproduct of having a consistent, really good program. But you’re not going to have that without players. So that’s why I talk about the players. In this day and age, loyalty is pretty much a thing of the past. We’re fortunate to have some great kids. This kind of goes hand in hand with that.”