Hey there, Gary Parrish, welcome back to the CBS Sports Eye on College Basketball

podcast where we sometimes discuss camel fighting dodo birds and leaky black.

If you're watching on YouTube, you know what to do to the like button.

Shouts to Brandon Davies.

And if you haven't yet subscribed to the CBS Sports College Basketball YouTube channel, please also do that while you're here. Let's get into it. Different deal today, as you'll soon realize. Matt Norlander is not here with me, and that's because I'm in Chicago for Big Ten Media Day. And while here, I sat down with most of the coaches and some of the players for quick

conversations about their programs and college basketball in general.

And we figured, or at least we hoped, that you guys might like to listen to those conversations.

So we're placing them in the I-owned college basketball feed.

It's me, GP, at Big Ten Media Day. The conversations I had with coaches and players, they are on tap. I hope you enjoy them right after this word from our partners. Gary Parrish here with UCLA head coach Mick Cronin, headed in the year 7 at UCLA. How about that? Time flies, huh? Yeah, it does. I know. I remember when you were just getting pulled in that direction. Seems like yesterday. Yeah. But my daughter just went to college. That's when you really, you know, that's when you know. Yes. You know, when you're a little girl, you're moving her into American University. Like, what is going on? Yes. yes. So you've made the NCAA tournament in four of the past five years.

Things are going well.

What have you learned about the UCLA job that maybe you didn't realize when you took it,

but you understand it better now?

Well, I knew about the basketball program and the greatness of the basketball program, the greatness of the coach Wooden and a lot of others, and then obviously the players that have played there.

I didn't know about the university and how big the university is.

I mean, what a behemoth of academic research impact on the world, not just, especially

Southern California, the reach of UCLA and the medical side of it.

It's just, it's an amazing place. And I know you weren't looking for that

answer. But, but I mean, I did not know that. But I just knew the basketball side of it.

You bring back three to top four scores from last season's team. That's not something every coach in

the country can say. Is that where recruiting starts now with just player retainment?

100%.

Retention is everything.

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