Mick Cronin displays new look versus Sacramento State

Mick Cronin surprised us all last night by starting four bench players with Eric Dailey Jr. Cronin looking to kickstart his bench, used Sacramento State as that opportunity. When UCLA faced Arizona, they only got three points all night from the bench coming from Trent Perry. That is not acceptable and not something that can be sustained long-term. If UCLA wants to win, they will need production from their bench when starters need a breather.

Although Sacramento State is not a top tier opponent. It was a chance to throw the bench players into meaningful minutes. Because if this was against Purdue, that is not the way things would’ve rolled out. There is no room for error once you get too Big Ten play, you either show up, or you get ran out of the gym. Dailey Jr. figured to be the only starter due to him missing camp and game time with his injury.

Jamar Brown and Perry played much better than they did against Arizona. Steven Jamerson II was playing great defense before his injury took him out. When the rotations tighten up to a seven- or eight-man rotation. Brown and Perry figure to be the first two off the bench with Jamerson II picking up Booker’s off minutes. The bench is key in picking up production because as easy as it is said. You can’t have starters play all 40 minutes.

Not many people knew Cronin was going to do what he did. But it was smart in a way, you don’t need normal starters playing 30+ minutes against Sacramento State. It is not going to affect their draft stock. Do it early while you can, build confidence and hope that it pays off. Because in two weeks they will not have the luxury to do that. That is when you see if the bench will show up for you on the big stage with no room for error.