UCLA coach Mick Cronin criticized his players following the 22nd-ranked Bruins’ four-game losing streak, saying they weren’t giving enough and weren’t tough enough.
UCLA, which has won 10 of its first 11 games and is off to a 2-0 start in the Big Ten, dropped two straight Tuesday night with a 94-75 home loss to No. 24 Michigan.
The Bruins lost 66-58 at Nebraska on Saturday.
“I have to run to the court to get the guys to play hard,” Cronin said. “It’s crazy, and it’s every day. I’m tired of it. I have more energy than anyone in practice every day. I’m upset with everyone in that locker room, my assistant coaches and my players.
“There’s nothing else to do. I almost won 500. I’m only 53 years old. You’d think I was coaching the Lakers. It’s a joke. It’s a joke. But I come in and I have more passion and more energy and more pride than anybody. And that’s the truth right now.
Cronin said his team is “too soft to play hard enough” and that they are coming up at key moments.
“So what was the truth, it is really difficult to train lost people,” he said. “A hungry dog ​​gets a bone. We’ve got guys who think they’re better than they are. They’re good kids. They’re completely delusional.”
Cronin said he hopes the loss to Michigan was the “humble pie” his team needed and that his job will be to find players who will play hard and do what they’re told.
“But right now,” he said, “I’m really looking for guys who are going to play hard to win a Big Ten game.”
It is reported by the Associated Press.
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