UCLA head coach Mick Cronin spoke extensively about Indiana’s soon to be open head coaching position following his team’s 72-68 win over the Hoosiers.
You can read his full remarks below.
For a full bio on Cronin, GO HERE:
On midseason coaching changes and whether he’d have any interest in the IU job opening:
CRONIN: “I just think it’s tough to do that stuff during the season. But actually, you know, the whole thing’s gotten so crazy because we had a couple coaches that did it. Tony [Bennett] and coach [Jim] Larranaga. They did it. Leonard [Hamilton]. The coach I replaced, it happened to him during the season. I don’t like to see that.
“As far as me, I would never comment on a coaching situation. It would be wildly inappropriate because I’m the son of a coach, and the way I look at it is that Mike Woodson’s the coach at Indiana. Now, that man’s coaching his basketball team, and he was a national champion. I happen to know him. I know Kenya Hunter on his staff extremely well for many years and have tremendous respect for their kids and their team. To me, nobody should say anything that distracts anything with them with that. So I just think it would be wildly inappropriate, mostly for what I said, my respect for coach Woodson. He’s over there coaching his team. That’s all that anybody needs to – I understand you guys gotta do your job and ask. That’s my stance on that stuff.”
What is his reaction to being listed on hot boards for the IU job?
CRONIN: “You know what, here’s how I look at that stuff. I might be on your hot boards. They might want my ass fired on our hot boards. That’s how I look at that. So hey, man, I stay off the hot boards. I’m just telling you, man, that’s just the way it is. You can go from one board to the other real quick. Hired then fired, you know what I’m saying.”
What is the national appeal of the Indiana job?
CRONIN: “There’s obviously blue blood jobs, and people write these articles now, like what’s – because we haven’t won the title since ‘95. So it’s never gonna change. The Yankees are always going to be the Yankees. UCLA basketball, Indiana basketball is always gonna be – that’s just the way it is. So I don’t think, even though, what’s it been since coach, since Steve [Alford] won it? 87, yeah, so it’s still the Hoosiers, man.”
Does Indiana’s history still matter in regard to the national appeal of the program?
CRONIN: “Here’s what I would tell you about programs, okay. I think programs, they’ve changed because of the new rules. I used to always say you gotta have support commensurate with expectations, okay. Now, I can’t answer those questions, only for UCLA. You gotta have support commensurate with expectations. To be a great program, you gotta have great tradition, and you gotta have great fans and the backbone support of all the guys and your tradition that played. For me, I got guys like Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] and Mike Warren and Jamaal Wilkes, guys that are just tremendous, supportive guys at every game. That’s important as well.
“Now you gotta tack on the NIL and whatever the new rule is with revenue share. So you gotta throw those two in. But I just think back to the big-time tradition, support, and your fanbase, your former players. So you would know the answer to what’s in tact here. I know my mentality. I walk out here and I see coach Knight just like I walk out of my job and see coach Wooden. That’s just what I see. I said to your guys, people at the scorer’s table before the tipoff, I said, man, I don’t know, coach Knight might be rolling over in his grave looking at those uniforms. Adidas must have talked them into that. When I was at Cincinnati, we were with Adidas. They had us wearing some crazy neon stuff one time too, so that’s what I was thinking about when I saw those uniforms.”
What would you say to UCLA fans who might worried about you leaving UCLA?
CRONIN: “I would say some people might be happy, because some people probably are on boards wanting me fired. I mean, this is just the way, you gotta understand, that stuff in this business – and I’m being dead serious – your popularity rating when you’re a coach, you have to check your ego. They booed John Calipari at Kentucky, okay. Do you know what he did there? They say, well, he’s the opposing coach. They wouldn’t have booed Bob Knight if he walked in here, I can promise you that. I can promise you that. So that’s just the way it is, man. So I’m well aware that I might be on a board for a job, but my board, somebody might want me to lose my job. And I know I’m laughing, but I’m being serious, man. We get our ass beat Tuesday, I think we play, go ahead, check our boards.”
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