UCLA Basketball May Need Mick Cronin To Change This Habit

If there’s one thing that Mick Cronin and UCLA basketball do well, it’s taking care of the basketball.

Looking ahead to the 2026-2027 UCLA basketball season, I asked myself, what has UCLA done well, and what can it improve upon? From there, I found an answer in the same vein as the game.

When plotting steals versus turnovers, nearly the entire team last season fell in the bottom-right quadrant, according to CBB Analytics, indicating that those players had low turnover and low steal volumes.

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Mick Cronin’s Philosophy Is Being Put to the Test

This aligns with Mick Cronin’s coaching philosophy, as he is a protect-the-basketball-first kind of coach. While UCLA may protect the ball well, they don’t necessarily take it away at a high enough rate compared to other teams, especially those in-conference.

Mar 22, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Donovan Dent (2) reacts in the first half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Donovan Dent ranked highest by a large margin with the most steals on the team, and ranked highly across many other players in the country. With his absence, who on the team will step up and start forcing turnovers?

Jaylen Petty, the electric guard transfer from Texas Tech, ranked just about the same as all of the other UCLA players, planting himself firmly in the middle of that bottom right quadrant. This means there isn’t an incoming player we know can be the game-wrecker who may benefit UCLA.

Mar 22, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Jaylen Petty (11) shoots the ball against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the first half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Benchmark International Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

All in all, it’s better to be where UCLA is than where they could be. When you factor in pace, it shows that UCLA plays at…

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Publish date : 2026-08-11 17:00:00

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