How UCLA thrived in basketball free agency after its 'NIL grew exponentially'

All these imports will come with a consequence, of course. Three players who started a combined 77 games last season — Lazar Stefanovic, Sebastian Mack and Brandon Williams — could move to the bench. They appear to be on board with a possible diminished role given their willingness to stay and their message to their coach.

Williams needed only 30 seconds to let Cronin know his intentions, including the willingness to take a redshirt season if necessary.

"His meeting was, 'I hate to lose, coach. I know you've got to get some players,' " Cronin recalled. " 'Let me know if I can help, but I love you guys, this is where I'm supposed to be and I trust you, I trust the coaches, go get some players so we can win. I ain't going anywhere.' "

Unlike last summer, when Adem Bona was rehabilitating a shoulder injury and freshmen Aday Mara and Berke Buyuktuncel didn't arrive on campus until September, the entire roster besides Harris should be practicing together by mid-July once Mara returns from a stint with the Spanish under-20 national team. Harris is expected to join the team in early August once he graduates from Loyola Marymount.

Cronin said he expected to man the grill at his Encino home more than ever in an attempt to bond his new team while also obtaining pictures of each player as a kid in his first basketball uniform as part of a series of "Guess who?" games.

"We're going to have to put time into getting to know each other as people before you can win as a team," Cronin said. "I just don't know how you develop chemistry until you know the guy you're playing with or the coach you're playing for."

One newcomer won't need an adjustment period with his boss. Dave Andrews, who was Cronin's performance coach during his first six seasons at Cincinnati, is taking on the same role with the Bruins after being persuaded to become what Cronin called "maybe our most important acquisition of the offseason" following stints as a football strength and conditioning coach at Illinois, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Iowa State.

When Cronin introduced Andrews to the slides-under-a-door-thin Mara, the coach told his 7-3 center, who needs to add significant bulk to play more than the 9.6 minutes he averaged last season, "Here's the most important person in your life; I know you think it's your mom or dad, but it's Dave Andrews."

Andrews' conditioning regimen could be especially critical given Cronin's intention to use a full-court press more than he has in his first five seasons with the Bruins. The goal is to solve problems with playing time and help UCLA lead the Big Ten in turnovers forced and turnover margin, which would go a long way toward helping the Bruins win the conference.

"We don't need anyone to pace themselves," Cronin said. "Hopefully we're going to be able to play at an all-out pace and wear people out."

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