Don’t cancel those season tickets just yet.
Yes, UCLA lost a basketball scrimmage against severely shorthanded San Diego State.
No, Bruins coach Mick Cronin wasn’t trying to win. Not even close.
“I used it as a practice,” Cronin said Tuesday of the closed scrimmage earlier this month.
Cronin tinkered with his lineups, using eight different groups of five players, the mass substitutions resembling hockey shifts. The point was to find his best lineups approaching the season opener against Rider on Monday night at Pauley Pavilion.
Saying he “got educated,” Cronin noted that his best offensive and best defensive lineups are different and that the players on the court at the end of games might differ from the starters.
One impression of his players didn’t change. They can defend.
“We don’t have the national player of the year. We don’t have the preseason All-American, right?” Cronin said. “But, I think we can be elite in causing havoc defensively because of our depth at the guard … and speed. We have athletes at the guard position.”
Which guards will play together and for how long at a time? The No. 22 Bruins’ exhibition game against Cal State Los Angeles on Wednesday evening at Pauley Pavilion will give Cronin a chance to figure out his rotations before the games matter.
It’s a massive challenge considering Cronin imported six transfers who were significant contributors on their previous teams in addition to point guard Trent Perry, a McDonald’s All-American at Harvard-Westlake High.
The only player who seems assured of starting is returning point guard Dylan Andrews. Kobe Johnson is a possible starter along the wing, with Tyler Bilodeau at what Cronin calls the “big guard” spot and William Kyle III as the primary post player.
Shooting guard is the position battle that might be the most intense. Newcomers Dominick Harris and Skyy Clark are battling returning starter Sebastian Mack for playing time at what might be the deepest spot on the team.
Almost the entire roster remains in the early stages of learning the way Cronin wants his team to play defense. The coach paused a trapping drill during practice Tuesday to tell Harris he could leave the court if he wanted to do things his way.
“I tell the players, ‘Players determine playing time, ‘” Cronin said before practice started. “‘… Everybody put in my situation would play the guy that gets the job done the most, [so] make it hard on me.’”
Selflessness has been the catchphrase of the preseason for a team that could go 10-plus deep.
“Everybody’s just got to find their niche for this team,” Johnson said. “They got to find what they’re able to contribute, to help with and help make this team better. Because I think that’s what’s most important. Everybody’s not going to be a 20-point scorer, not everybody’s going to be a 10-plus rebounder, but you know, you got to find what you do best for this team. You got to do it well.”
For those still worried about the Bruins’ 72-67 loss to San Diego State — which was missing five scholarship players, including its starting backcourt — the lingering concerns would be rebounding and an inability to convert turnovers into points.
Even without applying all-out pressure, UCLA forced 24 turnovers. The problem was the Bruins turned them into only 21 points. Basketball analyst Ken Pomeroy told The Times that a good college offense typically scores 1.1 points per possession, meaning that the expectation under that metric would be for UCLA to score 26 points.
San Diego State also won the rebounding battle, 35-27, though Cronin pinned that on his team missing so many shots — the Bruins shot only 34.5%.
“You miss a million shots,” Cronin said, “you’re gonna get outrebounded.”
Johnson said he hoped to give fans a taste of the defensive intensity to come during the exhibition against Cal State L.A., which plays in NCAA Division II.
“We got to come out aggressive defensively, set the tone,” Johnson said, “and show teams, you know, we’re not here to play, we’re ready to get up in y’all.”