In Reply to: Don't think Cronin can recover from the setbacks of last 2 years posted by DCfan on May 28, 2026 at 09:32:28
I know some just want to bend over backwards to be charitable to Cronin, regardless of how many times he acts like a petulant child in front of cameras (or during games). I question what this guy has done at UCLA to merit your unwavering respect.
Let's recall that Cronin was our fourth choice to replace Steve Alford. That bears repeating: three other coaches told us no (or were unable to take the job due to contract complications, ie: Barnes) before we got to our Plan D. Mick Cronin is not a guy who had EVER been on our radar as a possible UCLA coach. He just never distinguished himself as a head coach, in ways that would warrant consideration for an elite coaching job. His getting this job was virtually unforeseeable and even implausible. And yet, we were desperate.
The roster Cronin inherited was brilliantly constructed. Even though Alford's on-court success left a lot to be desired, he was KILLING it with his recruiting. Alford brought Jaquez, Campbell, Singleton, Bernard, Riley, Nwuba, Ali, and J Hill to UCLA. Alford created the foundation for our Final Four run in 2021. Cronin barely even reached the tournament that year.
So here we are, five seasons later, and the program has floudnered and stagnated. No high level players want to play for Cronin, and the Mara and Dent situations only make this worse.
What's interesting is that so many here don't think we can do better than Cronin. That strikes me as craven and pessimistic. UCLA can absolutely hire a better coach than this moron, and ultimatley we will. And once Cronin is gone, we can all go back to ignoring him like we did before the UCLA job fell into his lap.