For the second consecutive time, Mick Cronin’s team crashed out in the second round of March Madness. This time, it was UConn that handed them a humbling as Dan Hurley cut a lone figure after the loss.

Stooped demeanor, agony evident in the face, and a hopeless stare into nothingness, you could almost feel the pain emanating from UCLA head coach Mick Cronin as he addressed the media after receiving a literal beatdown from Dan Hurley’s UConn (73-57). When the media asked what truly went wrong, Cronin bared his heart.

“Right now, I am worried about consoling the guys. I would like about 5 more million,” shrugged Cronin as he answered the question bluntly.

The consolation makes sense, as UConn managed to outwork the Bruins decisively. At halftime, only five points separated the two teams (38-33), but as soon as the game resumed, UConn started pulling away. The distance between the two teams started becoming wider to a point where no recovery was possible, which inevitably led to an early exit from March Madness.

Mick Cronin has identified the team’s underlying problem: budget allocations. Ever since its approval, NIL has fundamentally changed recruiting, with more money being spent on prospects, raising debates about fairness and regulation, with bigger colleges ruling the roost, and that is causing the majority of problems, believes Cronin.

NIL Discrepancy Causing Problems For Cronin’s UCLA

Apparently, college basketball has no salary cap, and that is the main issue that is bothering Mick Cronin. Back in February, he called this arrangement a “shame,” and you can almost feel why he would feel a certain way about it.

UCLA has found itself unable to keep up with the elite programs with their modest NIL valuations. As UConn, Duke, and Kentucky have multiple players who all have over $1m valuations, the Bruins, despite the reputation, have no single player in the national top 10 NIL rankings. The maximum they get for their players ranges from a humble ~$400K–$600K figure.

While moving to the Big Ten from the Pac-12 did in fact prove fortuitous, with media deals projecting a $65-75 million revenue, it still lagged behind the teams in the East Coast and Southern Conference.

Dan Hurley’s UConn enjoys a lot of advantages in that regard, being recent champions and having national exposure, which seldom comes UCLA’s way. So a little extra financial push would make the coach’s job much easier.

Losing a top player like Tyler Bilodeau to injury highlights the need for a deeper roster. To build that depth, UCLA needs money to acquire superstar freshmen like AJ Dybantsa, Darius Acuff, or Cam Boozer.

Now it is too early to say whether the UCLA management will act on the coach’s request, but even a slight raise in the budget can work wonders.

Look at what new NIL recruit Xavier Booker and transfer portal acquisition Donovan Dent did. Xavier led UCLA with 13 points and 5 rebounds, and Dent added 11 points and 9 assists. Recruiting more high-impact players from other programs could be the solution.

So the last few years have seen a lull for the Bruins; hopefully, the infusion of cash alleviates the team’s problems and brings back the Bruins to their old glory.