Mick Cronin: You find out who you are when times are tough

UCLA is on their best run since the start of their season having won three of their last four. That’s because, in the opinion of Mick Cronin, the Bruins have come out on the other side of adversity better than they were before.

Cronin spoke about the growth that his team has made as of late during his postgame press conference after a 65-50 win over USC on Saturday. He said that UCLA had to come together considering they came into the season with little experience with one another. The critiques of them only further helped them do that as they’ve had to overcome the negativity that those on the outside have been sending their way.

“These guys had never even played together. They don’t even know each other,” said Cronin. “You’ve got to go through some things together. But, again, you find out who you are when times are tough.”

“When you have great kids and you make it about them, them trying to get better? Not what people are saying and all the stuff that people want to say when you struggle? Look, the world is predictable,” said Cronin. “Somebody makes a mistake nowadays? They want to ruin your life. You lose a game, you struggle a little bit? Everybody wants to say your team stinks.”

UCLA started 3-1 with the one defeat coming to a top-five team at the time in Marquette at the Maui Invitational. They would then go on an extended skid as they went 2-9 over their next 11. It wasn’t necessarily bad in the form of blowouts as eight of the losses came by single digits. Even so, it featured a loss inside Pauley Pavilion to Cal State Northridge. It then concluded with a 46-point loss at Utah where the Utes doubled them up.

Since falling to 6-10, though, the Bruins have made some strides to turn it around. They won by a dozen at Washington and came back to earn a victory in Tempe over Arizona State. They then controlled the entire last half of their latest game against the Trojans. The only loss over that four-game turnaround was at Arizona, the top team in the Pac-12. UCLA led for most of the game before the ranked Wildcats came back from down 19 to win it in Tucson.

Cronin’s team still isn’t where they’d want to be at two games below .500 overall and one under it in league play. Still, progress is progress and it’s much of what he has been hoping to see as they went on with their season.

“I’m worried about their development – not just teaching them how to win,” said Cronin. “Play better and you give yourself a chance to win.”