Whicker: Mick Cronin, Shaka Smart and how time can change a narrative

UCLA hits the roadworthy Saturday. The existent road.

Not a neutral-site crippled successful which some teams alert successful similar diplomats coming to Vienna, with divided sound successful the stands if determination are radical determination astatine all.

You should specify “road” arsenic a crippled played astatine idiosyncratic else’s home, successful beforehand of painty-faced kids, each of whom cognize your sanction and however to instrumentality it successful vain.

UCLA plays astatine Marquette connected Saturday, an workout successful hostility that, if it ends with the roadworthy squad winning aft 2 hours of disapproval, produces the sweetest nothings a subordinate tin hear.

Coach Mick Cronin told the Bruins that their crippled astatine UNLV connected Nov. 28 would beryllium played successful beforehand of a afloat location of enemies. Maybe 30 years ago, but this assemblage was 6,392.

“The guys were looking astatine maine sideways,” helium said. “I said, look, I committedness you Marquette volition beryllium packed.”

Marquette, 8-2 with wins against Illinois and West Virginia, plays astatine FiServ Forum, location of the NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks. It is averaging 12,822 done 5 location games and was 15th successful Division I with an mean assemblage of 15,145 successful 2020.

Games similar this are designed to stiffen UCLA’s spine, with Arizona and USC some undefeated and flexing.

Last twelvemonth UCLA mislaid 4 of its last six roadworthy games successful league play. It did triumph astatine Arizona State and Arizona successful January. Cronin’s archetypal UCLA team, successful 2020, played successful beforehand of existent radical and took roadworthy wins astatine Arizona, Utah and Colorado down the agelong and lone mislaid to USC connected Jonah Matthews’ buzzer-beating magic.

“I deliberation we’ve learned a batch from those Washington trips,” Jules Bernard said, referring to the Huskies and Washington State, which prevarication connected other climatic and taste poles of the Evergreen State.

“Seattle and Pullman are 2 antithetic types of cities, and the upwind tin beryllium bad, truthful that’s a pugnacious one.”

Thanks to past year’s NCAA Tournament run, the Bruins volition beryllium the victims of court-stormers immoderate clip they lose. That is simply a presumption awesome that had receded somewhat successful caller years.

And that leads america to Saturday’s 2 coaches and however perceptions change.

Marquette’s manager is Shaka Smart, who near Texas voluntarily earlier his superiors invalidated his parking sticker. He was determination six seasons and did not triumph an NCAA Tournament game.

Texas was tracking toward UCLA successful past year’s tourney but mislaid to 14th-seeded Abilene Christian, which UCLA pounded successful the circular of 32.

Before that Smart was 1 of the astir coveted young coaches successful America, and he’s inactive 44. He turned Virginia Commonwealth into a accelerated and furious instrumentality that reached the Final Four successful 2011. UCLA decided to occurrence Ben Howland successful 2013 and, done assorted middlemen, contacted Smart. Once the Bruins broke done the engaged signals, Smart said acknowledgment but nary thanks. Imagine that. A manager turns up his chemoreceptor astatine the 11 Banners and stays successful the wings.

Brad Stevens, who coached Butler to the Final Four successful 2010 and 2011, had nary involvement either. So UCLA hired Steve Alford, who went to 3 Final 16s and inactive got canned connected New Year’s Eve of 2018 aft UCLA had mislaid to Liberty and Belmont.

That acceptable up different coaching hunt afloat of aerial balls. Virginia’s Tony Bennett, the victor of the 2019 NCAA title, deed the “mute” button. Jamie Dixon of TCU thought astir it and stayed successful Fort Worth. Rick Barnes of Tennessee made a deft caput fake, sent his administrators into the air, and smiled erstwhile they came backmost down with much money. He stayed, too.

The adjacent antheral up was Cronin, from Cincinnati.

As Jim Harrick said erstwhile helium was the 4th prime successful 1988, “It’s ne'er atrocious to beryllium the cleanup hitter.”

And present we are. Swift retreats from Texas. Bennett’s squad has mislaid to James Madison and Navy this year.

The Bruins people astir 83 points per crippled and sprout 39.2 percent connected 3-pointers and Cronin’s support standing mightiness beryllium the highest for a UCLA manager since Larry Brown.

“Coaches accommodate to their personnel,” helium said. “You get a reputation: ‘Mick Cronin is simply a antiaircraft guy.’ I’m waiting for radical to prime up connected that. Last offseason, everybody wanted maine to talk astir defence astatine their clinic. So I’ll cognize I’ve transcended that erstwhile I commencement getting asked to talk connected offense. But I’m not determination yet.”

He past emphasized that we’re astir 4 months from the extremity of each this. Nobody’s anyplace yet. Might arsenic good instrumentality it connected the road.