Mick Cronin May Have Solved UCLA Basketball's Scoring Struggles Via the Transfer Portal!

Intro Mick isn't the pick but he might take one of your players you are locked on UCLA your daily podcast on the UCLA Bruins part of the locked on podcast Network your team every [Music] day welcome everybody to the lock on UCLA podcast I your host Zack ERS ymer thanks for making this show your first listed each and every day it's free wh get your podcast and it's available on YouTube like comment subscribe thanks for your support in the meantime this The Transfer Portal episode is brought to you by Nissan are you the kind of driver that likes to push things a little further ever wonder what could be around the next Corner take the Nissan Rogue Pathfinder or Armada and go find your next big adventure check them all out today at nissanusa.com all right I know I've been MIA I had to say goodbye to my car and everything in the midst of sweet 16 The Madness of March everything going crazy but you know what's also going crazy it is the transfer portal season in the middle of the tournament with coaches going crazy coaching changes left and right maybe USC losing their head coach who cares because the Bruins are hitting the portal they're not looking for a coaching search Louisville is not going to go pick MC Cronin MC Cronin is going to go steal and grab some top tier score off either a mid- major a high major that in between status that looks to make this team even better and while it might be a birthday wish of a d Bona to get some interior scoring it's our wish that Bona stays UCLA needs to get more scoring more shooting specifically consistency from a guard aspect now we hope the Bruins bigs can grow there hasn't been anybody currently that I've seen that's hit the portal to my knowledge and for UCLA we're waiting to see what's going to happen with roster big Cronin they've been looking for people to add on we're waiting for a Dem to make a move what's going to go on with this roster well there's two guys that cronin's either reached out to or one actually has a crystal ball to UCLA in the portal let's take a look at the crystal ball first as I referenced the Louisville is make the pick Yad Yad Yad sky Clark I looked at 247 Sports you look at the transfer report you can see who might be Crystal bald who might be someone that coming to UCLA a lot of guys still entering the portal there are some top 10 guys the Bruins can go after but mck Cronin where's he going to go he might go back to find somebody in the land of Kentucky and why not anybody better than sky Clark 63 guard currently a sophore will be heading into his Junior season already went to Illinois and then transferred to Louisville and the big thing is now with the new mandate you can't eliminate you can't stop two-time transfers you can go after more guys especially if they have a decent GPA good grades UCLA can take them two 63 205 pound Guard from Los Angeles and recently this kid skot Clark I know Louisville had a very rough season last two years have not been what Louisville's Louisville basketball's been all about this is a guy mck Cronin is looking specifically for a need to fill a role right what does UCLA need more scoring and better three-point shooting consistency across the board sky Clark is there's no Sky Clark confirmation crystal ball though to UCLA in the portal from 247 Sports I looked on their transfer portal page this is what it says in Sky Clark's most recent game 36 points 12 of 17 shooting seven of nine from three 36 points who did he do that against in the ACC tournament sweet 16 Darlings NC State he did that against a team that wanted to run in the tournament in their conference tournament now the NCA tournament having won like what seven in a row Louisville obviously didn't get that dub but he played well and considering how well NC State's been playing and making a run against some Cinderellas and other bigname schools that performance is eye popping the better NC State continues to play Clark 13 points per game 35% from three about 41% from the floor and a 77% free throw shooter about three boards a game his one thing that I wonder mck Cronin will probably lose his mind over more turnovers than assists Clark is a bit of a turnover machine but I think Cronin might be stepping back right we saw what Mack could do but I wonder what this means for Sebastian Mack who's gonna come back for UCLA who's not right if UCLA is going after depth scoring whether it be on the bench whether this guy's a six-man or he's your starting point one or two depending on how you roll with Dylan Andrews who ended the year on such a high note and as the team's leading score you want someone to be a consistent three-point shooter next to him while Lazarus stefanovic did get hot at the end of the year and was the leading three-point shooter sky Clark would be in competition for being the number one or two three-point shooter based on his numbers as a sophomore right so this is someone who UCLA is going after that's a 13o per game score AES more points than anybody on the UCLA roster that's Andrews stepanovic Bona Mack because Mack had a Alize Mason big scoring SLP at the end of the year so this guy on the heels of some big performances down the stretch including that 36 point G against NC State that is huge that's someone UCLA is looking after he's crystal ball to UCLA La kid think of the juang could this be UCLA's next juang obviously there's so many different ways the games and everything can work individually right but remember UCLA going after someone in the state of Kentucky a transfer coming back to SoCal this could fit the bill now there's someone else who UCLA looked after that I was looking at the on three recruiting analysts and it was alustin Mason he's from Missouri State out of Phoenix previously played at Oklahoma so now you can get the vibe mck cronin's going after guys who might have gotten that love from an initial Big 12 sec school then you're going after someone either bounce back change schools had a big year and that's who he's looking after this kid in Mason is not in any way or shape or form what I've seen a current Crystal Ball but he has been reached out to UCLA was on the list of schools that reached out to him not that he's going to be here or that I've seen but this is a guy who has 17 half points per game in Missouri State after starting at Oklahoma a couple years and whether he's committed by the time this episode is released or not this more push a point that's someone who UCL reach out to averaging 17 and a half points per game 35% from three three and a half assists per game if he was able to come to UCLA that's a guy who I think fits the bill a bit more for mck Cronin but he probably wants to go with skot Clark the LA kid and someone who's put up big numbers against ACC schools Missouri State not bad this is a guy who probably fits the bill with more control in facilitating an offense scores a lot of points it seems like M Cronin might be heading towards the likes of skot Clark with that crystal ball you can see where he's going after these kids what is Mason 62 175 pound senior West Coast kid from maybe not West Coast but western side of the United States Phoenix Arizona go get those guys who looking to transfer the first second time in their careers they're now eligible they put up big numbers with opportunity grown from year to year like Mason did dou his point production with significantly more minutes only a small increase in turnovers and his assist per game jumped nearly a complete assist per game with 20 more assists this UCLAs Guards year so that's somebody who MC Cronin wants to one facilitate the offense and score the basketball now Clark seems more the pick as the crystal bow but with Mason having told on three that he has been reached out to by UCLA the Bruins are going after guards so Wonder does that mean a d Bon is going to stay is B GNA stay a die who I think just talked to Bro report is undecided and unknown as he's currently spring breaking back home as to where he's going to be so I wonder if we'll see more info I think mck Cronin instead of those exit interviews you hear so quickly he went hard into the portal he's gonna go after all these kids see who he can get and then he's going to tell which kids who need to leave because that's how ruthless it is free AG agency in college basketball in college football works like a kid can leave when he wants and a coach can say get out that that's how it works now that that's just how the game has evolved off the floor off the court when maintaining a roster you're a GM you're the CEO and you're the coach it's not like in the NBA where you got to deal with all the financial salary caps you got to deal with contracts all the all the little crazy nonsense and this transfer portal nil it's completely different ball game Cronin said he went to play and with those couple of guards I've seen it's clear what he's going after better three-point shooting better Elite scoring proven Elite scoring or proven better scoring better than what he's got and he's gonna figure it out someone who can be that one or two score not an option not an A or not a b or c option someone who can go out and score and run an offense I I believe in the development of Dylan Andrews I would love to see Sebastian Mack develop but with all these guys you wonder is Mack staying is he getting bumped to the bench does Cronin want actual depth despite touting that all throughout the summer last year and I believ not that the your depth recent years he's had very good teams seven to eight deep this year we saw Cronin go deep in the bench but and yet it it didn't lead to a winning season so he's going after scoring and the lack of emphasis on seven-footers or big men I wonder what that means for the B K and the Brandon Williams and the Devin Williams and the demonas of the world unless Cronin says I need guards I'm gonna go back to my undersized big men and play small but we can shoot the ball because clearly UCLA who only averaged 66 points per game needs more needs more to score all right so sky Clark Crystal bald Mason a big idea of what UCLA is going after even if he doesn't come to the Bruins even if he's already committed by the time this podcast is released or whatever you watch this episode or listen to it you can see what Cronin is going after that's what the Bruins are trying to get they knew where they were feeling Cronin probably knew a little too late in the recruiting cycle to realize his team Couldn't Shoot but uh here we go let's see how it goes are they going after Ivy Leaguers Andre sakovich part two those are all things we're look at in the future but for now the Bruins going after other players west side of the United States West coastbound going for their second transfer who proven they can score the basketball at the elite level and I think UCLA would be better off for it and I wonder what it says about Bona happy birthday to him by the way next we talk about the team that's actually dancing the UCLA women because they've got high-profile matchup matchups matchups coming up next we'll talk about that next as we talk more about what they did to fight and Claw their way through the first couple of rounds without that Lauren Betts first time and then down big at halftime against a scrappy kraton blue jay Bunch next unlocked on Bracket Highlights UCLA this week's March Madness bracket highlights brought to you by our friends and Nissan each week we're P picking one team that stands out a team that's pushed it further than the rest and just like all the new 2024 Nissan SUVs these guys are able to take it to the next level the Iowa State Cyclones can only be described as the Pathfinder a Pathfinder thrilling to watch and they've created a lane for themselves entering the tournament as one of the hottest teams in the country now they got a date in the sweet 16 coming up against Illinois take the Nissan Rogue Pathfinder Nissan Arma and 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alone is fun but it's better together all right second segment here Locked on UCLA the locked on UCLA podcast let's talk about the likes of UC women's Hoops they are on their way to playing the fighting literally loudmouth Kim MKS of the world the angel races of the world maybe the Washington posts of the world who knows at this point what LSU is coming up in the sweet 16 the defending champs you might have to play the defending national championship game teams back to back if UCLA gets through LSU and Iowa that's if all the teams win lose Advance everybody's hoping for LSU Iowa except for teams who watch the basketball and know that if UCLA plays their best they're capable beating both those teams by double figures if UCLA plays their best basketball they can beat both LSU and Iowa by double figures if they play their best basketball like clearly they can go beat those teams now away from home across the country everybody tuning in to watch these games whether it's early Saturday morning or a prime time Affair against Iowa whatever it might be if you Bruins can get that far this is Elite level time but we're not g to talk about that right now I'm excited our next episode we're going to go on the nitty-gritty as to specific key for why UCLA can and need what they need to do to beat LSU specifically I'm going to talk about what UCLA did against Kayton to fight through after Lauren Betts missed the first round game against CBU what they did to beat Kayon and most importantly who's the exactor moving forward UCLA against kraton in that late Monday night game they won 6763 maybe not late but you know late on the East Coast because they hate anything that starts after 8:30 they Becker and moan the Bruins beat the Blue UCLA beats Creighton Jays of kraton who had come in a top 25 team took down another good team in UNLV and gave UCLA all they could handle in this game where UCLA down a point the quarter down eight at the half had to fight all the way back to tie this game by the time the third quarter was done and a defensive slugfest of a third qu fourth quarter UCL outscore the Blue Jays 11 to7 where in the first three quarters one of the two teams had posted at least 20 points then both teams had a significant decrease in the defensive slugfest in front of a crowd that was about 7,800 strong Kon did what they needed to do they played clean crisp basketball only seven turnovers 17 assists to seven turnovers 17 assists to 26 made shots they didn't blow the Bruins Away by shooting the three ball but they made 43% of them 45% of their shots what helped the Bruins though was not putting kraton on the line and despite significant struggles from three for UCLA a couple of made by Kiki rice the Bruins were able to get the job done by scrapping and CLA because Kiki rice is absolutely a superstar when you see it all the players you put a a documentary or those little doy series that they've been promoting and hyping up with the Caitlyn Clarks everybody and you put Kiki rice on there that's how important Kiki is to this team 24 points six boards three assists zero turnovers and 38 minutes played for someone who got to the line made better than 50% of her shots that is the determined leader as a sophomore making plays yeah she's not going to go out hit 50 foot threes or wow the crowd that way she's that sneaky control the game player that when it's going to come down against the other team's best guards best players and she beats them it might not always need to be flashy but she can go beat you down the court and get easy buckets because UCLA generally needs two scores a lot of the time it's been Lauren Betts who came back back after somewhat surprisingly missing the first round game because of a late injury just prior to the game and then a 20 and 10 performance in her return great to see her have a double double and find a way to score the basketball but she can't score 40 points every game I mean sometimes she can certainly try but UCLA needs perimeter scoring another attacker when the lane is opened up by someone going after bets and clogging caring for Charisma Osborne offensively the got it from Kiki rice and Lauren Betts now what was interesting to see was that a lot of UCLA wins by 4 points some Premier scores for UCL struggling in game two Dugal six points 25 minutes didn't get a lot of shots but turned it over four times Osborne practically quiet till the end of the game Five Points London Jones you would tell me in a game against a top 25 team where London Jones and Charisma Osborne combined for Five Points on two for 12 shooting and they're down eight going in the second half at home in a tournament game I would say things aren't looking good there and they weren't they weren't for a little bit there but then despite Gabby hopz not hitting a bunch of Threes eight crucial points how much were the Bruins down by at that break eight so you get eight off your bench you got a couple of shots 11 rebounds from hakz to lead the team so the scrappy Gabby hakz coming in and getting a lot of rebounds to lead the team sometimes it's not always about the point scored but her crucial buckets and the rebounds huge and think about cam Brown you get that Wy veteran what was touted as yes charris Osborne coming back your vocal leader from the bench and Cameron Brown who when you look at the social media posts for UCLA women's basketball who do they always like to highlight yes best can be funny chrisma was on Sports Center everybody wants to talk to Kiki rice but you know who's the funny one it's cam Brown because if you looked at her miked up during practice super funny and she's not always the score doesn't get 30 minutes per game but her presence and the staff wanting her back one extra year with Osborne and sometimes hey h what do those super seniors do maybe they score two points maybe they score four points in 14 minutes like brown did how much did UCLA win this game by they won by Four Points yes they won by four points and who scored Four Points cam Brown that's something that's understated that if UCLA could continue to go and get wins this just even a little 14 productive minutes there huge and there'll be times when iala or Zant tag have to do things this time it was Browns productive 14 minutes a couple of buckets got it done because in a game where UCLA turned it over 13 times a number that was six more than kraton 15 personal fouls but they did not put Freight on the line as much which is unique while the Bruin Shot 14 free throws they were able to scrap and CLA get their way back in this game they got on the break a little bit Second Chance points with 14 36 points in the paint but it was the Second Chance points where UCLA was able to fight back plus nine in Second Chance points UCLA just be creating a little bit of points in the paint with the Lauren Betts opportunity because they fought off the likes of Lauren Jensen who scored 20 points Morgan mly with 18 and Emily rosc with 14 right they had three double Where UCLA needs to go next digit scores UCLA had two and the Bruins they had a little bit of depth they tried to use it as much as they could in this game against kraton and they got the job done and it was even close against CBU in round one right it was even close early and you're like uh oh a loud Rowdy Lancer section going Lance up or whatever in pully Pavilion in addition to no Lauren bets they're a little scared early and then they pulled away and dominated CBU wasn't the case against kraton who ironically was pretty good pretty much a top 25 team got blown out twice by Yukon like twice front of a Rowdy home crowd went to Yukon lost by like 40 and remember UCLA took care of Yukon on a neutral floor easily now yukon's a different team they've played within system quite a bit now so it's interesting that they struggle The kraton A Team that could not handle Yukon whatsoever while the UCLA Bruins beat Yukon early this year in the neutral floor pretty it was a close game but not easily but they controlled the game so where does UCLA need to go next what needs to work for the Bruins initially who is that X Factor for UCLA to go beat Iowa if they get there and if Iowa gets there I would think so and to beat LSU because you're on the East Coast everyone everyone wants to go see Iowa and LSU so there's crazy amounts of Elite 8 numbers but if you want to go spoil the women's college basketball viewing numbers UCLA is the team that is going to ruin the final four the national championship game the swet 16 the elite eight and if they want to do it it's GNA come down to one player one player Kiki yes amazing needs the ball out Warren vets they need that the reason UCLA is top five top 10 good this year but to win these games yeah you can get a cam Brown four points but you need the likes of London Jones London Jones this year the guard from centenniel out of Riverside who can light it up from downtown recently three of 21 from three in the last few games let's remind you what those games were double overtime loss to USC in the Pack 12 tournament semis CBU she went three of 10 but still three of 13 from the floor and then cron 0 of three from downtown 15 minutes and 04 from the floor this is the same person who put up a dominant performance against Utah seven of 10 from downtown against USC earlier this year was able to hit a bunch of clutch threes to win the game five of eight eight of 12 from the floor where she put up 21 points and the Bruins beat USC that's difference from the 0 for eight later in the year it's hard you're hard pressed to see UCLA dominate teams when London Jones doesn't score a lot and doesn't hit a couple of Threes it's one thing for her to go two of seven generally that's enough for UCLA to win two of six four of six right but when she's on fire four of six hitting some threes the Bruins dominate teams they beat really solid programs when she's hitting threes and at a high clip or when they're down big her three-point shooting get them back in the game like when they lost to Washington State she shot well but that speaks the importance of Lauren Betts who missed that Wazoo game she went five of nine and the Bruins almost came back down 17 in the second half so for Jones who shoots 37% from three 37% from the floor though she gets red hot from downtown the Bruins just win you don't beat UCLA when their three-point Sharpshooter is hitting shots Osborne can go put in a 30p they got players who can go do big performances when Osborne shoots the ball really really well and mind you she started shooting 37% that's with her only making three of her last 213s so her percentage is dipped 37% is pretty solid closer to a 40% so if she can get over that slump get it going during a game the new CLA will be better off for it because if she makes some threes I'm sorry LSU and Kim mili you can go talk to the Washington Post back at home and not during the NCA tournament if Jones is hitting some threes I think she's due absolutely she's due whether they're having as Ben buch puts in his La time stories the trash talking Scout players whether they got people trying to bring in the trash talkers to push everything right no UCLA has got to be prepared for this moment we're g to go more specifics UCLA LSU next episode we'll talk a little bit more portal and UCLA men's hoops and football next episode but hey there's the key for UCLA to get and ruin the tournament numbers this year all right in the meantime stay tuned locked on CLA fans Fire TV is your destination for Outro sports from live games the highlights the in-depth analysis they offer amazing viewing experiences with Smart TVs as long and remember remember the Fire TV stick plug it into your existing TV access to millions of movies and TV episodes as well as free and live TV whether you're watching opening day opening weekend for baseball which is about to start the college basketball tournament you're 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