UCLA hiring Mick Cronin | Page 3 | The Boneyard

UCLA hiring Mick Cronin

The way that this hiring process played out is going to put pressure on Mick to win immediately. UCLA fans feel like the school “settled” on Mick after missing on the guys they really wanted. Mick should have taken a page out of the Barnes playbook and used their offer to get himself a raise at Cincy.
 
I was jokey about it before in other threads but he should do fine out there. If he can get kids to play hard like they did when he was with Cincy they could start out toughing some of those teams out there and win some games. If he can score some 5-stars with the UCLA brand then they might go places. Even past the second round maybe.

Wonder what his buyout is going to be. Didn’t they offer Barnes upwards of 5 mil?
 
The only way for Cincinnati to survive this is pitino or matta. Otherwise the AAC has added one more bottom feeder. Terrific.
 
Matrim55 said:
I'm going to go against the grain here and say that this is an exceptional hire for UCLA. They need stability and toughness, and Mick will give them both. Plus he'll get some 5-stars, which should get them to the 2nd weekend pretty regularly (and third weekend occasionally).

They'll play like Virginia, tho. I do wonder if UCLA fans will sit still for that...
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Totally agree, just what they and he needs to succeed. He will be able to get more talented recruits and add a toughness there which is in my opinion what they seemed to lack most of the time. Recipe for success. I don’t like him but.....nice move.
 
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One good thing they have is an ad who appears to be in touch if his hire in football is any indication, and a newly refurbished arena. Also, interesting as they have a solid fan base who appears from most comments to welcome the change and yes they are hoping for a more offensive oriented guy. What does Hurley make?
 
kobe said:
DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES??? HAHAHAHA YESSSSSSSSSS

THIS IS AN AMAZING DAY. MAYBE LIKE THE 32ND BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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LOL LOL. Your avatar always make me laugh. "Expert in round of 32 flame outs" LOL LOL.

Seriously, I am happy for you-we all know you didn't think Cronin was good for your BearCats. Who do you think Cincy will hire as HC?
 
intlzncster said:
Do you honestly thing you are going to do better though?
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Thad Matta is at least somewhat realistic and possibly better.

After that...you’re gambling on mid major guys.
 
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My understanding is that Barnes is supplementing part of Mick’s contract from the raise Tenn gave him for not leaving. A win for everyone.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
Just an absolute clinic by UCLA in how to conduct a coaching search.
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Books that will never be written:

“How to conduct a great head basketball coach search by Dan Guerrero”
 
I've watched much lesser schools like Houston and SMU revive (or, vive in SMU's case) their moribund programs in this conference. Cincy will exceed them if they make the right hire. I don't think Cronin was anything special. His recruiting didn't really stand out. Remember, this school produced multiple NBA stars under Huggy, and they did it in a crap conference. Although I have to admit, I am concerned that Nick Lachey is going to spend some of his considerable bank account to help land a great coach.
 
RipCity said:
I love that people here truly believe they’re thinking critically by implying that because Mick Cronin is short, bald, and Irish that he couldn’t possibly make it in California.

He’s going there to coach basketball not to steal Blake Lively from Ryan Reynolds.
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It's not the short, bald and Irish part, it's the loud, abrasive, blue collar part. That's not LA, or more specifically, that's not UCLA. Nor is his playing style which fits his persona. LA is Showtime, Mick isn't.

If he wins, he'll be fine because winning cures all. But if he is just mediocre, I think his personality will be problematic.
 
the Q said:
Thad Matta is at least somewhat realistic and possibly better.

After that...you’re gambling on mid major guys.
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Thad would likely be better. But he's taken his name out of multiple coaching searches recently, even after meeting with some schools.

Say they did somehow land him, how long is his health gonna hold up? Might be looking for a new coach in 2 years. So there's a gamble there too.
 
Chuck said:
It's not the short, bald and Irish part, it's the loud, abrasive, blue collar part. That's not LA, or more specifically, that's not UCLA. Nor is his playing style which fits his persona. LA is Showtime, Mick isn't.

If he wins, he'll be fine because winning cures all. But if he is just mediocre, I think his personality will be problematic.
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There couldn’t be a more NON Los Angeles typology than John Wooden. He was just not a fit. Then he started WINNING. Like no one else ever had or will. (Neither was Terry Donahue glitzy)

LA is notoriously front running fanbases. But Win is the key.
 
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BigErnMcCracken said:
Just an absolute clinic by UCLA in how to conduct a coaching search.
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Say what you want about UCONN right now, but they focused on one coach, and land him. Against decent P5 competition, they got their guy One of the best candidates on the market that year too.

It doesn't seem like UCLA even planned much in advance. They should have been laying groundwork all year.
 
intlzncster said:
Say what you want about UCONN right now, but they focused on one coach, and land him. Against decent P5 competition, they got their guy One of the best candidates on the market that year too.

It doesn't seem like UCLA even planned much in advance. They should have been laying groundwork all year.
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I still am really curious what the search would’ve looked like if Hurley chose Pitt.

We might’ve been looking a lot like UCLA did
 
the Q said:
I still am really curious what the search would’ve looked like if Hurley chose Pitt.

We might’ve been looking a lot like UCLA did
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With Cronin as the coach ?
 
ben howland v. 2.0. soft, weak, lousy ucla gets 'tough, gritty, eastern coach', who has never won anything to turn program around. meh. signed, a former bruins fan.
 
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the Q said:
I still am really curious what the search would’ve looked like if Hurley chose Pitt.

We might’ve been looking a lot like UCLA did
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According to some people, Frank Martin. Glad we didn't miss.

While not on the up and up, I think we were laying early groundwork with Hurley throughout the year. And I'm happy the AD did that.
 
Cronin was not a great recruiter but he got the most out of his players and he knew which players fit his system.

I assume Cumberland leaves for NBA now.
 
intlzncster said:
According to some people, Frank Martin. Glad we didn't miss.

While not on the up and up, I think we were laying early groundwork with Hurley throughout the year. And I'm happy the AD did that.
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I have a few friends in Rhode Island who were convinced of this as well. If not had it close to done before the season ended.
 
intlzncster said:
According to some people, Frank Martin. Glad we didn't miss.

While not on the up and up, I think we were laying early groundwork with Hurley throughout the year. And I'm happy the AD did that.
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Nothing nefarious took place. Schools have contact with agents all the time. Hurley had also been pretty open about having only a handful of jobs he’d leave for. He’s kind of an open book that way. Add in the frustration with continually being promised (but not delivered) programmatic improvements and the graduation of guys who he promised he’d always coach, and it was easy to see how it would play out. The conspiracies of Moore being some kind of double agent sure are fun to read about, though. It’s only a handful of URI fans. Most get what he did for that program, while he was there and on his way out.
 
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