UCLA Basketball: Pundits Unpack How Bruins Will Adjust International Recruitment

Some connections will be lost but they'll have to adjust moving forward!

The UCLA Bruins' basketball program and recruiting system have gone through numerous changes over the years but they have definitely been able to build some special groups that put forth beautiful basketball for all fans to enjoy. 

If his shoulder didn't plague him badly late in the year, Adem Bona certainly would have been making his way into the NBA right now and he was just one of the multiple international targets that came into contact with and chose UCLA as their next landing spot. However, with the departure of assistant coach Ivo Simovic, will all of that change?

HUGE BLOCK BY ADEM BONA 😱 @UCLAMBB pic.twitter.com/mE95XyGgMi

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 3, 2023

It was widely recognized that Simovic's connections and bonds with international players and coaches allowed him to garner a sense of respect and attention from top prospects and now that he will be leaving to help coach the Toronto Raptors, there are a number of questions about whether or not UCLA will have the same success with their recruiting.

This was a huge topic of discussion for David Woods and Tracy Pierson in their lates episode of Bro Cast as they mulled over how the Bruins will survive without Simovic.

"Of course it's going to be a loss that Ivo's not there" said Woods. "They'll try to replace him with another assistant that also has some international connections and Cronin will try to step in to vill that void. All of the connections he had, of course they are friends, but now they are connections with Cronin too. It'll be interesting to see how it works out."

(Via Bro Cast)

We are beyond happy to see Simovic moving on to greater opportunities in life and we definitely trust Cronin to make any necessary moves that he has to now.