Mick Cronin has been one of the most entertaining coaches behind a microphone in the country this year. The Bruins’ head coach has been honest, sometimes brutally so, and colorful and hilarious and sometimes raw.

After UCLA’s 63-53 win over Kentucky at Madison Square Garden Saturday night, it was only natural for Cronin to be in a good mood, so folks in the postgame press conference were treated to some gems. A real “mic drop” kind of moment happened when Cronin was asked about other programs negatively recruiting UCLA.

Years ago, Cronin made headlines when he called out negative recruiting from other schools who he said would tell players they wouldn’t score enough on a team coached by Cronin because his style prioritizes defense.

“We’re third in the nation in offense,” Cronin said after Saturday night’s win. “They changed. When I was at Cincinnati, they called me for clinics to talk on defense. Now I’m going to get called for offense.”

Cronin has one of college basketball’s very best players in forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., a versatile wing who can get him 20 on any given night. The Bruins have one of the country’s top point guards in Tyger Campbell. They also have guard Jaylen Clark, a Most Improved candidate in the Pac-12 who has been among the best surprises in the country this season.

The 10-2 Bruins are also third in adjusted offensive rating, per KenPom (an opponent-adjusted measure of points per 100 possessions).

“The new thing is tempo now,” Cronin said of what schools will try to use to recruit against the Bruins. “Look at their tempo. You know what I say? Look at the temperature. We’re going home and it’s 75, I’m grilling out on Christmas.

“I have better players, way smarter. A genius when [Jaquez Jr.] and Tyger are playing a two-man game. Amazing, isn’t it? The thing about being at UCLA, you have a chance to get guys who can really score. You can also try to pick a little bit, and get guys with character. We have both this year. Even our freshman — none of them played great tonight — but they’re all great guys. I mean great guys. They’re all going to be big parts of our program. But everybody is a better coach when we’ve got Jaime and Tyger.”