Cronin: Final two games will show what Bruins have
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COLLEGE LACROSSE
UCLA has two games left on its schedule. If the Bruins win both, they’ll earn a Pac-12 regular-season title for the first time since 2013.
A split still gives them a chance to win the league title with a halfgame lead against the remaining opponents — Oregon and USC — which sit second and third in the conference, respectively.
UCLA (17-6, 13-4 Pac-12) will take on Oregon (17-5, 12-4) in Eugene tonight before its season finale against USC (19-6, 13-5) on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion.
“We’re going to find out over the next week what we’re made of,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “Are we a year away, or are we ready for this? Are we going to get ready through each one of these trials? Are we going to be tougher at winning time?”
Oregon is in top form, winning eight of its last nine. The Ducks are 10-2 at home this season. Senior guard Chris Duarte is the conference’s most NBA-ready player, according to Cronin.
“If I was a pro scout, I would take Duarte,” said Cronin. “He’s the most ready-made guy. Evan Mobley is the best prospect in our league ... but I do have a few friends in the league that do listen to me because I told them about guys like Jimmy Butler, who nobody wanted to draft, and I was in the Big East coaching against him.”
Cronin added: “Duarte knows when to shoot, when to pass. He’s big enough, strong enough to play the two. He shoots it at the percentage you need to play in the NBA and he’s the best defensive guard in
America, period.”
Duarte is averaging 17.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game this season. Forward Eugene Omoruyi is tallying 17 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Those are Oregon’s top threats to UCLA tonight.
It’s likely that Jules Bernard will start off defending Duarte, but freshman guard Jaylen Clark has been playing more minutes recently. His defense, hustle and effort are prerequisites for playing time for Cronin. It also helps that Clark has proven to be mentally tough in highpressure situations. His last-second free throw gave UCLA a one-point victory over Arizona State on Feb.
20. He also scored a career-high 10 points in the Bruins’ most recent game against Colorado.
“I’ve played in a lot of big games growing up,” Clark said. “I’ve been in a lot of more hostile environments than an empty arena.”
When UCLA and Oregon play tonight, it will be the third attempt after the first two meetings were postponed due to COVID-19-related issues. The Ducks endured a spell of no team activity that caused six Pac12 games to be postponed. From Jan. 14 to Feb. 1, Oregon played just one game, against Oregon State on Jan.
23.
“We haven’t had the weirdness that other people have had,” Cronin said of evading COVID-19 complications. “I will say, the disadvantage to that is that teams have a chance to get fresh. A team might say, ‘Well, we went a long time without practicing,” but the challenge in my case is to keep my team fresh.”