LAS VEGAS — No Jaylen Clark? So far, no problem for UCLA’s men’s basketball team.
They showed resilience and resourcefulness as well as that late-game clutch gene in Thursday’s 80-69 Pac-12 Tournament victory over Colorado (which, according to some speculation, would be a future intersectional matchup. More about that below.).
The Bruins likely will not have a fixed template for replacing Clark, who was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year earlier this week but is unavailable for the foreseeable future – likely for the season – with what coach Mick Cronin euphemistically called a “lower leg” injury.
On Thursday, Cronin started senior David Singleton in Clark’s place, but freshmen Will McLendon and Dylan Andrews played double-figure minutes, and Abramo Canka – who averaged 5.6 minutes a game in the regular season – got a minute on the floor as well in the first half.
“Part of me wanted to start Will just because I like having Dave off the bench,” Cronin said. “I like being able to sub in a starter. In case you get off to a slow start, you can put a guy in that can immediately bank in a couple shots for you.
“But also, I know part of me is like, ‘Look, David’s been the most loyal player I’ve ever coached,’” Cronin added, noting that Singleton was a starter as a freshman, lost that spot to Johnny Juzang as a sophomore but never complained, and has remained a team guy all the way through.
For those who haven’t been paying attention, Cronin can be sentimental that way. Fans might chafe at such reasoning in formulating a lineup, but Cronin built what UCLA has now by being loyal to the guys who were loyal to him such as Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez Jr., who stayed rather than transferring when Cronin arrived and now are seniors leading a potential No. 1 seed.
That, of course, is still to be determined, and the rest of this tournament will factor into the decisions of the NCAA tournament selection committee….
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