Bruins' Cronin Talks Senior Leader and Playing 40 Full Minutes

The UCLA Bruins executed well on Friday night in a dominant win over Cal State Fullerton at home. Coach Mick Cronin spoke to the media postgame regarding his senior leader's season-best performance and the importance of playing a full game.

Nov 20, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin reacts against the Idaho State Bengals in the first half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins (5-1) gained another big win at home on Friday night, dominating the Cal State Fullerton Titans with an 80-47 win, their fourth straight. Bruins coach Mick Cronin spoke postgame about one of his senior leaders and his team's ability to play 40 full minutes.

Bruins transfer senior guard Kobe Johnson had his best game of the season, leading the team in four different categories in the win. Johnson posted a team-high in points (12), rebounds (rebounds), assists (five) and steals (six).

Cronin was asked about how sharp Johnson looked defensively, forcing six steals. With consistent performances such as this one, Johnson could be a contender for National Defensive Player of the Year. His head coach spoke on his growth and the teaching moments that Cronin has delivered.

"He can do it, he's got great hands," Cronin said regarding Johnson. "He and I are working, there are some things that I don't talk about in the media that he's got to give us from a leadership standpoint as far as taking care of the ball, being disciplined in his traps, just being more disciplined. He's had some silly fouls which I've been on him about all summer since he transferred. You got to be able to play great defense without fouling. You got to be able to trap the guy and not just try to steal the ball every time, close the trap. Just trying to put more in discipline into into what he does."

In their previous game earlier this week, the Bruins watched a 28-point lead against Idaho State dwindle down to just a 14-point win. Cronin talked about their lack of focus and selflessness in the final minutes of the game and was pleased with his team's response on Friday night.

The Bruins never took their foot off the gas all game, winning their fourth game by 30-plus points.

"It gets harder to win as the season goes on, but it gets harder to win as the game goes on," Cronin said. "The really good teams, they'll wear the other team down late in the game, that's what happens in basketball. So you got to get better as the game goes on. Everybody can come out, get hot, and be all rah-rah. You got to be better, your defense has got to be at its best in the last 10 minutes of a game, that's how you win games because most games in conference play are decided by about six points or less, that's a statistical fact if you were to do the mean of the whole thing. So you got to get better and I thought we did a better job of that."

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