Transfer Portal for the win! ... if Cronin behaves like that in public, imagine what he does in private
UCLA coach Mick Cronin said Friday he apologized to Steven Jamerson II for sending the center to the locker room late in a blowout loss at No. 15 Michigan State after he committed a hard foul.
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"Cronin joked that Jamerson "asked me for $10,000 more in NIL because of that."
He went on to speak glowingly of Jamerson, who played three seasons at the University of San Diego before transferring to UCLA last summer for his final year of eligibility. Jamerson has started once in 26 games, averaging 2.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 11.3 minutes. He was unsuccessful in walking on at Michigan State earlier in his career.
"Steve is everything that's good about college basketball," Cronin said. "He's everything that I believe in about college basketball. That being said, I'm trying to protect, like I take it really seriously. Our guys don't get techs. We're not taking guys out in the air."
Cronin said he's sometimes too candid in his comments. He has complained about travel and tipoff times since UCLA joined the Big Ten last season and been harshly critical of his players at times after games. After the Michigan State loss, he also had a testy reply to a reporter's question about Spartan fans.
"I have to do a better job of this, that in this climate, you've got to be careful with what you say. I'm a good fit here because I know I'm not bigger than the brand and the brand matters here, the school matters. The last thing I want to do is bring negative publicity to our school," Cronin said.
"I apologize to our people -- school, students, everybody in our community -- because it's important. These jobs, you gotta raise money, you gotta be friends with donors, I mean I believe in all that stuff."
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