With all of our attention on John Brannen, has anyone noticed that Mick Cronin has taken a very scrappy and defensive minded team to the Elite 8 after only two years at the helm. So hard to see but i wish him well.
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I’m happy for Cronin. He is a good coach and now that he is no longer hamstrung by UC’s conference and has the UCLA brand to sell to recruits, he will be successful. If you think about his career, he needed to move on from UC to realize his potential. -
As my son said it must be a Cincinnati Jinx. Even though he probably will have better players at UCLA the Bearcats could never go to the tournament and have the opposing team shoot under 50% from the line.Comment
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I am happy for Mick! He can recruit pure scorers, then add in his defensive pixie dust and it is a formula for a really good basketball team. He had many great scorers at UC too, but only once did he go into the Tourney with multiple really good scorers up and down the lineup/bench: darn Nevada collapse.Red and Black are more of an Attitude than merely a color combination.
Intimidate! Dominate! Celebrate!Comment
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Think how different the narrative would be if UCLA had lost in OT. He would have been blamed for not fouling up 3, under 5 seconds to go. Then 22 point blown lead against Nevada would be out there again. As mentioned above, he's lucky Alabama lost so many FT's, that never happened when he coached UC. Purdue missed a bunch, but Larry Davis coached that game.
BTW, I think the UC team that lost to Nevada, and the team that made the final of the BE tournament in 2012, were both better than the team Mick had on the floor last night.Last edited by longtimefan; 03-29-2021, 03:09 PM.Comment
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This just got posted by Bill Koch on his blog.
Brent Wyrick
92 Final Four Front Row
@LobotC2DFWComment
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I was happy to see Mick's team doing so well and I hated to see him leave UC but I understand why he did.
I never really understood why so many people didn't like him.
I wish him well and follow his team a little.Comment
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I too understand why he had to move on, but he was okay and I didn't overly dislike him. Here are some of the reasons my friends said they didn't like him, or that I've read over the years. Some folks didn't like the way he ranted/raved on the sideline, Some didn't like the way he yanked players and didn't let players learn from mistakes while getting into the flow of the game. It's hard to get into the flow of the game if you're constantly looking over to the bench if you are getting replaced. Some didn't like the way he left Huggins and went to work for Pitino (who was at the hated rival Loserville). Others simply didn't like his slow/methodical approach to offense, though loved the defensive intensity.Red and Black are more of an Attitude than merely a color combination.
Intimidate! Dominate! Celebrate!Comment
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But he was winning though. He had multiple conference players of the year. Developed less starred players into Players. The man coached and lost to NBA talent when he lost in the tourney Ball, the Twins and a all American in the monster Garza which to me had some questionable calls down the stretch of that game. Houston had problems against him along with SMU. Big Up's to Coach Cronin, hope he gets a net tonight.Comment
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Cronin was loyal for 13 seasons. Through a grueling beginning. Not even on the same level if comparing coaches or in the same category. Brian Kelly even bolted before the game, Cronin stayed for the verbal bombardment from disloyal fans calling for his job. Set alot of records that came to an end this season. Final Four bound for some of the Cronin haters. Always been a UC Fan but you have to give it up when it's due. RespectComment
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Happy for Mick. Not actively rooting for UCLA, but feel good for him.
Also thinking about the many Xavier fans who, for years, would tell you how he wasn't a good coach + the lack of credit he often got from our own UC fans + the many nationally who laughed at UCLA's coaching search and "settling" on Cronin.Comment
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Spot in the Final Four richly deserved. That team showing a lot of character and fight!Comment
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Happy for Mick and I'm rooting for UCLA. I'd love to see UCLA vs Houston in the finals...and I'd love to see Mick win it.Comment
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