Benching of Bruins' Mack Motivated Him Against Tar Heels

The UCLA Bruins saw a bounce-back performance from sophomore guard Sebastian Mack, who was motivated to succeed against the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday afternoon after being benched in the game prior.

Dec 21, 2024; New York, NY, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Sebastian Mack (12) brings the ball up court while being defended by North Carolina Tar Heels guard RJ Davis (4) during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images / John Jones-Imagn Images

The No. 18 UCLA Bruins (10-2) received a sensational performance from sophomore guard Sebastian Mack in their 76-74 loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels (7-5) on Saturday night. Mack was actually benched for their last game which lit a fire underneath him against the Tar Heels.

Mack posted a season-high 22 points with three assists off the bench for the Bruins in the loss. After being benched in a 111-75 win over the Prairie View A&M Panthers, Mack came back with a vengeance and put on a light show, especially from downtown.

Following the Bruins' win over the Panthers earlier in the week, Cronin spoke on his reasoning for only playing Mack for 3 minutes in the win and why he was benched.

"[He] wasn't ready to play, didn't deserve to play," Cronin said. "The second piece to that was he had a little knee swelling after the Arizona game, so I could send him a message as well as rest him because he had a little knee swelling. We obviously didn't need him tonight."

The fact that Mack was able to be motivated enough to come back so quickly after a benching and put together a crisp performance speaks to his mental toughness, resiliency, and the coaching expertise of Cronin. Very few players would be to do what Mack just did for his team.

Many players would lose confidence, slouch, give less effort, but Cronin would never recruit athletes that would fall under that category. He molds guys to stay hungry and competitive and is not afraid to teach a guy a lesson to help pay dividends later in the season.

This instance with Mack is just one example of what the Bruins program represents and their ability to play for something bigger than themselves. Mack stayed bought into the team and knew that when he got his next opportunity, he would put his best foot forward and find a way to succeed.

The Bruins will take a full week off to enjoy the Christmas holiday before they get back to action at the Intuit Dome on Dec. 28th against No. 13 Gonzaga. Another ideal opportunity for the Bruins to prove themselves and show that they mean business as a top team in the country.

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