Mick Cronin explains his favorite thing about Adem Bona

No. 5 UCLA has ripped off 13 straight wins and in the middle of a fantastic run coach Mick Cronin took some time to reveal his favorite thing about Adem Bona, his 6-foot-10 freshman forward who is doing a ton of cleanup work on the boards.

Bona is apparently a coach’s dream.

“Adem is somebody that just, he lifts everybody in the room,” Cronin said. “When he walks in the room, he lights the room up. Any team he gets on, everybody’s going to play a little harder because they’re on the team with him.

“You always want a guy that’s going to stay positive and try to pick his teammates up at all times. He’s just a great, great guy. Great guy.”

UCLA has gotten out to a 16-2 start to the season, with its only losses coming against teams that were ranked at the time (No. 5 Baylor and No. 19 Illinois).

Bona has averaged 8.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 assists per game for the Bruins. He stuffed the stat sheet in last weekend’s win over Colorado, turning in nine points, five rebounds, three blocks, two assists and a steal.

So what is Mick Cronin’s favorite thing about Adem Bona?

“This is usually always going to be the answer with guys like him: just his character, his personality, who he is as a person,” Cronin said. “Now at, whatever, 8 o’clock Thursday night it’s going to be his ability. Last 10 minutes against Colorado it’s his basketball ability.”

Cronin’s favorite thing about Adem Bona also applies to some teammates

The beauty of UCLA’s current season is that Bona is just one of several teammates with the kind of natural disposition that lends to constant improvement and excellent team morale.

That’s made this season a pleasure for Cronin so far.

“It’s our job, when you can coach a player that’s really good but also has everything you want in an attitude (it’s nice),” Cronin said. “Like in all the world of coaches we all lament to each other all the time. It’s non-stop, society is miserable at times. ‘This guy can’t play.’ We’re all sitting around, ‘He can’t do this, that.’ When you can get a heck of a player that has an unbelievable attitude, which I have a team full of them, you know it and you have to enjoy it.”

Cronin knows he sometimes comes across a little intense. That’s a product of the team he’s got and the lofty expectations that come with such a talented group.

“I know I look like I’m intense because we’re trying to do great things this year, but I’m well aware of the situation, because I’ve got a lot of guys like him,” Cronin said.