During his seven years at UCLA, coach Mick Cronin has developed a reputation for his forthright comments, not just about his players but also about himself and sometimes even the media, following games. After suffering an 82-59 defeat against No. 15 Michigan State at the Breslin Center, he called out a reporter for asking what he labeled the dumbest question of his coaching career. This question referenced a chant from Spartan students for former Michigan State player Xavier Booker, who is now with the Bruins.
Here are some of Cronin’s most notable postgame remarks from this season.
November 3rd: Following an 80-74 win over Eastern Washington
Cronin expressed his frustration, suggesting he might want to fire himself due to the team’s defensive shortcomings. He declared intentions to bench players who weren’t pulling their weight defensively.
“When you have the wrong attitude, it shows,” he asserted. “I do hold myself accountable because I anticipated tonight’s issues and didn’t do a good job of addressing them.”
November 25th: After an 80-72 loss to California
He said it was clear the team wasn’t ready to compete, which led to their loss against a familiar Pac-12 opponent.
“That’s on me,” he said. “They outplayed us. Our team’s mentality has been terrible lately, affecting our performance. When you face off against someone, that initial confidence is key, but we can’t even make free throws. You could say we have weak defenses.”
January 3rd: After a 74-61 loss to Iowa
Cronin was frustrated that his team waited until they were in a deep hole to start exhibiting effort.
“You can’t decide to play hard only when things go your way,” he noted. “Our offensive struggles led to a fall-off in our overall effort. We had a strategy, but with nine turnovers in the first half, we failed to execute that. I thought we were too soft initially – it’s disappointing that we had to make drastic adjustments just to toughen up.”
January 17th: After an 86-74 loss to Ohio State
Cronin took the blame for the team’s lackluster defense.
“I’m very disappointed in how it impacted me physically. No excuses. Blame me,” he stated. “If you can’t hold back the opposing team, you simply won’t win tough games.” When questioned about improving defense, he shrugged, “Nothing can be done. You can’t trade players. If you’re not tough enough to defend in this league, you’re bound to lose.”
January 31st: After a 98-97 loss to Indiana in double overtime
Cronin mentioned he had reviewed the Indiana team’s gameplay several times before the match, yet his players struggled to implement the strategy. He criticized them for letting offensive woes cloud their overall performance.
“We often sulked, and one missed shot carried over to the next. After leading by ten, we fell apart because we didn’t score for extended stretches. It felt like we were acting like toddlers who had just lost their favorite toy,” he complained.
