IU basketball coaching candidate profile: Mick Cronin

This is the second in a series of profiles of potential candidates for Indiana’s open basketball head coaching position.

Candidate: Mick Cronin

Age: 53

Current position, tenure: UCLA head coach since 2019

Previous Jobs: Cincinnati head coach 2006-19; Murray State head coach 2003-06; Louisville assistant coach 2001-03; Cincinnati assistant coach 1996-2001

Accomplishments: Cronin went to 12 consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 2011 through 2023 at Cincinnati and UCLA, and took Murray State to the Big Dance in two of his three seasons with the Racers. He took the Bruins from the First Four to the Final Four in 2021, and followed that up with back-to-back Sweet 16 trips. He also reached the Sweet 16 with the Bearcats in 2012. Cronin’s UCLA team won the Pac-12 title in 2023, and he won AAC titles with Cincinnati in 2014 and 2018, along with an AAC Tournament championship in 2019. He’s compiled a 498-230 overall record in his career, and his combined record at UCLA and Cincinnati is 429-206 with a 212-120 conference record between the Big East, AAC, and Pac-12. Cronin has gone 15-14 in NCAA Tournament games.

Why it might work: Cronin, a Cincinnati native and a Bearcat alum, spent his entire coaching career in the midwest before he went to Los Angeles. He’s done well with the Bruins, but this would present an opportunity for him to land a job of similar stature closer to home. IU could also likely offer more money than Cronin is making at UCLA ($4.1 million per year, plus incentives), as well as stronger NIL for him to work with. His buyout is $16 million through March 31, and then it drops to $10 million.

Cronin has consistently put high-major teams into the NCAA Tournament, over a long period of time. He endured a difficult rebuild at Cincinnati, in similar fashion to Tom Crean at Indiana, and he didn’t reach March Madness in his first four seasons with the Bearcats. But in the 14 seasons since then, last year was his only year missing the tournament; obviously, the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but at 19-12 overall entering the Pac-12 Tournament, UCLA was a bubble team.

Nonetheless, this is the sort of success Indiana hasn’t had since Bob Knight left. The Hoosiers have had some strong Big Ten seasons, a few Sweet 16 trips and one Final Four, but they’ve had a lot of variance in their other seasons. Cronin’s record in March Madness may not inspire excessive confidence, but there are only six active coaches who have won NCAA titles, and only 13 active college head coaches have even reached the championship game. It’s likely that IU’s next head coach will not be part of that group.

And it would be a big step forward for IU to just consistently make the tournament, and then hope to catch fire with one or more of those dice rolls. Cronin puts his teams in positions to do that just about every year.

He’s also proven to be an adaptable coach through his career. He’s had good teams that excel offensively, and he’s had winners that rely on strong defense.

Why it might not work or happen: Cronin is already in a position that many would consider around the same tier as the Indiana job. It’s entirely possible that he doesn’t find IU alluring enough to leave Los Angeles.

Cynics or pessimists will have a less rosy outlook on Cronin’s March performance, as previously stated. 14 NCAA Tournament appearances is great, but it’s less impressive that only eight of those teams won at least one tournament game. Would Scott Dolson and Indiana find it compelling enough to give itself consistent rolls of the dice, or do they want someone with a better track record in the Big Dance?

Additionally, while Cronin has a wealth of experience coaching in the midwest, he’s never coached in Indiana. If that sort of in-state familiarity is important for IU, he may not be the best candidate.

Previous profiles:

Brad Stevens

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