UCLA's Mental Toughness Has Been a Testament to the Players it Sought in the Portal

Mick Cronin and UCLA wanted to bring in players who valued winning.

Dec 17, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin reacts in the first half against the Prairie View A&M Panthers at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

UCLA men's basketball had started the season with a fairly breezy schedule -- aside from its upset loss to New Mexico, of course.

But the schedule started to ramp up for the Bruins in December, as UCLA started Big Ten play with two tough matchups against former Pac-12 rivals, Washington and Oregon. The Bruins won both, and things only got tougher later in the month when they were tasked with facing North Carolina and Gonzaga.

UCLA fell to the former before turning around the following weekend to upset the latter.

And just like that, after starting their 2024-25 campaign with a seven-game stretch that some may have called a "cakewalk," the Bruins are now one of the most battle-tested teams at this point in the season.

For the most part, UCLA has fared well in these recent tests. That, of course, can be largely attributed to its mental toughness, and it isn't by accident that the Bruins have it.

"Playing these tough games, if you don't have a will to win, you're going to lose, right?" said UCLA coach Mick Cronin when he addressed the media on Thursday. "We're 3-1 in those type of games in December. I thought that our fight and our will to win and caring about winning was where it needed to be. And that's what you try to build -- when people say things like culture, which I don't use that word a lot, but that's what people, I think, are referring to. So, what you try to build as a coach is that around here, sure, we're trying to build as many pros as we can -- we have a lot of them, by the way, in the NBA right now -- but what makes you an attractive prospect is you come from a place that plays to win. You haven't just run around and displayed your skills; if you come from UCLA -- and we're not the only one -- if you come from a place where it's all out to win. And that's what it's all about anyway, last time I checked. There's a reason they keep the score.

"So, I think we've really developed in that area -- quickly -- as a group of new guys together, but we tried to factor that into who we took, too."

UCLA will return to the hardwood on Saturday when it takes on Nebraska on the road.

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