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Mar 22, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin reacts during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Rupp Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

UCLA's Cronin Gives His Take on International Talent

Originally posted on UCLA Bruins on SI | By Tom Cavanaugh | Last updated Mar 29, 2025 11:09 AM ET

As college basketball continues to grow and develop, the presence of international players continues to rise, and it is fairly common for almost every top team to possess at least one or two. UCLA coach Mick Cronin is fully bought in on the international game and why they have the leg up.

Cronin joined Colin Cowherd on his show "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" on Thursday afternoon, where he discussed a litter of topics regarding the Big Ten, his team and the NCAA Tournament, but made a big point about the heightened level of talent for international players, specifically in the European countries.

The Bruins have Spain native Aday Mara while the Illinois Fighting Illini possess Kasparas Jukucionis (Lithuania) and Tomislav Ivisic (Croatia). Not to mention the Michigan State Spartans have 7-0 center Szymon Zapala (Poland). NCAA basketball is going far beyond the states and Cronin tells us why.

"The skill level is different, all they do in Europe is train," Cronin said. "You'll hear the NBA guys, they all started to speak to this, we got to make changes here, because our system is tied to the scholastic system. So, our player development system is high school basketball, middle school basketball, and that's not the case in Europe.

"You play club basketball there, soccer is the same way. We're tied to the scholastic system, so then the state associations, they limit practice time, there's also only one gym. So you got to share it with Freshman, JV, Varsity, girls and boys, you got volleyball, you can't even get gym time, so it's a problem."

Cronin has prior experience recruiting overseas, possessing both Mara and Serbian senior Lazar Stefanovic this past season. They also possessed Turkish forward Berke Buyuktuncel in the 2023-'24 season before he transferred.

Gym time is a major difference and the amount of hours that are dedicated to the sport on a daily basis is a glaring difference. Cronin's point about the scholastic system is spot on as American players are receiving half of the reps and time working on their craft than the International guys.

"The skill level of the European is just way higher," Cronin said. "Everything's an academy, everything's a club, there is no pickup basketball. ... Everything they do over there is with a coach, there's no hour restrictions.

"Even in college, we have hour restrictions: 20 hours a week in season, eight hours a week out of season. They [Europe] have no restrictions, none. So, they're just more skilled, because that's what they practice."

Just as it has shown in the NBA in recent years, international talent is growing, and it is here to stay. Overseas players will come play for high-level college programs to market themselves at the highest level and continue to prove that their style of development is simply better and more efficient.

This article first appeared on UCLA Bruins on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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