UCLA’s athletics fatal flaw will be its long term neglect towards its current students, which is one of the most bizarre and rather backwards approaches by top leadership of an AD I can think of.
What is apparent in almost all arenas across the country is that the student experience comes first, and is actually the focal point of the atmosphere.
That is not the case with UCLA, specifically with its men’s basketball program. Instead there’s a lingering sense of complacency, largely stemming from titles won 50 years ago. Anyone that’s attended a game in the past 15 years will know what I mean. Fans of that era come first at Pauley.
In 2025 and beyond, Wooden titles aren’t enough to market a program. They haven’t been for decades now. UCLA has to prioritize capturing its current students as fans starting today. Its latest attempts/decisions to me are lazy, uninspired, and show zero urgency.
It’s a legitimate existential crisis facing that programs fanbase. I pray they see it as the same.
@NoahF31511@MeganMakinMoney I would put Tre above him. Harper and Bailey are better prospects, but it’s up for debate who has had a better freshman season, especially with Harper missing time