“The standard is the standard.”

Mike Tomlin’s mantra is one that emphasizes accountability and commitment to reaching the benchmark regardless of any extenuating circumstance or condition. The standard does not change, and each individual is expected to meet it – no ifs, ands or buts.

The Pittsburgh Steelers head coach’s popular phrase is just one example of his illustrious “Tomlinisms” – an encyclopedia of declarative statements and one-offs that leave many wondering how he thinks of the wise maxims on the spot.

And while Tomlin’s coaching philosophy has led him to his 18th season as head coach of the Black and Gold, it has also permeated outside of the City of Bridges and beyond the gridiron.

“It’s a line Mike Tomlin said. I try to listen to everything he says, ‘You have got to run to coaching,’” said UCLA men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin.

And the head honcho is sprinting to coach junior forward/center Xavier Booker.

After former UCLA center Aday Mara transferred to Michigan at the end of March, the Bruins had a gaping hole in the front court and recruited the former Spartan in an effort to fill that gap.

[Related: Bye Aday: Men’s basketball centerpiece Mara reportedly not returning to program]

Booker – a former five-star prospect out of Cathedral High School in Indianapolis, Indiana – largely played as a wing beyond the three-point line in high school and at Michigan State despite his 6-foot-11 frame. However, Booker and the Bruin coaching staff are focused on moving the lanky big man from the arc to the paint as the team’s likely starting center.

“His effort at it has been great,” Cronin said of Booker’s willingness to change positions. “His improvement since the first day of practice, he should be proud of himself. It’s fun to coach a guy who’s bought into something that’s got the right attitude. He’s a great guy. He’s trying to get better at it every day.”

The junior’s transition to center has not come without its hoops to jump through.

The forward/center has emphasized his rebounding and rim protection skills, working with redshirt senior forward/center Steven Jamerson II – a more traditional, big-bodied center – in the process.

He certainly does not lack the prowess and skillset to dominate offensively, particularly against more traditional opposing centers who are slow-footed and struggle to guard long-range shots. Booker is not afraid to shoot from deep, a skill set he showed profusely in East Lansing.

“Cronin, he reached out to me, and he wanted me to play the five, and I agree,” Booker said. “I thought it would be great for me not only here but just going along the line in my career. I’m 6-foot-11. I got long arms. I can spread the floor, catch lobs, block shots, do a whole lot of things in the court, so I felt like me playing the five would be great for my future.”

The addition of Booker has also helped give the Bruin backcourt different looks.

His frame and diverse skill set allow him to confuse defenses and give Bruin point guards multiple options to pick apart defensive schemes. And his presence on the squad has already seen these advantages manifest themselves in practice.

“I love Xavier,” said sophomore guard Trent Perry. “He’s been on my team recently, mixing up whether he rolls, he short rolls, he pops. He’s seven foot – he’s seven foot athletic – so I think he’s going to be a really big contributor to the team.”

Booker’s deep range ability supplements a team that has reloaded on shooters, an imperative improvement after the squad struggled to shoot consistently from deep, particularly in big games.

UCLA went 7-for-23 beyond the arc in its loss to No. 2 seed Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and 9-for-30 in its defeat to Wisconsin in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament last season.

Contributing to the team’s renewed shooting ability is fifth-year guard Jamar Brown. The new addition to the team’s backcourt shot 45.3% from beyond the arc last season and should be a shoe-in to replace former Bruins Lazar Stefanovic and Kobe Johnson’s roles from last season.

“Our three-point shooting is the strength of our team, because Book can shoot,” Cronin said. “We got a lot of guys who can shoot, but Jamar Brown plays harder than anybody, and it’s just proof that you don’t have to play for (Houston coach) Kelvin Sampson or Mick Cronin or (Michigan State coach) Tom Izzo.”

And Brown’s assets do not stop at his perimeter shooting.

Standing at 6-foot-5, Brown’s length and bulk will make him an impactful rebounder that will help the team clean up the glass from the small forward spot. The Bruins ranked No. 15 last year in the Big Ten in rebounds per game and could see even lower numbers after the departure of Mara and Johnson, the team’s first and third-ranked rebounders from 2024.

Brown averaged a team-best 7.4 boards per game last season for the University of Missouri-Kansas City and has already impressed Cronin with his rebounding tenacity and willpower to get every loose ball.

“There are two kinds of players, guys that help you win and guys that don’t. They come in all shapes and sizes,” Cronin said. “Jamar Brown is going to help you win, because if you don’t block him out, he’s getting every offensive rebound. You don’t say that about many shooters. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a shooter where I said that about – his mindset is to get every offensive rebound.”