The text message said a lot more than the seven words on Mick Cronin’s phone.
“Coach,” the message from UCLA forward Lazar Stefanovic read, “that’s a great get for us.”
Stefanovic was referring to the Bruins’ addition of Kobe Johnson, a lockdown defender who was transferring across town from USC — and likely taking Stefanovic’s spot in the starting lineup.
A roster makeover that led to nine newcomers meant that some holdovers would have to accept lesser roles, and Stefanovic was all for it.
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“How many guys would do that?” Cronin said Wednesday of Stefanovic’s selflessness as UCLA opened practice. “Most guys would have called compliance and got in the [transfer] portal. But he wants to win and play in the NCAA [tournament], it’s why he came here.”
It’s also the sort of gesture that will need to be in abundance on a team that Cronin said he hoped could be his deepest and most talented in more than two decades as a head coach. Five of the six incoming transfers were full-time starters at their previous stops, adding a combined 75.1 points of scoring to a team that struggled just to make layups a year ago.
Where does that leave the Bruins’ four returning starters? The only one who seems assured of keeping that designation is point guard Dylan Andrews, who rounded into one of the Pac-12’s best players by season’s end. Stefanovic, Sebastian Mack and Brandon Williams decided to return despite uncertain futures, favoring wins over playing time. Williams even offered to redshirt over the summer if it would help the team.
“It’s about UCLA basketball — the best tradition in college basketball,” Cronin said of the singular focus, “so I don’t really want to hear any complaints about all that [other] stuff all year because you signed up for it, you could have left, or you didn’t have to come.”
The sign-up sheet was lengthy for a team coming off a 16-17 record. In addition to Johnson, the Bruins snagged guards Skyy Clark (Louisville) and Dominick Harris (Loyola Marymount) and forwards Tyler Bilodeau (Oregon State), Eric Dailey Jr. (Oklahoma State) and William Kyle III (South Dakota State). Somehow, there remained room on the roster for freshmen Trent Perry, Eric Freeny and Christian Horry.
Clark said everybody realizes there’s no supersizing the lineup to accommodate the influx of talent, that only five can play at a time.
“We got a really deep team,” Clark said, “so, I mean, whoever is rolling that night, I pretty much believe that the team understands, like, we just gotta cheer those guys on. Then, when it’s your time to get on the court and do what you gotta do, we can do it.”
The Bruins showed their potential during the summer when a group that included Johnson, Dailey and Perry beat several NBA counterparts — Clippers guard James Harden among them — in a pickup game on campus. Johnson’s defense drew praise during practice Wednesday when Cronin noted his ability to steal the ball from teammates “like you’re little kids.”
Sophomore center Aday Mara did not participate in the part of practice open to reporters, pedaling on a stationary bicycle as part of the final stage of his recovery from a foot injury. Cronin said Mara could return in about a week but had benefited from being sidelined because it allowed him to add bulk to his threadlike 7-foot-3 frame.
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UCLA will likely feature four guards on the court at any given moment and shouldn’t endure the long scoring lulls that doomed last season given all the shooters on this roster. Harris ranked third nationally last season by making 44.8% of his three-pointers.
UCLA’s depth will allow Cronin to unleash more pressure defense, though he said the Bruins would not use an all-out full-court press because he preferred to disguise coverages and attack teams in different ways. For maybe the first time in his six seasons at UCLA, Cronin has enough players to issue a mandate that will not involve asking top players to log at least 35 minutes per game.
“Play as hard as you can, do not conserve energy, get a rest,” Cronin said of his message.
Turning over the roster for a second consecutive season meant the Bruins spent as much time socializing as working on their jump shot over the summer in an effort to get to know each other. Players attended a Dodgers game, went bowling and hung out at the beach in addition to having multiple team dinners.
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“Didn’t really know many guys, but just those bonding events … it was just a lot of fun,” Bilodeau said. “Just being around the guys, laughing, having a good time.”
Stefanovic may have lost his starting spot but gained a designation as the undisputed leader. Cronin said he told the senior forward that he needed to help establish team culture given his savvy as a returning player and willingness to speak up among teammates, not to mention his ability to score and rebound.
“Just like I told him,” Cronin said, “we need his voice.”
If everything works out, it could galvanize the Bruins until early April.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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