Mick Cronin will never live down failure to develop Aday Mara at UCLA
Hubert Davis watched Elliot Cadeau leave UNC, but Mick Cronin's failure to maximize Aday Mara is a lot worse. Dusty May said thanks and won a title
The Michigan Wolverines are national champions of college basketball. Dusty May picked up some great pieces in the transfer portal, but it has to be said that other coaches couldn't do much with those pieces. May provided the right ingredients for success.
Just ask Aday Mara, who was misused by Mick Cronin at UCLA but then made the perfect decision to go to Ann Arbor and Dusty's den. Less than the maximum Mick Cronin would often have Aday Mara stapled to the bench at UCLA. Part of the frustration of the 2024-2025 season for Bruin fans was that Cronin didn't give Mara every possible chance to succeed.
He did not always give Mara extended minutes, part of his overall confusion in the handling of the Spaniard. UCLA mediocrity UCLA didn't value Aday Mara the way it could or should have. The Bruins got a No.
7 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament and then, without Mara, did no better in 2026. UCLA has become irrelevant in college basketball after its 2021 Final Four joyride as a No. 11 seed.