Sports
'I want it to be my last job.' Mick Cronin says he's committed to UCLA despite adversity
He’s questioned his players’ understanding of the game. He’s lamented his lack of name, image and likeness resources. He’s threatened to overhaul his young roster.
For much of the season, Mick Cronin has sounded like someone on the verge of a basketball crisis, if not an existential one.
The UCLA coach said he doesn’t read what’s written about him, but he’s heard from others about what they perceive as him expressing unhappiness in his job through his comments in the media.
So after his team staged its most improbable comeback of the season Wednesday night, Cronin pushed back himself.
As he stood in a hallway deep inside Desert Financial Arena, his team having polished off Arizona State after trailing by 15 points early in the second half, the coach suggested the only thing blue these days is the Bruins’ uniforms.
“I love UCLA, trust me,” Cronin told The Times. “I want it to be my last job. No matter what anybody says — I’ve heard stuff — I’m the coach at freaking UCLA. Like, come on, man. … To [predecessor] Ben Howland and me, we’ve sat in John Wooden’s chair. Come on, man. So I don’t want that narrative out there.”
After guiding the Bruins to a Final Four and two more Sweet 16s during his past three seasons, Cronin’s current team does not appear bound for glory. UCLA is 8-10 overall and 3-4 in the Pac-12, putting the Bruins on pace for their first losing record since Steve Alford’s team went 15-17 during the 2015-2016 season.
Barring a breakthrough Saturday against No. 12 Arizona (13-4, 4-2) at the McKale Center as part of a sustained turnaround or a championship run in the Pac-12 tournament, Cronin’s streak of taking his teams to 12 consecutive NCAA tournaments going back to his final nine seasons at Cincinnati will end in March.
The coach is clearly frustrated, and not just about this team’s fortunes. He believes recent misfortune might have cost UCLA its first national championship since 1995.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin, center, looks on during a blowout loss to Utah on Jan. 11.
(Rick Bowmer / Associated Press)
Cronin said the Bruins could have won the title in 2022 had Jaime Jaquez Jr. not blown out his ankle near the end of the Saint Mary’s game in the NCAA tournament, leading to his hobbled play in a loss to North Carolina the following week. Last season, Cronin said, UCLA was “clearly the best team in the country” before Jaylen Clark and Adem Bona went down with season-ending injuries.
“So we’ve been on a charmed ride,” Cronin said. “Tough run this year, it is what it [is] … great kids on the team, I’m going to try to coach them hard and try to get them better. They have to improve. So for me, it’s about them. We’ll address the roster at the end of the season, but right now, it’s about them and trying to help them get better.”
Even with seven freshmen among his eight newcomers, Cronin clearly thought this team could win at a high level based on his comments during the Maui Invitational, when he said he took it as a personal insult that the Bruins weren’t nationally ranked based on their recruiting class.
As his team went on to lose eight of nine games, Cronin acknowledged that having a roster ranking No. 319 out of 362 Division I teams in experience, according to basketball analyst Ken Pomeroy, was an issue leading to so many close losses. Asked about roster construction, Cronin compared his team to the chintzy Cincinnati Reds fighting the cash-infused Dodgers for free agents based on UCLA’s shortfall in NIL dollars preventing it from snagging top transfers.
“Nobody has put in more effort than me on the Men of Westwood,” Cronin said, referring to the team’s primary NIL collective. “But I’m not into effort; I’m into getting the job done. So I’ve got to work harder. But the people who have helped, I greatly appreciate them.”
The Bruins were in the running for Rutgers sharpshooter Cam Spencer (now making 46.8% of his three-pointers and averaging 15.5 points for Connecticut) and USC’s Reese Dixon-Waters (now averaging 12.1 points for San Diego State) but lost out for various reasons. They did get Utah guard Lazar Stefanovic, whose 18 points against Arizona State on Wednesday were a season high.
UCLA guard Lazar Stefanovic controls the ball in front of Arizona State forward Alonzo Gaffney during a Bruins victory Wednesday.
(Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)
The Bruins’ lack of hits in the transfer market, not to mention their inability to secure enough local high school prospects in a relatively weak class, forced Cronin to pivot to Europe. Though highly rated, three of the four players he landed from overseas have not made a quick impact amid injuries and ineffectiveness.
Guard Ilane Fibleuil has struggled to grasp the intricacies of college basketball. Guard Jan Vide missed nearly a month with a sprained ankle. Center Aday Mara, at 7 feet 3 and 240 pounds, appears underweight and overmatched. Only forward Berke Buyuktuncel has found a reliable role as a starter after rounding into form from an ankle injury and sitting out three games while awaiting NCAA clearance.
There have been some success stories. Freshman guard Sebastian Mack has emerged as the team’s leading scorer amid some maddening deficiencies on defense and freshman forward Brandon Williams reminds some of a young Jaquez with his fearlessness off the bench.
But for most of the season’s first 2½ months, too many of these young Bruins’ steps have been stumbles.
Late in the first half against Arizona State, four UCLA players clustered around the basket like traffic cones, just standing there watching as Jamiya Neal’s wild shot from the corner caromed off the backboard.
Into the collective inertia raced Sun Devils guard Frankie Collins to grab the ball and go in for an easy putback.
A livid Cronin immediately called a timeout, yanking two players.
It made no difference.
There was no button Cronin could push, no lever he could pull to shake his team out of its funk as it fell into a 15-point hole before its defense tightened and its shots started falling to spark the comeback.
A look at the teams’ rosters illustrated the challenge UCLA has faced all season against more veteran counterparts.
Like UCLA, Arizona State nearly turned over its entire team, returning just one starter. But the similarities ended there. While the Bruins brought in practically all freshmen, the Sun Devils went heavy on transfers. Along with two freshmen, Arizona State’s roster included two new transfers from Louisiana State and one each from Louisville, Houston Baptist, West Virginia, San Francisco and Tulsa — eight transfers in all.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin shouts directions to guard Jan Vide during a win over Washington on Sunday.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
That glut of experience helped the Sun Devils win their first five games decided by three points or fewer before faltering against the Bruins. By comparison, nine of UCLA’s 10 losses have come by single digits.
It’s a similar story for Arizona, which brought in three transfers who are playing massive roles including guard Caleb Love, forward Keshad Johnson and sixth man Jaden Bradley. The Wildcats are the only nationally ranked Pac-12 team and are likely to get another good seed in the NCAA tournament.
Meanwhile, UCLA continues to seek continuity after starting nine different players. Amid their many issues, the Bruins play with little purpose on offense and could go down as one of the worst-shooting teams in school history.
UCLA’s average of 64.4 points per game is the lowest since the adoption of the shot clock for the 1985-86 season and its 28.8% three-point accuracy is the worst since the three-point shot was adopted for the 1986-87 season.
Along the way, Cronin has told his players to not worry about missed shots and focus on playing with confidence no matter what’s happening.
“He always lets us know that he still believes in us,” Mack said, “and he still thinks that we can still do it.”
Having entered the season with 464 victories — the most of any active coach 53 years old or younger at the NCAA Division I level — Cronin knows what it takes to win. He just needs to make sure his players do as well.
“I’ve accomplished enough,” said Cronin, who will turn 53 in July. “I know some people don’t think I have; I have. I’ve been coach of the year in many conferences, I’ve been to a Final Four, I’m a kid from the west side of Cincinnati whose dad was a high school coach. It’s about them, so I’ve got to help them keep getting better and if you do the right things, you get a chance to win.”
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — How do you improve on the perfect ending?
Clayton Kershaw stood in the desert heat Monday, wearing a far darker shade of blue than the Dodgers do. He does not need a medal, or a chance to fail. His election to the Hall of Fame will be a formality.
In his farewell year, the Dodgers won the World Series, becoming baseball’s first back-to-back champions in 25 years. He secured a critical out. He bathed in adoration at the championship rally, and he told the fans he would be one of them this year.
“I’m going to watch,” he hollered that day, “just like all of you.”
Four months later, he was back in uniform.
He wore a dark blue jersey with red-and-white piping. As Team USA ran through its first World Baseball Classic workout, Kershaw participated in pitchers’ fielding practice and shagged fly balls during batting practice. He could have been home with his five kids, and instead he was rushing off the mound to take a throw at first base.
That November night in Toronto, as it turned out, was not the last time we would see him in uniform.
“Feels good,” he said Monday. “I wouldn’t put on a uniform for anything else. This is a special thing.”
He put the World Baseball Classic into red, white and blue perspective.
“It’s a bucket list thing for me,” he said.
He is either self-deprecating or painfully honest about his capabilities right now, or perhaps a little of both.
The last World Baseball Classic came down to Shohei Ohtani pitching to Mike Trout. This one could come down to Kershaw pitching to Ohtani.
“I think, for our country’s sake, it’s probably better if I don’t,” Kershaw said.
Former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw fields a ground ball during a workout at Papago Park Sports Complex on Monday.
(Chris Coduto / Getty Images)
Never say never. Team USA planned to run a tremendous rotation of Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes, Joe Ryan and Logan Webb, but now Skubal says he will pitch just once in the tournament. Skenes says he’ll pitch twice. Ryan says he won’t pitch in the first round, at least.
Kershaw might be needed beyond the role he was promised: save the team from using the current major league pitchers in blowouts or extra innings.
In 11 career at-bats against Kershaw, Ohtani has no hits. Kershaw won’t duck the assignment if gets it, but he considers it so unlikely he is happy to share his game plan publicly.
“It’s throw it, pitch away, play away, hope he flies out to left,” Kershaw said. “Don’t throw it in his barrel.
“I can’t imagine, if it comes down to USA versus Japan, with the arms that we have, that I’ll be needed. But I’ll be ready.”
Kershaw’s average fastball velocity dropped to 89 mph last season, but he led the majors in winning percentage. He could eat innings for some team — maybe even the Dodgers, with Blake Snell and Gavin Stone all but certain to be unavailable on opening day.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, right, celebrates with teammates after the Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays for the 2025 World Series title.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
But, even with his success last year and even with the joy of wearing a uniform once again, he insists he isn’t interested in pitching beyond the WBC.
“I don’t want to,” he said. “You can’t end it better than I did last year. I had a great time last year. It was an absolute blast and honor to be on that team. I think that was the perfect way to end it. Honestly, I don’t know if I would have enough in the tank to pitch for a full season again. I’m really at peace with that decision.
“This is kind of a weird one-off thing, but you can’t really turn down this opportunity. It wasn’t easy to get ready for this, with no motivation for a season, but I actually am in a pretty good spot with my arm. I’ll be fine. If they need me, I’ll be ready.”
Kershaw said he has kept in touch with his old Dodgers teammates, with some connecting on video calls from the weight room or clubhouse at Camelback Ranch. He arrived in the Phoenix area two days before the workout, but he skipped a trip to Camelback Ranch.
“I’ve thought about it,” he said. “I miss the guys. I think it’s probably just better, at least for this first year, for me mentally to just stay away, just for spring training.”
Kershaw said he would be at Dodger Stadium for the championship ring ceremony March 27.
He is content with what he calls “Dad life.” He and his wife, Ellen, just welcomed their fifth child, and Dad life includes lots of shuttles to baseball and basketball practice.
“I run an Uber service,” Kershaw said.
This wouldn’t be a Dodgers story these days without some reference to the team’s big spending so, for what it’s worth, Kershaw spent some time Tuesday chatting with Skubal, who will be the grand prize on the free-agent market next winter, or whenever the likely lockout might end.
That’s a rational explanation, Kershaw says, for Skubal pitching just once in the WBC.
“Everybody knows the situation he is in, contract-wise,” Kershaw said. “Any innings we can get out of him is a huge bonus to this team. He’s great. Super competitive. We’re honored to have him.”
Should we assume Skubal will be pitching for the Dodgers next season? Kershaw laughed.
“No comment,” he said, then walked away to get ready for the first game of his post-retirement life.
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Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley sounded off on the frenzied reactions to the U.S. men’s hockey team getting invited to the White House by President Donald Trump.
Trump talked to the Olympic gold medal-winning team immediately after they defeated Canada in overtime last weekend. He said they would be invited to his State of the Union address and added that he needed to invite the women’s team as well or he would be “impeached.”
Charles Barkley sits courtside against the Minnesota Timberwolves during an NBA Cup game at Mortgage Matchup Center on Nov. 21, 2025. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
Trump critics took the joke as a shot at the women’s team, which sparked questions from NHL and Professional Women’s Hockey League reporters as the players returned to their respective club teams.
“I’m proud of the United States men. I’m proud of the United States women. You should have invited both of them to the White House, but it shouldn’t have been disrespect, misogyny,” Barkley said on the “Steam Room” podcast. “Like, yo, man, why do y’all have to mess everything up? Everything isn’t Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal. That’s why we got this divided, screwed up country. Stop it man. Because, you know, the public, they’re idiots. They’re fools. They can’t think for themselves. I know y’all say stuff to trigger them. Y’all say stuff and y’all know they’re going to be fools.”
Barkley lamented that the average person would get riled up over the supposed controversy.
The U.S. team poses for a group photo after defeating Canada in the men’s ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Milan, Italy, on Feb. 22, 2026. (Luca Bruno/AP Photo)
“We don’t have to fall for stupidity. But we do – that’s my point. These people out here are stupid. They need something to trigger them. Just because they want us to be stupid. We don’t have to be stupid. He should have invited both teams to the White House. Simple as that. Guys who didn’t want to go shouldn’t have to explain why they didn’t go.”
The former Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns star made clear he would go to the White House regardless of whether Trump was in office.
“I’ve said this before, I’m not a Trump guy. But if I got invited to the White House, I would go. I’m not a Trump guy – I want to make that clear. But I respect the office,” Barkley said. “He’s the president of the United States. But if guys don’t want to go, I understand that too. It doesn’t have to be a talking point. It doesn’t have to be un-American.
Megan Keller (5) celebrates with a flag alongside Cayla Barnes (3) of Team United States after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime during the women’s gold medal match against Canada on Day 13 of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 19, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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“I just wish y’all would stop falling for the stupidity.”
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Related Article
Three years ago, as a 14-year-old freshman, Slava Shahbazyan made it to Bakersfield for the state wrestling championships.
“It was good to get experience that young,” he said.
Then came Saturday night when he had a breakthrough moment, winning the state 165-pound championship as a 17-year-old senior for Birmingham High.
“It means everything to me,” he said. “It took four years.”
Shahbazyan, who transferred from Chaminade after his sophomore year, is set to attend Stanford and still in the hunt to be valedictorian at Birmingham. Coach Jimmy Medeiros said he was close to winning last season before finishing fourth.
“He got a lot better,” Medeiros said.
Shahbazyan has been wrestling since he was 8. “My father loves wrestling,” he said.
Two St. John Bosco wrestlers, Jesse Grajeda at 144 pounds and Michael Romero at 150 pounds, also won state titles.
Here’s the link to complete results.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
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