UCLA Basketball: Mick Cronin Reveals How He Settled On Interesting Starting 5
After a 41-point, 97-56 victory in their exhibition game against Cal State Dominguez Hills, the Bruins look ahead to their season opener next Monday against the Saint Francis Red Flash.
In reflecting on their blowout victory over the CSUDH Toros, Head Coach Mick Cronin spoke about his interesting starting lineup decision, which featured 3 guards (Will McClendon, Ilane Fibleuil, Sebastian Mack) forward Lazar Stefanovic, and big man Kenny Nwuba.
This is definitely not something to expect come the regular season, as despite the obvious big names missing (Adem Bona, Aday Mara), running so small isn't something that UCLA normally does. Having Bona and Mara in particular almost ensures they'll be out there together, as without one or both of them, UCLA wouldn't be capitalizing on their talent.
Here's what Cronin had to say about his creativity, per uclabruins.com:
“Well, we only had eight. Ilane (Fibleuil), in particular, had been practicing really well. So, I wanted to give him a chance even though we were going to have to play small which we probably won’t a lot this year. His future is as a wing, a shooter and great rebounder. Sebastian has played really well in practice. That’s why I went with him. Obviously, Kenny (Nwuba) is the veteran guy. But I knew I was going to have to rotate them all because they were going to be tired.”
Given their thin rotation (only 8 guys) paired with them missing their two most important players, Cronin put out 3 guards including freshman Ilane Fibleuil to give him some exposure.
The excerpt about Fibleuil from Cronin's quote is huge for Bruins fans, as being touted by the HC as someone who has "been practicing really well," indicates that he's developing really well and earning Mick's confidence.
Going forward, on a UCLA team with more questions than in years' past, expect Fibleuil to be a huge name to watch for his potential breakout, as we've seen so many of in the Cronin era in Westwood.
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