In Reply to: Re: Giving Cronin a pass ? * posted by barrya on May 11, 2026 at 08:13:14
I’m not so sure, barry. I understand that’s what’s been reported, but there’s also been some contradictory information out there. For example, in the end-of-year Times article, Bolch quoted Mara saying he was unsure whether he was coming back. Beyond that, Mara himself has disputed that any assurances were made. We also haven’t heard directly from Cronin on the issue. He’s been intentionally vague and has avoided giving a clear answer, saying he doesn’t want to discuss it. At the same time, when asked how Mara’s situation related to Dent’s signing, Cronin seemed to imply Mara wasn’t one of the key pieces Dent cared about. Take that however you want, but to me, that says quite a bit.
At this point, I don’t think anyone is going to change their opinion on the situation, but I also don’t blame Mara at all. It’s hard for me to fault a player for making the decision he felt was best for his future. From his perspective, the choice probably came down to going somewhere he believed he’d be utilized the way their previous center was, versus potentially ending up in a role similar to the one he had for two years at UCLA.
If I put myself in his shoes, my guess is he felt he should have played more — and honestly, a lot of us felt the same way. So I can understand why he may have been uncertain about how things would play out for him at UCLA moving forward.
What I don’t really understand is why some people seem so willing to give Cronin a pass on this one. Cronin does a lot of things well, and there’s no question he’s been successful, but he’s not above criticism either. In this case, I think he clearly mishandled the situation. The reality is he had a premier talent in his program and never fully utilized him. Some people justified it by saying Mara was too soft, but even if that were true, he apparently wasn’t “too soft” at Michigan. Ultimately, Cronin wasn’t able to convince him that his opportunity was truly coming next year, and that says something too.