UCLA Basketball: Mick Cronin Pushes Back At AP For Not Ranking Bruins To Start Season

UCLA's head coach offered this spicy quote...

Ahead of Wednesday's Maui Invitational showdown with Gonzaga, your UCLA Bruins sit at 4-1. Their lone loss came at the hands of No. 4 Marquette. While the Bruins didn't win the game, they looked good in the process. Various media pundits around the country appeared to be impressed with the effort in the heartbreaking two-point loss. 

The Bruins generally have looked good so far this season. This is especially encouraging news at this early stage, since Mick Cronin has a roster with eight new faces (seven of which are true freshmen). 

UCLA was not ranked to begin the season, and at this point still remains unranked in the latest Associated Press top 25 poll. On one hand, it's a bit of a surprise considering how consistent the program has been under Cronin. Cronin also signed one of the nation's best recruiting classes. The roster is considered to be arguably the most talented he's had since coming to Westwood.

On the other hand, this is a brand-new team for all intents and purposes. With returning players being thrust into new roles, and a host of European recruits entering the university, there was a lot of unknown centered around the team. 

After UCLA's 28-point win over Chaminade, Cronin happened to bring up this topic -- along with a few other choice words -- when asked about UCLA's defensive numbers in the latest KenPom rankings (where UCLA ranks No. 13 nationally in adjusted defense). 

Footage of the quote can be found above in the video embedded within the article (starting roughly at the 6:50 mark). The actual transcribed version is found below courtesy of The Los Angeles Times' reporter Ben Bolch: 

Mick Cronin: "I take it as an insult that other people are surprised that my team is going to play hard and play defense. That people thought we shouldn’t be ranked with the recruiting class we had. To me, it’s insulting that people were surprised the way we played last night."

— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) November 22, 2023

Cronin has hung his proverbial hat on the defensive end for the duration of his career. If there's one thing Mick Cronin teams are generally known for, it's toughness and unabated effort on the defensive end of the floor. 

UCLA held a prolific Marquette offense to .455 from the field and .324 from three. In the win over Chaminade, the Bruins held the tournament host to .259 from the floor and .250 from three. 

Cronin has always been a transparent figure when it comes to interviews. The motivation for this quote may have come from the collective 'surprise' in UCLA's effort against a top-five team. However, one has to wonder if the question from acclaimed pundit Andy Katz may have gotten under Cronin's skin. This came courtesy of the pre-tournament presser the day before the field got started. 

"But if you can come out of here 2-1 or even 1-2 with one of the three being a high-level win, how do you get through a three-day period like that managing that knowing that you have to think bigger picture that it still can really benefit you if you don't win it but get some quality wins or a win in this group?"

- Andy Katz to Mick Cronin (per video above)

Starting at the 2:20 mark, Katz led into his question. As it was being asked, Cronin's body language -- and facial expression -- was somewhat telling. He didn't seem overly pleased about the question, or the unintended insinuation that UCLA wasn't going to be a threat to win the tournament and thus go undefeated over the three-day stretch. 

Essentially, without meaning to, Katz may have tipped his hand in terms of writing the Bruins off as a serious threat within the field. 

Did this one question from Katz lead to Cronin's candid thoughts from today's postgame presser? Was it solely motivated by the postgame hype emanating from the close loss to Marquette? Or, is Cronin having a bone to pick with AP Poll voters? 

Regardless, this team likely won't be lacking any motivation heading into tomorrow's game against Gonzaga -- a team that has given them a very tough time over the last few years. 

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