, Scott Drew

Mick Cronin rose through the coaching ranks in the late 1990s and early 2000s and steadily established himself at Murray State, Cincinnati and now UCLA. A fiery coach with strong Midwest ties, Cronin has frequently been mentioned as a candidate to take over in Bloomington.

Cronin was born and raised in Cincinnati. The 53-year-old started his collegiate coaching career as a video coordinator under Bob Huggins at Cincinnati in 1996.

He quickly earned a promotion to assistant the following year and built a reputation as a recruiter, landing several future NBA players for the Bearcats.

After five seasons under Huggins, Cronin left Cincy to become Rick Pitino’s associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Louisville in 2001. Two seasons later, he accepted his first head coaching job at Murray State.

In three seasons leading the Racers, Cronin put together a 69-24 record with two NCAA tournament appearances. He was the 2006 Ohio Valley Conference coach of the year.

Following the 2005-06 season, Cronin returned to his roots and took over Cincinnati a year after Huggins was asked to resign months before the season started.

Cronin’s first two seasons finished with losing records and the following two just scraped over .500. Then, the turnaround commenced.

Cronin’s squads had 22-plus wins in nine consecutive seasons, making the NCAA tournament every year. The program reached one Sweet 16 and four second-round appearances.

Cincinnati’s postseason struggles were glaring. Despite consistent regular season success, Cronin’s teams fell early year after year. Most notable was 2017-18, when the Bearcats earned a No. 2 seed in the tournament but collapsed, allowing a 22-point second-half comeback to No. 7 seed Nevada in the second round.

In 2019, Cronin headed west and left his alma mater and hometown, accepting the UCLA gig and replacing former Hoosier captain Steve Alford.

After the COVID outbreak cut off the postseason, Cronin finally made his postseason breakthrough in his second season with the Bruins. His 2020-21 squad was among the last four in the NCAA tournament but made an incredible run few, if any, predicted.

As an 11-seed in the First Four, UCLA battled Michigan State in overtime before picking up double-digit wins over BYU and Abilene Christian to reach the Sweet 16. The Bruins kept it going, topping 2-seed Alabama in overtime then No. 1 seed Michigan in a thriller to reach the Final Four.

In an all-time classic, Cronin’s miracle run stopped at the hands of undefeated Gonzaga, as Jalen Suggs banked in a halfcourt shot at the buzzer in overtime to stop the Bruins in the national semifinal.

Cronin followed up his first Final Four with back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in 27 and 31-win seasons. Last season, the Bruins went 16-17 and missed the postseason entirely – Cronin’s first losing season since 2007-08 and first missed NCAA tournament since 2009-10.

This year, UCLA is 20-8 and firmly on pace to make the tournament, which would be Cronin’s 15th appearance in his 22nd year as a head coach. The Bruins recently beat IU 72-68 in Assembly Hall on Feb. 14.

Cronin’s teams adopt the fiery tenacity he displays on the sidelines. A hard-nosed, defensive-minded coach, this year’s Bruins currently rank No. 14 in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric.

Cronin has successfully utilized the transfer portal. Following last year’s losing season, the Bruins’s starting lineup consists of four transfers and one returnee. Johnny Juzang – the star of UCLA’s Final Four run – was a limited contributor his freshman year at Kentucky before blossoming under Cronin.

Cronin signed a six-year contract extension worth $4.1 million annually in March 2022. The LA Times’ Ben Bolch reported a $16 million buyout through March 31, 2025. It reduces to $10 million on April 1.

Addressing the IU opening following the win at Assembly Hall, Cronin avoided directly affirming or denying that his name was connected. Instead, he pointed to UCLA fans’ negative online opinions about him.

Although a hefty buyout, Cronin’s name will remain in conversations until dispelled.

Category: Coaching search

Filed to: Mick Cronin