’25 Summer Shootaround: Mystery Team No. 3 has a place in GP’s Top 25 And 1 and should have an All-American coming in

Summary

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Eye On College Basketball: ’25 Summer Shootaround – Mystery Team No. 3 (UCLA Bruins)

Date: September 4, 2025
Hosts: Gary Parrish (A), Matt Norlander (C)
Theme: Season preview for the 2025–26 UCLA Bruins with an in-depth discussion of roster, expectations, coaching, and scheduling.

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Episode Overview

This episode marks the conclusion of the Summer Shootaround series, featuring the fan-driven selection of the UCLA Bruins as “Mystery Team No. 3.” Using trivia, Gary Parrish reveals to Matt Norlander (and listeners) that Mick Cronin’s UCLA squad is the focus, sparking a thorough evaluation of the Bruins’ preseason Top 10 ranking, talent influx, returning core, Cronin’s program-building, and the Big Ten landscape.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trivia Reveal: Who is Mystery Team No. 3?

• Fun guessing game between Gary and Matt leads to the reveal that UCLA is the featured team.
• Notable coaching history (Mick Cronin’s third D1 job) and the 1990s national championship clue help Matt guess correctly.
• Quote:

  “We are talking about the Bruins today.” — Gary Parrish [06:24]
  “Congrats to the UCLA fanbase for making it happen…They were pissed off that they didn’t make the list to begin with, and they made it happen.” — Matt Norlander [07:25]

• Anecdote: Gary mistaken for Mick Cronin at Big Ten Media Day. [07:02]

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2. 2024–25 Season Recap and Roster Continuity

• Record: 23–11 overall, 13–7 in Big Ten
• NCAA Tournament: 7-seed; beat Utah State, eliminated by Tennessee in Round of 32.
• Return three top four scorers: Tyler Bildo, Eric Daly, Sky Clark.

“They bring back three starters, like three dudes who were relevant players on an NCAA tournament team.” — Gary Parrish [15:22]

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3. Transfer Portal Impact & Offseason Additions

• Big additions:
  • Donovan Dent (New Mexico): Mountain West POY, considered as a potential All-American.
  • Xavier Booker (Michigan State): Former five-star recruit.
• Market note: UCLA had “by far its most money to use in the portal.”

“Dent got paid millions and deservedly so because he was, you know, among the most highly sought after guards in the country and Cronin, his staff got it done.” — Matt Norlander [12:56]

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4. Team Outlook: Top 10 Ranking Debate

• Gary Parrish: Ranks UCLA #10 in Top 25 And 1; Torvik computer model has them #9.
• Norlander: Skeptical about Top 10 height but concedes Top 20 is certain. Questions whether Dent can be a Top 8 player in the country.
• Noted: None of UCLA’s projected five starters began their careers at UCLA; reflection on the transfer era.

“This would have never happened in a different era of college basketball…But it is unusual relative to the history of UCLA, but not that abnormal given where we are in the sport.” — Gary Parrish [17:48]

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5. Individual Standouts and Chemistry

• Donovan Dent: Averaged 20.4 pts, 6.4 assists, 2.3 boards last season at New Mexico; “one of my 5ish favorite players to watch in college basketball last season.” — Norlander [18:02]
• Team fit: If Dentist is a true lead guard, and Booker pops, ceiling is high.
• Roster Balance: Discussion of role players like Bildo and Daly; expectations that they thrive as 2nd/3rd options rather than go-to stars.

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6. Mick Cronin’s Performance at UCLA

• Debate over fan expectations and program status.
• Norlander: Grade of “B/B+” for Cronin’s tenure; context of UCLA’s unique pressure and visibility.
• Reflection on Cronin’s authenticity and willingness to speak his mind:

  “I want guys that are genuine and, and say what they mean. And Cronin does that and he makes himself ripe for criticism, but with everything that comes with it, like, yeah, I think… he has passed the test for sure.” — Norlander [22:56]

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7. Big Ten Dynamics & National Title Chase

• Four Big Ten teams in Torvik’s Top 10 (Michigan, Purdue, Illinois, UCLA).
• Ongoing narrative: Can the Big Ten end its national championship drought since 2000?
• Conversation about whether conference fans truly root for fellow league teams in March.

“Do Big Ten fans care about this?” — Norlander [27:49] “They’re aware of it, and I bet they’re tired of hearing it when they don’t do it.” — Parrish [28:30]

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8. 2025–26 Schedule Breakdown

• Four major non-conference games: Arizona (Intuit Dome), Cal (San Francisco), Gonzaga (Seattle), Arizona State (home, as part of Big 12/Big Ten Challenge).
• Light travel schedule; “They only go east of Los Angeles if they really have to.”
• Cronin’s open avoidance of East Coast non-cons; bowed out of the CBS Sports Classic.
• Big Ten schedule details: No Maryland or Rutgers trips; mostly regional swings.

“I strangely respect Mick Cronin for being like, I am not going to get within 2,800 miles of the Statue of Liberty this season. It’s not happening, period. You can’t make me do it.” — Norlander [31:13]

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9. Win Total Predictions and NCAA Tournament Outlook

• Hosts set the over/under for UCLA regular-season wins at 23.5.
  • Gary: Picks “over” with 24–7.
  • Norlander: Takes “under” with 23–8, but still expects Top 3–4 Big Ten finish and a 3-seed ceiling.

“Mark me down for UCLA as…the last three seed. That’s what I…think they’ll do.” — Norlander [37:11]

• High expectations for Donovan Dent as an All-American candidate and Main Engine for success.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On UCLA’s transfer-heavy starting five:
  “Donovan Dent, Sky Clark, Eric Daley, Tyler Bildo, Xavier Booker – none of them started their careers at UCLA…That is unusual relative to the history of UCLA, but not that abnormal given where we are in the sport.” — Gary Parrish [17:48]

• On Cronin’s candid style:
  “I want guys that are genuine and, and say what they mean. And Cronin does that and he makes himself ripe for criticism…” — Matt Norlander [22:56]

• On expectations:
  “I just think, broadly speaking, if you get to year seven as the men’s basketball coach at UCLA, you haven’t been bad…because you can’t get here being bad.” — Parrish [23:59]

• On NCAA dreams and NIL:
  “If you can take emotion out of it, it’s just a nice story…[Dent] gets an opportunity to come back home and make millions of dollars…That’s a wonderful story to me.” — Parrish [24:45]

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Timeline of Key Segments

• 03:53–07:25 — Trivia game and team reveal (UCLA)
• 08:33–09:22 — 2024–25 UCLA season recap and returning core
• 12:07–15:22 — Debate on Top 10 ranking, roster strengths, Donovan Dent’s impact
• 18:02–21:56 — In-depth player analysis: Dent, Booker, Bildo, Daly
• 21:56–24:45 — Big-picture evaluation of Mick Cronin’s UCLA tenure
• 27:03–29:49 — Big Ten’s national title drought & conference pride
• 30:12–32:44 — Detailed breakdown of non-conference and league scheduling, Cronin’s strategy
• 35:02–37:23 — Over/under win total, specific predictions, and overall season outlook

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Closing

The episode closes with hosts extending thanks to contributors and fans for the shootaround series and previewing more preseason coverage. There’s also some lighthearted digression on Oasis concerts and classic logos (34:05–34:11).

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Bottom Line:
UCLA represents a compelling case study for the modern transfer-heavy college team with national championship aspirations. With Donovan Dent’s return home, Mick Cronin’s uncompromising style, and a schedule shaped for success, expectations are sky-high—and the CBS crew expects the Bruins to be a major player in both the Big Ten and the national scene.

Transcript

[A]

This show is sponsored by Liquid iv. Hey there, it's Gary Parish from the I own college basketball podcast. Summer was great, but it's just about over. September is here and that'll get us to fall, which is a time of the year where temperatures can start to drop, at which point perhaps your focus and stamina isn't quite where it needs to be. As it pertains to your daily routine. That's where Liquid IV can come in. It can boost your hydration and energy. And it's so convenient, easy to use. Just throw a packet in your gym bag, in your golf bag, your purse, your glove box whenever you need it. Just tear, put, pour and enjoy. Want to avoid that afternoon crash? Don't have time to lay down and rest. Let the new energy multiplier work for you. Just one stick and 16 ounces of water hydrates better than water alone. Don't let the grind drain you. Ditch the glitch with zero sugar and zero crash from Liquid IV. Tear poor live more. Go to Liquid IV.com and get 20% off your first order with code I at checkout. That's 20% off your first order with Code I E Y E@liquid I.com Every.

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[A]

Gary Parish. Welcome back, CBS Sports. I own college basketball podcast where we sometimes discuss camel fighting, dodo birds, leaky Black Matt Norlander. He's here with me. If you're watching on YouTube, you know what to do to the like button shouts to Brandon Davies. And if you haven't yet, subscribe to the CBS Sports College Basketball YouTube channel. It would be awesome if you did that while you're here. Let's get into it. Today we are concluding, I think concluding, our summer Shoot around series with the third of three auction episodes, with all proceeds from the auctions going to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, located about 4, 5 minutes from where I'm sitting right now here in downtown Memphis. Steve Sims was the winning bidder this time. Appreciate him coming through for the children at St. Jude. And now it's time for a trivia time it's trivia time. And the reason. Because Norlander, for reasons that don't make sense to me, decides. He just decides he not know what we're going to talk about. I, on the other hand, like to always know what we're talking. In fact, I get frustrated if I don't know what we're talking about. But Norlander is like saying, surprise me. So I figured the best way to surprise him and everybody is to do it with a trivia time. Are you ready for your summer shoot around conclusion time? Almost.

[C]

Yeah. So I don't know if you're listening, watching, and you don't know what. That we're on the same page. I do not know what the team is. I don't. I. I'm going in completely blind. I have questions that I can ask you, but here's my question. Is your trivia time going to reveal the team?

[A]

That's right. That's what they set up for.

[C]

Okay, we can do it your way. That's fine. Let's. Let's. I don't know. I have no. I don't know how this could be. I don't know how this could be built that I could guess the team. But sure, one question. I'm gonna figure out the team.

[A]

Probably not, but. But I'll keep asking questions and eventually I can get you there.

[C]

How many questions you think it takes for me to get the team?

[A]

I'm gonna say you get this in.

[C]

Question three and three questions. What was that game show? I can get that answer. And so in X amount of questions. What was that game show?

[A]

I only. I. I'm only loyal to Family Feud.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

I only play Family Feud.

[C]

Okay, fair enough. Three seems relatively easy. Okay, let's go.

[A]

First hit. The coach of this school is the head coach at a Division 1 school for the third time. This is his third D1 job.

[C]

Oh, okay. That's a good hint. I'll guess. I'll guess a school with each. With each question here. All right, so it's his third. Third D1 job. You know what? Okay, let me bring up. Let me bring up the school list here. Third D1 job. He was 1, 2. Okay, I'm gonna say. Hold on, let me make sure this is the third D1 job. I'm going to say. Let me just bring this up because I wonder if this coach has been at four places. He is not. Okay, my first guess is we're going to talk about the Villanova Wildcats because Kevin Willard is coaching. No, that's. That's his fourth School.

[A]

It's wrong.

[C]

I own a Seton Hall.

[A]

I messed it up. Parrish, you've already messed up a trivia time. I knew I couldn't trust you, Paris. Oh, maybe next time you'll want to know what we're talking about.

[C]

I absolutely won't.

[A]

Episode.

[C]

I'm gonna say we're talking about. Nope. Yeah.

[A]

No.

[C]

Okay, this is third school. Brad Underwood's Illinois fighting a lie Knife. Stephen F. Austin, Oklahoma State. Illinois. We're talking about Illinois.

[A]

That's a perfectly reasonable guest in guess in the sense that it lines up with the years. But that is also an incorrect answer. We are not talking about Illinois today. Your next hint. This school won a national championship in the 1990s.

[C]

Okay? So I don't even need to look up. So 90s, you've got UNLV. And 90, you've got. Duke's not on it. 91, 92. 93 is Carolina. We already did that. 94 is Arkansas. We already talked them. 95 is UCLA. Hold on. 96 is Kentucky. We talked them. 97 is Arizona. We didn't talk then. 98 is Kentucky and 99 is UConn. We talked them. So we're either talking about UNLV, UCLA or Arizona, because those are the only schools that would apply. So unlv. Pastner coached at Tech, Memphis, so it could be unlv. Hold on, hold on, hold on. Ucla. Mick Cronin coached at Murray State, Cincinnati, and ucla. And then Arizona. Capitol. It's either UCLA or unlv. I'm gonna say the UCLA fan base got it done. And we're talking about the greatest coach in UCLA history. We're talking. We're talking the Bruins.

[A]

Ding, ding, ding. McCronen in his third division one job at the age of 54, entering year seven at UCLA. We are talking about the Bruins today. My next hint was going to be, this school has produced three NBA MVPs.

[C]

Your next hint should have been, I look like the coach.

[A]

My next hint was going to be, I was literally identified as the coach at Big Ten media day.

[C]

That did happen.

[A]

That did happen.

[C]

Someone approached Parrish at Big Ten media day and talked to him as though he was Mick Cronin. And I just missed it. I missed it.

[A]

Like, asking me about, dude, Matt Painter was standing right there. And Matt turned and walked away because he did not know what to do. He thought it was so funny. Somebody. Somebody walked up to me and Matt Painter and was like, hey, Coach Painter. And then looked at me and was like, I can't wait to see you. At the Gonzaga game, and I was like, I don't even know if I'm going to a Gonzaga game. Turns out I was playing Gonzaga right around Christmas.

[C]

Congrats to the UCLA fan base for making it happen. Hey, how about this, though? And we got to take a break here and talk about it after the fact, but I'm bringing this up right now. They got this done, and UCLA isn't there. Aren't they in your top 10?

[A]

Yes.

[C]

Yeah. So they were. They were pissed off that they didn't make the list to begin with, and they. And they made it happen.

[A]

That's how you do it. I saw that tweet, too. Somebody has started a revolution out there on the Internet saying that the I own college basketball podcast does not respect ucla. I would argue we respect you. Like, we might not respect John Wooden appropriately, but. But we respect ucla.

[C]

Can't deny that.

[A]

Watch this. Tell me how much I respect ucla. Watch this. You see L. A ucla. Fight, fight, fight. Is that the way you do it?

[C]

You tell me. I don't know. You look that up.

[A]

Very early in my CBS career, UCLA just kept going to Final Fours over and over again. And I think I just kept hearing that. And it' my head. I just walk around. Sometimes I'd be taking a shower, I just start talking about ucla. Fight, fight, fight. It's just. It's always there. Hey, before we look ahead, let's recap real quick.

[C]

Let's do it.

[A]

They went 23 and 11 last season. It was their first year in the Big Ten. 23 and 11 overall, 13 seven in the league, seven seed in the NCAA tournament. Beat Utah State the first round, 7247, then lost to Tennessee 6758 in the round of 32. The season ended for the Bruins on March 22. From that team, three of the top four scorers are back, including Tyler B, Eric Daly and Sky Clark. I guess that includes all of them. As a result, I got UCLA ranked 10th in the top 25 and one in the transfer portal. They went out and got Donovan Dent, reigning Mountain West Conference player of the year for New Mexico. They got Xavier Booker from Michigan State. We're going to get Norlander's thoughts on whether UCLA should be a preseason top 10 team. We'll do that next. First, though, let's get a word from our partners.

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[A]

All right, Norlander. UCLA is a preseason top 10 team in year seven under Master Mick Cronin. Do you love it or do you loathe it?

[C]

I'm more loath it than love it. I don't know if they'll be top 10. You've got them top 10. We know we gotta diverge. We gotta split off here. I'm very happy to be talking about the Bruins and I like that we got some west coast representation on the, on the shoot around too. Like that. We're wrapping up with, with ucla.

[A]

They.

[C]

Bring in Dent who again, not gonna spoil anything too much here, but one of our questions we ask every year in our candid coaches series is we ask coaches, you know, take your, take your shot, take your dart throw. Who do you think will be the best player in the sport? And without fail, I get I don't know, like 15 of the responses from coaches. Maybe 20 being like, I don't know who's good, I don't know who should I say? No, you have to tell me the player. So eventually I get a player name out of them. Dent. I did get a few. Dent's not gonna win the poll, but he has actually gotten some votes. So he'll be represented in that candid coaches question when that publishes later in September. And I do. He is a, he's a fun. I wouldn't even say he's a long shot. Like he's a fun. Outside the top three or four picks to be national player of the year if he is deployed correctly and can be another level up of what he has. New Mexico. And he was so good in New Mexico last season. Yeah, he's got a shot and it's. I would. GP you're gonna have to back up your own ranking here. But I think you putting UCLA top 10 revolves around the idea that Donovan Dental is top 8 player in the country. Billeto is a good returner Daily. Was, was solid last season. Getting Sky Clark back obviously helps. And UCLA had by far its most money to use in the portal. It's not even close. Dent got paid millions and deservedly so because he was, you know, among the most highly sought after guards in the country and Cronen, his staff got it done. So definitely without question a preseason top 20 team. In my eyes, top 10. I'm not entirely, not entirely sure they're going to have some beneficial things in terms of their schedule, which we will get to before we get out of here. And UCLA has already fully released its schedule, which is helpful for a show like this, not knowing what it was coming in. So we'll get to that in a second. But, yeah, I think Cronin's got enough pieces to be better next season than he was last season. UCLA in general was. I know this is. It's not. I guess it's not a good thing. It was notable last season because of what the coach was saying after games and not because of what was on the floor. It's still a quality team, 23 wins comfortably, got into the tournament, got that seven seed, and then got knocked out, you know, by a really, really good Tennessee team that was in the running to be a one season. They got knocked out in the second round there, as you mentioned before, but they weren't an exceptional offensive team. I saw this team in person play and lose against Maryland, and they got housed in that game. That came. That came amidst their. Their biggest swoon of the season, essentially. And there was a lot of stuff even surrounding that game. It was a good team last year. It will be better this season. I will be. I will be surprised if UCLA isn't in that, you know, 3, 4, 5 seed conversation by the time we get to selection Sunday. That's what I'm expecting. In addition to you just ranking him 10, what are you expecting? What are your thoughts on. On Cronin's guys?

[A]

I think they're gonna be good. For what it's worth, at Torvik, they're ninth. I. When it lines up like that, because I start establishing these rankings well before the computer stuff comes out. I'm sort of blind going in to this. Like, I'm. I'm. It's a lot of guessing and projecting and, and, you know, then the computer stuff comes out and you. You see where you're in line, you see where you're at a line. It's. It's comforting when you see something like this. I've got UCLA 10, they're ninth at Torvik. We'll see where they are at Kim Palm when that updates. But this is, this is the range, and I'll just keep it simple. You know, seven seed in the NCAA tournament last year, that translates to a top 28 team in the country. So they're gonna have to be better than next year. I obvious have to be better this season than they were last season, and I obviously believe that they will. They bring back three starters, like three dudes who were relevant players on an NCAA tournament team. All started, I believe in excess of 30 games. That's Tyler Bildo, Eric Daly, Sky Clark. They add to that the reigning Mountain West Conference player of the year and a Big Ten transfer who hasn't done much in two years of college. This is Xavier Booker, but he was ranked 11th in the class of 2023, a five star prospect just a few years ago. And, and so like if that pops and you never, like, sometimes you keep waiting for these guys to pop and they just are what they are, we might look up in two more years and be like, man, Booker was a top 15 player coming out of high school and nothing after that. I hope not. That's the horrible thing to wish on a young person. But we'll see. I'm just saying if you believe in the talent, and the talent was at least there a couple of years ago to where people we respect and work with thought that he was one of the premier prospects in the country. If you believe that any of that is still available to be tapped into, then you got three returning starters from a top seven seed, the reigning Mountain West Conference player of the year and a former five star prospect theoretically in your starting lineup. Like I, I like that. And just sort of a sign of the times. This would have never happened in a different era of college basketball, I don't think, particularly at a place like UCLA. But UCLA's five projected starters, if this is what we're going with, Donovan, Den, Sky Clark, Eric Daley, Tyler Billido, Xavier Booker. None of them started their careers at ucla. In fact, they started their college careers at the following places. New Mexico, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Oregon State and Michigan State. I don't think that's unique to UCLA right now. In fact, I know it's not. But it is unusual relative to the history of ucla, but not that abnormal given where we are in, in the sport.

[C]

Agree. I think when you go to play ucla, particularly as a transfer now, like you know, the deal Cronin is, is fairly no nonsense Dent opting in. I think it's a really, really good sign. Just a reminder on his stats, 20.4 points, 6.4 assists, 2.3 boards last season, has been a good 3 point shooter two consecutive seasons in a row. He has proven it. Now, yes, this will be a level up going to the Big Ten. We'll see if he can be as impactful and valuable at the, at the highest level as he was at the Mountain west level. But if I didn't say on the podcast which I think I did, but I certainly felt that he was one of my 5ish favorite players to watch in college basketball last season. That's an interesting contrast when you consider Cronin's teams. Most of the time. It's not that he's, you know, dripping with flash. He's just got really good instincts, really good passer, can hit big shots, handles well. There's a lot to like there. He's, he's 6 to 1, 80ish. But he, he's got a really good knack. He's like a classic, fun college basketball player to watch and I love that for him. You mentioned Booker. Yeah, we'll see if he can be impactful. We'll see how he plays with and off. You know, Billido had some nice moments last season. I don't think you thrive with him as your best player. I think that was evidence there. Now if he can be your number two and number three now, you really got something. And I think that his numbers from a rebounding perspective will bump. They're essentially trading even though the schools don't match up. Like Adai Mara leaves and goes to Michigan and I think you'll see him pop this season for Michigan. Michigan was not a shoot around team. We'll talk about them plenty when we get to the preseason. Wolverines are another team that GP and I are both high on this season. But losing Mara, it's like if you had what you have here and you had Mara, then I'd for sure be in on, on UCLA as a top 10 team. But that's the breaks. You know, players leave for whatever reasons we know, you know what most of those reasons are. He feels he can be more productive and obviously get more money going elsewhere to play for a different team in yellow. Got it. No worries. Booker comes in, we'll see how impactful that he can be. And if, if Cronin can get out of him what Izzo could not. And while Mara and Booker are not, they're not the same player at all. You've got two guys that play in the front court that in different spots just didn't, they didn't make, they didn't rise to that level. It didn't happen with Mara. Now we see if it happens with Booker daily coming back as well. You know, he's, he's a good wing that I think is not undervalued by UCLA fans that are watching this. They're aware of what he can do. But with him and Sky Clark returning to the fold, yeah, there's A. There's a lot of reason for some. For some optimism that you can be a. A legitimate player in the Big Ten to win the league. I believe I picked UCLA to do this a year ago, and obviously, I was wrong. I was off on that. They were not. They were not, you know, one of the two or three best teams in the Big Ten, but they're more well positioned with that. Overall. Before we move on, I just want to go big picture on. On cronin here. GP so cronin right now is in year eight. It's your set. This is gonna be year seven. Okay. Is it 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Okay, so it's year seven. He has gone to a final four, albeit as one of the last teams in the bubble tournament. He's made a couple of sweet 16s. He's had a couple of seasons with, you know, good seeds, two seed, four seed a few years ago. There were seven last year. Didn't make the tournament the year before. Overall, you know, jokes aside on the pod, he takes this job, leaves Cincinnati, you know, quite. You know, it's well known at this point he was not UCLA's first, second, third, fourth, or fifth choice, whatever. All told, I think he's done a pretty. I think he's done a pretty good job. I wouldn't give him an A, but I would give him better than. I think I'd give him better than a B minus. Maybe he's a BB plus at this point. At least ucla, though, how would you assess everything that he's done so far? And, I mean, it's coaching results, recruiting. He, you know, he was open about how he didn't have money in the first couple of years of the portal he has had. You know, shy of Dan Hurley, like, he's probably the most prominent coach to make headlines for what he says at press conferences. There's a lot there with Cronin. Just kind of worry, wonder about how you, you know, arbitrate where he is. Six, seven years in, it hasn't gone.

[A]

Perfectly, but I think it's gone well. I almost think, like, if you get to year seven as the UCLA coach, you by definition, have done a good job. Is that fair?

[C]

I don't think UCLA fans would agree with that because if you go back to what Alfred was doing, he made it seven, didn't. He didn't offer make seven years.

[A]

Like, didn't Steve kind of do a good job for a while?

[C]

1, 2, 3, 4, 5. You know what? Alfred made it six, so it doesn't even apply. So he made it six years. That fan base was annoyed by year three. I remember that. Howland before that. Such a fascinating job. Laughing before that, you know, it's. It's not like as though the, the shadow of Wooden is still there. And because there's, you know, the circumstances under which UCLA just dominated the Sport in the 60s and 70s are just. It's different universe altogether. But. And send it right Back to here. UCLA's, from our perspective, kind of covering the sport nationally and tracking all of this stuff. I find them to be one of the, One of the unique fan bases in that it's not like that joint's hard to play at. It doesn't always fill up. There's a variety of reasons why that's the case, but there are a lot of people that immensely care about UCLA being one of the five most relevant and impactful programs in the sport. And I think UCLA almost always fall short of that expectation. And so you've got your. You've got these, you know, opposing forces constantly at play. I think he's, for the most part done a pretty good job there. I like that he's unabashedly and unapologetically him. I'm going to say that every single time we talk about a coach on this show. I don't want guys who are phony. I don't want guys with canned answers. I want guys that are genuine and, and say what they mean. And Cronin does that and he makes himself ripe for criticism, but with everything that comes with it, like, yeah, I think I, I think that he is. Has passed the test for sure. Could be better, but it definitely could. I will say this. Whether it was him or someone else, it could be worse than it is right now.

[A]

It could definitely be worse. And I would argue it's good. And I. UCLA fans can argue if they want to. I get it. I'm not going to go back and forth on Twitter. I just think, broadly speaking, if you get to year seven as the men's basketball coach at ucla, you haven't been bad, maybe put it that way, you certainly haven't been bad because you can't get here being bad. Six years, four in tournaments, three sweet 16s, two visuals of the Statue of Liberty, one final four. It's, it's. And, and perhaps his best team yet.

[C]

Perhaps there's a chance from a few years ago was good, though. I don't know. We'll see that team with 31 and 6, Tiger Campbell, Adam Bona. That was a good team. I'll be. I don't. I don't think this team will be as good as that one, but we'll see.

[A]

Yeah, we'll see. On Donovan Dent, I love the story, and I think I remember making this point, and New Mexico fans weren't thrilled with it, but if you can take emotion out of it, it's just a nice story. This is a young man who grew up in south Southern California. I, I mentioned all five UCLA starters began their college career somewhere other than ucla. Donovan Dentz was at New Mexico and he was great there. And New Mexico is a wonderful program, but it's not UCLA and it's not in the Big Ten. And so I, I don't. I never talked to Donovan den about his dreams when he was growing up, but I imagine it wasn't go to. To go to New Mexico. I bet it was probably to play in at the time, the PAC 12 and maybe at one of the California schools. All right. But he's not good enough to do that at a high school, or at least the people in charge of making that possible for him don't think he's good enough to do that at a high school. So he ends up in New Mexico and he's terrific. And then because he was terrific at New Mexico, he gets an opportunity to come back home and make millions of dollars. And I know some people don't they. Some people think that's the worst thing in the world with college athletics. I flip it around. I think it's wonderful. I think it's wonderful that you can be told coming out of high school you're not good enough yet. We don't think to be here, but let's see what happens. And then you go wherever you. They think you are good enough to go. You knock it out of the park, exceed all expectations, and then they circle back to you and say, buddy, if you want to come play at ucla, which is what a lot of people's dreams probably encompass growing up in Southern California. Don't know if it was yours, but if it was, man, we can make that dream come true and also give you millions of dollars to do it. Like, that's not a bad story to me. That's a wonderful story to me. New Mexico, incredible program, but it's a. It's a springboard program. You lost your best player to the Big Ten. You lost your coach to the Big East. That's sort of where we are. I celebrate that. I don't find it to be offensive. He's going to have to be great for them to be great. But he has already proven he can be great at the collegiate level, so I expect nothing less. Let me ask you this before we get to the schedule, because right now, you go to Torvik. Michigan is projected to win. The Big Ten finished their third in the country.

[C]

Purdue is third at Torvik.

[A]

That's where Michigan is right now. Michigan 3, Purdue 4, Illinois 7, UCLA 9.

[C]

Sure.

[A]

Ohio State 19, Michigan State 22, UCA, USC 25, Wisconsin, 34 teams in the top 10, eight in the top 30. But let's focus on four in the top 10, including UCLA, because it's gonna get asked at some point, is this the year Big Ten finally wins? Oh, no.

[C]

I'm not over this question until we get to the Final Four and there's a Big Ten team there with a chance to win. Okay, okay. Not that we can't talk. I'm just saying in general, like, I get you.

[A]

I understand.

[C]

Pac 12 teams haven't done it since 97. So in the Pac 12 is now going to be reborn. Something else in a year from now. I mean, sure, maybe, like, I don't know, like, Michigan will have a chance. You said Illinois is seven. That's interesting.

[A]

I mean, I. I think Purdue, obviously.

[C]

Yeah. Healthy chance. Yes. Yeah. Purdue could have the best player in the sport. Really, really good coach, a lot of returning pieces. Yeah. Like, overall, sure. I don't even know if Big Ten fans, like, do Big Ten fans care about this? They care about their school. Like, is there a Big Ten fans let us know? Like, I don't know. CBS Gmail.com, you can tweet us however you want to reach out. I just don't know if Big Ten fans care about. It's become a. It's become one of the more reference stats and nuggets in college basketball. But if you root for Illinois, if you root for Purdue, if you root for Maryland, Penn State, go on down ucla. Now, like, do you care that the conference doesn't want a national title since State did it in 2000?

[A]

I don't.

[C]

I don't know. I'm just asking.

[A]

But they're very aware of it, and I bet they're tired of hearing it when they don't do it. I bet you they don't like SEC fans saying, you guys didn't want to take when's the last time you won a championship? And then Gator chopping, talking about, when's the last time you won a championship. Right. So whether they care or not, I. They're aware of it. Here's the question. This may be the way to put it. And like I'd be interested in hearing what Big Tim fans think about this. I don't mean email me. I'm not going to get that. But.

[C]

But go ahead and email him. He loves this.

[A]

If you're the if you're a Michigan fan and Michigan State is playing tonight for the national championship against the national.

[C]

Not rooting for Michigan State, there's no way.

[A]

They can't do it. Can't do it.

[C]

No way. If you're a Michigan fan and Nico Medved's got no, that's never gonna happen. You know.

[A]

But I think SEC fans might. SEC fans might be like, all right, I'm a Tennessee fan.

[C]

I hate Florida fans rooting for Florida the national title. I don't know.

[A]

I think there's a SCC sentiment that I don't know if it exists in the Big Ten. Okay. Purdue's playing for the national title Monday night in Indianapolis. Come April, they're playing Arkansas.

[C]

Sure.

[A]

Are you, if you are a Indiana fan, are you rooting for Purdue to get a national title for the Big Ten tonight?

[C]

Don't think so.

[A]

You say no way. I don't know. I. I think you're probably right.

[C]

Michigan fan. Maybe because it's Painter. Indiana, though. I don't think so. Very rivalry specific. Let's get to the schedule. Tighter, tighter window here for this final Shooter run episode. Here's what we have for UCLA in the non con. They've got Arizona in the Intuit Dome. That's where the Clippers play. Presume the Clippers will still have association.

[A]

They're going to lose the Intuit D because of salary cap manipulation.

[C]

My bud Pablo Tori making plenty of news here.

[A]

Pablo, man, he's out there. We doing a podcast. The best I can come up with is a trivia time. Pablo's out there getting people fired.

[C]

I know. Good reporting out of people we don't get fired with.

[A]

This podcast is us.

[C]

By the way, if you think Kawhi Leonard is the only player that applied to I, I got something to sell you. Arizona November 14th. And then you've got Cal November 25th. That's in San Francisco. And yes, like it's just my wires. Like Cal and UCLA is not a conference game. It's a non con game. They've got Gonzaga at Climate Pledge arena in Seattle on December 13th. They've got.

[A]

I'm planning to be there per usual.

[C]

They've got ERA again. My brain is breaking. They've got Arizona State. This isn't a conference game.

[A]

That's a Big 12 Big 10 showdown.

[C]

Crazy. That is December 17th. So those are your four notables. Arizona, Cal, Gonzaga, Arizona State. Arizona State is at ucla. So they have four. They only. First of all, what's going on here, Mick? They only got 4 non cons against high majors and everything else is a mid major. They don't go east of Los Angeles. Okay? So last year Cronin wouldn't stop. We've seen the Statue of Liberty twice in the past three weeks. Okay? I actually saw Cronin on the recruiting trail in July and he, you know, in just his matter of fact way, he's like, I ain't going out there. We're not doing it. He was like proud of it. He's like, we're not doing any of that. They, they famously bowed out of the CBS Sports Classic, which made way for Kentucky to play St. John's which will be one of the best non con games this upcoming season. Anyway, Those are the four non con games. I, I, I, I strangely respect McCrone and from being like, I am not going to get within 2, 800 miles of the Statue of Liberty this season. It's not happening, period. You can't make me do it. And then in the Big Ten they've got, they don't go further than. Hold on, did they, did the Big Ten release its schedule yet? I don't think so. Let me see. Because I don't, I know they don't have to go to Rutgers, they don't go to Maryland because they did that last year. Big Ten has not released its schedule. So they don't have that on the site there. They do like the Wisconsin, Minnesota swing and they might go to like Ohio State or something like that so they don't have to. The schedule will not be as rigorous for ucla, even in league as it was last year. Allegedly Cronin got it done. Go ahead.

[A]

They tried to schedule non league game at the Rose bowl and Mick said that's too far. That's too far east. It's too far east.

[C]

The Rose ball, I think, I think what he was saying is I will not go and play after Oasis has played at the Rose bowl, which is happening this weekend. And, and it's my way to crowbar in that. I saw Oasis two nights ago and it was phenomenal.

[A]

It looks, I've seen all the clips. It looks like a party.

[C]

It was incredible. The merch situation was unlike anything I had ever seen at a concert. And in just in terms of the lines and it's like, most of the stuff I was like, all right, this is fine. Like, I actually, you know, got an Oasis shirt already, but they had this like Adidas track jacket. And on the back they'd have a specific. Like every tour stop they go to, it says the city they do it in. That I wanted. I went to like five different. All sold out. Like, all. All done. Just. I. I had never. So the bucket hat situation was overwhelming. The lads were absolutely loving it. If you are listening to this and have the means to go see Oasis, yeah, they sound tremendous. And it was a really, really good time. I saw him 20 years ago and this was. This was even better than when I saw him back in, in 05. So they play the Rose bowl this weekend before continuing to tour the world. Radiohead's also going on tour later this year. It's. It's great. Great stuff. That's what I'm saying.

[A]

Oasis. Very clean and very excellent logo.

[C]

Yes. Simple kind of two different versions. But the one you're talking about, they've got the suit sign. Yeah. But clear. Very clean, very identifiable. The whole deer, whole deal there. And it was. It was tremendous. Only song they didn't play on the set. It's the same every single night. I wanted some Columbia and didn't get any Columbia. Our buddy Adam Jardi flew to England to see them, and then he also saw them the night before I saw him. Anyway, I'm digressing, as I knew I would. He will not go and play the Rose Bowl. Mick Cronin, the Big Ten opponents. It is what it is. We're on a tight schedule here, so let's just go over under regular season win total. I'm gonna set it. I don't think I've said it on most of these shows. I'm gonna set it right here. I'm gonna say 31 game regular season. I will set. With only four notable non con games. I will set UCLA at 23 and a half wins. You going over or under before the Big Ten tournament?

[A]

You know how I got to count this up? You know, I got to count it up a certain way.

[C]

I'm only gonna do who they losing to in the non con. Man.

[A]

I don't know. They might not. They might not. I'm gonna give them one loss in the non league, but they might not.

[C]

Will they be zag in Seattle?

[A]

Yeah, but that's not at the kennel. I know they might probably, let's say an underdog in Seattle, but they should probably be favored in every one of these games. Besides that. Yeah, I'm gonna give them one loss. Just. They'll take it somewhere. Arizona will get them. Arizona State, they'll get them somebody. They'll get caught somewhere. But one line league loss. And then last year we played 20 Big Ten games. We doing that again?

[C]

Yes.

[A]

What league is going backwards?

[C]

Yeah, ACC went backward. Big 10s. Sorry. Big 10 and Big east do 20. SEC, Big 12, ACC do 18.

[A]

All right, let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Third. Let's go. 14 and 6 in the league. One non league, seven losses. That puts me at 24.

[C]

Yep. What did I say? 23 and a half.

[A]

Yeah, I'm over. I'm over, baby. I'm over. No problem.

[C]

I'll go. That non league is. Yeah, it's setting them up for success, but I'll still. I'll say 23 and 8. You go 24. 7. I'll go 23 and 8 real quick. The two plays are obviously all the PAC 12 schools. So Oregon, Oregon, USC and Washington, they got to go home in a way home only for Illinois, Indiana, Maryland. These are home. Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Rutgers. They travel only Iowa. They got to go to Michigan. Got to go to Michigan State, got to go to Minnesota, to Ohio State, to Penn State, to Wisconsin. They'll get tripped up. I think they'll get tripped up plenty in league play, but they'll still be a really, really good team. I'll say they're 23A going in and then mark me down for UCLA as a. I'll say they're like the last three seed. That's what I, I think they'll, they'll, they'll do well for themselves in the league tournament. And Cronin will have it clicking. I'm a believer in dent. I don't know if I'll put in preseason first team. I might as an all American second team at the absolute worst. I think he's set up to, to really shine with the pieces around him and I'm excited to see what the Bruins can cook up this season.

[A]

That is a summer shoot around series. Thanks everybody who listened, of course, thanked everybody who watched and everybody who helped us get through this, from Matt Painter to Mark Pope, to all of our buddies in the media who sat down with us and chopped it up for a few minutes. Shouts to Devin Downey. Shouts to Chester, S.C. terry Teagle. He's a legend. Huck Larnell. Thank you guys once again for watching listening. I own college basketball podcast. If you're not subscribed pe. Please go subscribe anywhere you can subscribe to podcast Apple Spotify more of us than there are of then that should be reflected in the comments. So do it. We'll talk to you again real soon. Till then, take care.

[C]

Paramount Podcasts.

[B]

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