D2 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2019 LATIMES.COM/SPORTS
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Mick Cronin recently held
a barbecue for a group of
UCLA basketball alumni at
his Encino home, finding him-
self both awed and frightened
by the collection of talent.
“Once I realized there were
over 50 national champi-
onship rings in my backyard,”
Cronin cracked Tuesday at
the Southern California
basketball coaches tipoff
luncheon at the Los Angeles
Athletic Club, “I haven’t slept
since.”
UCLA’s current roster
could give its new coach a dif-
ferent sort of nightmare.
“We don’t have a standout
player,” Cronin said before the
roughly two-hour luncheon,
“so I think depth, for us to
have a really good year, aside
from learning how to practice,
learning how to treat each
other and compete, we’re go-
ing to have to probably use
depth as our weapon.”
The Bruins lost their top
three scorers off a team that
finished 17-16 last season while
missing the NCAA tourna-
ment for the second time in
four years. They return 10
players but only 47.2% of their
scoring, meaning that a new
star must emerge. Will it be
Prince Ali, the injury-plagued
redshirt senior whose career
seemingly peaked with that
driving dunk against Ken-
tucky almost four years ago?
Or how about Jules
Bernard, the hard-charging
sophomore who traded in his
drives to nowhere for consis-
tent production toward the
end of last season?
What about Chris Smith,
the enigmatic junior whose
talent seems outweighed only
by his tendency to disappear?
Cronin would be in favor of
step-up performances from
all of the above.
“Although we may not
have a standout right now,”
Cronin said, “we have enough
guys that I’m hoping we canget to a point where I think
depth could be maybe our big-
gest strength.”
Cronin had spent just 52
hours with his players on the
court in the offseason under
NCAA rules before practice
started last week. While most
of the buzz upon his arrival
centered on Cronin’s reputa-
tion as a defensive specialist,
he said his team would strive
to be well-rounded.
“You have to be really good
at everything if you’re going to
be a good team,” Cronin said.
“The best way to score is to
play together, to take care of
the basketball, and I think
your defense starts with your
offense. You take bad shots,
don’t take care of the ball, it’s
hard to defend — it’s really
hard to defend. So I think it’s
all intertwined.”
Cronin nearly has a full
roster at his disposal as the
Bruins approach their second
week of practice. Redshirt
freshman point guard Tyger
Campbell has been fully
cleared in his recovery from a
torn knee ligament. Redshirt
freshman forward Shareef
O’Neal also has the green light
after undergoing surgery tocorrect a heart defect.
Only sophomore guard
David Singleton remains
barred from contact drills,
still rounding into form from
the broken foot he suffered
during the Pac-12 Conference
tournament. But Cronin said
Singleton was “progressing
nicely,” with the hope that he
will be ready to return by the
season opener against Long
Beach State on Nov. 6 at
Pauley Pavilion. Cronin was
sassy in his remarks Tuesday
before a gathering of coaches
and university officials. He
mentioned a photo of fellow
former Murray State and cur-
rent Cal State Northridge
coach Mark Gottfried that
hung inside Martha’s Restau-
rant in Murray, Ky., where pa-
trons could get a $1.99 break-
fast special.
He also teased San Diego
State coach Brian Dutcher
about being angry over
Cronin’s hiring of Aztecs as-
sistant Rod Palmer while not-
ing that the San Diego State
job was once the only one in
Southern California that
Cronin thought he could get.
Cronin now resides in a
megawatt spotlight, thoughhe noted how the wisdom of
former UCLA coach John
Wooden could help him navi-
gate the outsized expecta-
tions that come with the terri-
tory.
“Here’s how smart Coach
Wooden was,” Cronin said.
“One time a long time ago, he
said, ‘Ignore criticism, deflect
praise and focus on your job.’
So he must have known that
social media and the internet
were coming.”
Wooden also believed in a
short bench, which Cronin
might not be able to utilize un-
til he acquires considerably
more star power or helps his
current roster blossom into
the next generation of cham-
pions.
For now, the Bruins’
strength might come from
their numbers.
“The only way you’re going
to develop guys is to play
them,” Cronin said, “and I be-
lieve that tired players take
bad shots, they foul and they
get beat on defense and they
don’t rebound, so if you can al-
ways make sure you’re always
playing at a certain level, you
can make conditioning and
depth a weapon.”Cronin says depth will
be the Bruins’ ‘weapon’
UCLA brings back
10 players, but they
represent just 47.2% of
last season’s scoring.
By Ben BolchUCLA’S new basketball coach, Mick Cronin, is working with a roster that lacks
star power but plans to develop his players through conditioning and playing time.Jayne Kamin-OnceaGetty ImagesUSC coach Andy Enfield
might have the most unusual
five-man basketball recruit-
ing class in America, which
helps explain why he’s so
happy and optimistic.
“We have fun every day
when we walk into the gym,”
he said Tuesday at the South-
ern California basketball
coaches tipoff luncheon at
the Los Angeles Athletic
Club.
What has Enfield excited
and confident is not only the
quality of his recruiting class,
but the fact that all five play-
ers spent four years at their
respective high schools, a rar-
ity in the era of transfer ma-
nia. They’ve displayed the
kind of loyalty, leadership
and dedication that could
make for a special college ex-
perience.
“It’s unusual to have five
freshmen who played four
years at the same high
school,” Enfield said. “Thekey is they came from win-
ning programs and they’re
winners themselves. They’ve
helped their teams win state
championships, City champi-
onships, CIF champi-
onships.”
The freshman class in-
cludes Ethan Anderson
from Fairfax, Max Ag-
bonkpolofrom Santa Marga-
rita, Drake Londonfrom
Moorpark, Onyeka
Okongwufrom Chino Hills
and Kyle Sturdivantfrom
Norcross, Ga.
The 6-foot-9 Okongwu
made a positive impression
during USC’s 11-day summer
trip to Europe, averaging 20.3
points and 10.7 rebounds in
three games.
“I thought Big O was ter-
rific as a freshman in high
school,” Enfield said. “Now
he’s a freshman in college and
it’s surreal he’s four years old-
er. He won a state champi-
onship as a freshman, won
two more as a junior and sen-
ior, and was state player of
the year. He’s done every-thing you can ask for as a
player. He’s an exceptional
young man.”
USC will open its season
with an exhibition game
Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. at Galen Cen-
ter against national power
Villanova. All proceeds from
the game will benefit the Cali-
fornia Fire Foundation,
which provides emotional
and financial assistance to
families of fallen firefighters.Coaching award
Rutgers women’s coach C.
Vivian Stringer was an-
nounced as the recipient of
the Legends of Coaching
award and will be honored in
April as part of the John R.
Wooden Award presentation.Public shout-out
UC Irvine men’s coach
Russell Turner offered
praise to four seniors who ar-
rived from Southern Califor-
nia public high schools and
have been starting since their
sophomore years.
Three were all-conferencehonorees.
John Edgar Jr. (Chino
Hills Ayala), Eyassu Worku
(Los Alamitos), Tommy
Rutherford(El Cajon Gross-
mont) and Evan Leonard
(Cerritos) helped the Anteat-
ers win their first NCAA play-
off game last season against
Kansas State.
“I’m thrilled for those
guys because they’re out-
standing competitors and
played for outstanding high
school coaches,” Turner said.Comedian
Long Beach State men’s
coach Dan Monsonhas be-
come the coach offering the
most humor in his speeches
at the annual gathering of
Southern California coaches.
Of his three returning
players, he said, “One never
plays defense.” And another
is a “defensive stopper, which
is a code word for he can’t
shoot the ball.”
As for meeting his wife on
a blind date, he said, “She was
blind and I needed a date.”COLLEGE BASKETBALL NOTES
Enfield thrilled with fab five freshmen
By Eric SondheimerShaquille O’Neal has
found himself a new rival in
Portland Trail Blazers star
Damian Lillard, and the
conflict is not being played
out on the court, but over
music.
Lillard, who raps under
the name Dame D.O.L.L.A.,
responded to O’Neal’s diss
track Tuesday with “Reign
Reign Go Away.”
In the three-minute cut,
the four-time All-Star bites
back at O’Neal’s song, which
he dropped on IGTV last
week after Lillard claimed
himself a better rapper than
O’Neal.
On “Reign Reign Go
Away,” Lillard asserts his rap
dominance and says that theteams O’Neal bounced
around from after winning
three championships with
the Lakers didn’t really need
him to win, including the
Miami Heat with Dwyane
Wade and the Cleveland
Cavaliers with LeBron
James.
“This a different era, you
the past ... said yourself that
I’m a Tesla/No longer need
diesel gas,” he rapped, “ ...
And even Miami won that on
the strength of Flash/You
had a moment OG, you the
pioneer, but I done reached
the top at this point and the
climate’s clear.”
It’s a direct response to
O’Neal’s bars where he de-
manded respect as an elder
and superior player.
“Students always talk
about they better than the
professor,” O’Neal rapped,
“I’m an expensive Lambor-
ghini/You’re a barely charged
Tesla/Take your time to
respond, there is no hurry/You’ll never beat Westbrook,
never beat Steph Curry.”
O’Neal, 47, who has a
platinum album under the
rap pseudonym “Diesel” and
is staying relevant in the
music game as a DJ, was not
happy with the 29-year-old’s
assertions on “The Joe Bud-
den Podcast” that O’Neal’s
rap career flourished only
because of his celebrity.
“I’ve heard Shaq’s stuff,”
Lillard said. “I think he was
viewed as Shaq. ... People
wasn’t looking at it like this is
a real rapper. It was like,
‘This Shaq rapping.’ ”
Lillard has released three
commercial albums, includ-
ing his latest project, “Big
D.O.L.L.A.,” with features
from Mozzy, Jeremih and Lil
Wayne. This summer, he
traded bars with the Sacra-
mento Kings’ Marvin Bagley
III after the rookie presented
the challenge on “First
Take.”
The internet is hyped tosee O’Neal’s response, but
Lillard doesn’t seem worried
as he tweeted, “Ok I’m going
to practice now...”Odds time
Who will be the next
manager of the Angels?
There is a clear favorite in the
odds supplied by BetOnline:Joe Maddon, 3-2
Joe Girardi, 7-2
Buck Showalter, 5-1
Ozzie Guillen, 6-1
Ron Washington, 7-1
Mike Matheny, 8-1
John Farrell, 10-1
Bob Geren, 11-1
Dusty Baker, 12-1Beer money
Well, this is certainly one
way to control beer sales at a
stadium.
Nathan Collier works as a
beer vendor at Hard Rock
Stadium, the home of the
Miami Dolphins. He walks
up and down the aisles,selling to customers. Appar-
ently he got tired of the job
and wanted to make a big
score.
A fan bought two beers
from him during Sunday’s
Dolphins-Chargers game ...
and Collier allegedly used his
own credit card reader in-
stead of the one linked to the
stadium and charged the fan
$724. Unfortunately for Col-
lier, the unidentified fan got
an alert on his phone telling
him $724 had just been
charged to his credit card
and gave him the name of the
person the money went to:
Nathan Collier.
Whoops.
The fan alerted stadium
security, who called police.
According to the Miami
Herald, Collier now faces
charges of third-degree
grand theft and possession
of a skimming device. He was
being held on a $10,000 bond.
The fan received a full
refund.MORNING BRIEFING
Maybe Lillard should pick a feud with someone his own size
By Houston Mitchell
and Victoria Hernandez
PRO CALENDAR
WED. THU. FRI. SAT. SUN.
2 3 4 5 6DODGERS
WASH*
5:30
TBS
WASH*
6:30
TBS
at WASH.*
Time TBD
TBSRAMS
at Seattle
5:15
Ch. 11CHARGERS
DENVER
1
Ch. 2GALAXY
at Houston
1
SpecSNLAFC
COLORADO
1
YouTube TV,
UniMasKINGS
at
Edmonton
7
FSWDUCKS
ARIZONA
7
PrimeSAN JOSE
7
PrimeShade denotes home game NLDS*
LAKERS:Saturday at Golden State (exhibition), 5, SpecSN and TNT
CLIPPERS:Thursday vs. Houston at Honolulu (exhibition), 10 p.m., FSW
TIME EVENT ON THE AIR
BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
5 p.m. AL wild-card game, Tampa Bay at Oakland TV:ESPN, ESPN2
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
4 p.m. Women, Missouri at Louisiana State TV:ESPNU
4 p.m. Women, Minnesota at Iowa TV:Big Ten
5 p.m. Women, Kansas at Iowa State TV:FSW
5 p.m. Women, Alabama at Auburn TV:SEC
6 p.m. Women, Texas at Texas Christian TV:ESPNU
6 p.m. Women, Penn State at Wisconsin TV:Big Ten
HOCKEY
5 p.m. Washington at St. Louis TV:NBCSN
7:30 p.m. San Jose at Vegas TV:NBCSN
HORSE RACING
1 p.m. America’s Day at the Races TV:Prime
SOCCER
9:45 a.m. Champions League, Genk vs. Napoli TV:KFTR, UDN,
UniMas
9:45 a.m. Champions League, Slavia Praha vs. Dortmund TV:Galavision,
TNT
Noon Champions League, Liverpool vs. Salzburg TV:Galavision
Noon Champions League, Barcelona vs. Inter Milan TV:KFTR, UDN,
UniMas
3:45 p.m. Mexico, Toluca vs. Veracruz TV:UDN
7 p.m. Friendly, Mexico vs. Trinidad and Tobago TV:KFTR, UDN,
UniMas, KFTR
TENNIS
7 p.m. ATP Tokyo, ATP/WTA Beijing quarterfinals TV:Tennis
TRACK AND FIELD
6:30 a.m. IAAF world championships, Day 6 TV:NBCSNTODAY ON THE AIR
Major League Baseball
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Favorite Underdog
at Atlanta -128 St. Louis +118
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Favorite Underdog
at Oakland -131 Tampa Bay +121
NHL
Favorite Underdog
at Toronto -275 Ottawa +245
at St. Louis -147 Washington +137
at Edmonton -130 Vancouver +120
at Vegas -170 San Jose +158
College Football
THURSDAY
Favorite Line (O/U) Underdog
Georgia Southern 91 ⁄ 2 (45^1 ⁄ 2 ) at South Alabama
Temple 111 ⁄ 2 (49) at East Carolina
FRIDAY
UCF 4 (60) at Cincinnati
at San Jose St. 61 ⁄ 2 (64) New Mexico
SATURDAY
at UCLA 51 ⁄ 2 (66^1 ⁄ 2 ) Oregon St.
at Louisville 61 ⁄ 2 (61) Boston College
North Carolina 10 (48^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Georgia Tech
Texas 11 (60) at West Virginia
at Penn St. 28 (55^1 ⁄ 2 ) Purdue
at N. Illinois 5 (55) Ball St.
Tulane 3 (45) at Army
at Duke 4 (48^1 ⁄ 2 ) Pittsburgh
at Kansas St. 2 (51) Baylor
Maryland 131 ⁄ 2 (54) at Rutgers
Oklahoma St. 10 (63^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Texas Tech
at Wisconsin 37 (57^1 ⁄ 2 ) Kent St.
E. Michigan 61 ⁄ 2 (53^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Cent. Michigan
at Miami 131 ⁄ 2 (47) Virginia Tech
at Missouri 24 (66^1 ⁄ 2 ) Troy
Liberty 6 (60) at New Mexico St.
at Colorado 4 (63^1 ⁄ 2 ) Arizona
San Diego St. 71 ⁄ 2 (51^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Colorado St.
South Florida 101 ⁄ 2 (52) at Connecticut
at Oregon 171 ⁄ 2 (46) California
Washington 161 ⁄ 2 (52) at Stanford
at SMU 111 ⁄ 2 (63) Tulsa
at Michigan 31 ⁄ 2 (47) Iowa
at Minnesota 14 (60) Illinois
at UAB 91 ⁄ 2 (42^1 ⁄ 2 ) Rice
at Nebraska 71 ⁄ 2 (50) Northwestern
Georgia 25 (51^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Tennessee
Air Force 31 ⁄ 2 (44^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Navy
at Toledo 1 (68^1 ⁄ 2 ) W. Michigan
Oklahoma 331 ⁄ 2 (67) at Kansas
Ohio 31 ⁄ 2 (54^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Buffalo
at Iowa St. 31 ⁄ 2 (45) Texas Christian
at Mississippi 7 (61) Vanderbilt
Marshall 4 (56) at Middle Tenn.
at Notre Dame 451 ⁄ 2 (60^1 ⁄ 2 ) Bowling Green
Arkansas St. 71 ⁄ 2 (72^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Georgia St.
W Kentucky 31 ⁄ 2 (45) at Old Dominion
Auburn 3 (47^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Florida
at FIU 261 ⁄ 2 (66^1 ⁄ 2 ) Massachusetts
Memphis 141 ⁄ 2 (64) at La. Monroe
at Ohio St. 191 ⁄ 2 (49^1 ⁄ 2 ) Michigan St.
at LSU 28 (72^1 ⁄ 2 ) Utah St.
at UTEP 2 (45^1 ⁄ 2 ) Texas San Antonio
Boise St. 221 ⁄ 2 (55^1 ⁄ 2 ) at UNLVNFL
THURSDAY
Favorite Line (O/U) Underdog
at Seattle 11 ⁄ 2 (49^1 ⁄ 2 ) RAMS
SUNDAY
at CHARGERS 61 ⁄ 2 (44^1 ⁄ 2 ) Denver
Chicago 5 (40^1 ⁄ 2 ) Oakland
at Cincinnati 31 ⁄ 2 (47^1 ⁄ 2 ) Arizona
at Carolina 31 ⁄ 2 (41) Jacksonville
Minnesota 51 ⁄ 2 (45) at N.Y. Giants
New England 15 (43^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Washington
at Philadelphia 131 ⁄ 2 (43^1 ⁄ 2 ) N.Y. Jets
at New Orleans 3 (47) Tampa Bay
at Houston 5 (49) Atlanta
at Tennessee 3 (38^1 ⁄ 2 ) Buffalo
Baltimore 31 ⁄ 2 (44^1 ⁄ 2 ) at Pittsburgh
at Dallas 31 ⁄ 2 (46) Green Bay
at Kansas City 11 (56) Indianapolis
MONDAY
at San Francisco 31 ⁄ 2 (46^1 ⁄ 2 ) ClevelandODDS