The Den ran out of free Papa John’s Pizza before the scrimmage even started. But when coach Mick Cronin took the microphone before tip off at UCLA men’s basketball’s preseason showcase, he promised students there was more pizza on the way. Read more...

Photo: Junior guard Chris Smith (right) and redshirt senior forward Alex Olesinski (left) were two Bruins participating in the Team Blue and Team Gold scrimmage – as part of the preseason showcase – UCLA basketball held Wednesday. (Liz Ketcham/Photo editor)

The Bruins may have played behind closed doors Saturday, but they’ll be in the spotlight come Wednesday night. UCLA men’s basketball will be hosting its first-ever preseason showcase at Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday, consisting of a 5-on-5 scrimmage and several player-versus-student events. Read more...

Photo: Freshman guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. was a four-star recruit coming out of high school. Coach Mick Cronin attempted to convince Jaquez Jr. to play for him at Cincinnati before the wing committed to UCLA in May 2018 – 11 months before Cronin came to Westwood himself. (Ashley Kenney/Daily Bruin)

One of Mick Cronin’s first decisions as the Bruins’ coach was to make some changes around the Mo Ostin Basketball Center. Where banners of current players hung above the practice court last season, Cronin decided to put pyramid-shaped pennants of the program’s former first round picks. Read more...

Photo: Junior guard Chris Smith averaged 6.3 points per game across 33 games and 12 starts for UCLA men’s basketball in 2018-19. Smith led the Bruins in both rebounds and deflections in practice earlier this week. (Ashley Kenney/Daily Bruin)

Mick Cronin opened up his first Pac-12 media day cracking jokes. “We’re still undefeated,” the first-year coach said in his opening statement. “All the pressure right now is on Dave Roberts (on Wednesday) with the Dodgers.” The former Cincinnati coach represented UCLA men’s basketball at Tuesday’s Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Media Day alongside redshirt seniors guard Prince Ali and forward Alex Olesinski. Read more...

Photo: UCLA men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin (right) went 443-296 in his 13 seasons with Cincinnati. Cronin helped lead the Bearcats to nine straight NCAA tournament appearances and back-to-back conference tournament championships. (Elise Tsai/Daily Bruin)