[31] They faced Gonzaga, who was seeking to become the first undefeated national champion since Indiana in 1976. Mick Cronin played guard for his father at La . He'll never say never, though. Only 19 at the time, Cronin readily agreed. He was anticipating going to college on a basketball scholarship.". Bolch is also the author of the recently released book 100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He previously covered UCLA basketball from 2010-11 before going on to cover the NBA and the Clippers for five years. He gets her to school on time. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the Pac-12 tournament. After Hep Cronin retired from coaching, he was a mainstay around Cincinnati's program, watching his son's practices and games while being available to offer advice. It's a rare situation that allows him to guide his alma mater, be a committed father and stay close to those he loves. . Aspect of the Ethereal. It might have been the last time anything frightened Mick. Everybody involved here knows we've gotta upgrade somehow. "We're trying to win the national f-----g championship!" His father comes to practices here. But Cronin is not the occasional father. That was it. Cronin wanted to play, not coach. Cronin arrived at UCLA having previously served as the head coach for the Cincinnati Bearcats for 13 seasons. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. When he returned to Cincinnati late last month for the first time since switching from Bearcat to Bruin, Cronin arrived bearing gifts a pile of UCLA shirts individually wrapped in plastic to give to family and friends. Mick and his older brother Dan once rolled Hot Wheels across the court at Heps game, forcing their dad to ask a referee to stop play as the Cronin boys heads popped up from beneath the bleachers. All hed care about was what note he was going to take. He wants a salary for both him and his assistants that matches some of the nation's other Top 25 programs. I explain to him the suns already coming up over the Santa Monica Mountains so Ive got to put my sunglasses on, Mick said. His brother and sister left the city for college before returning to plant deep roots, lured by the familiarity of what they had always known. He coached 3 league championship teams, was a district champion. That was my whole life.". On January 2, 2015, it was announced that, although doctors expected the condition to heal with rest and medication, Cronin would not coach the remainder of the season. Ellis had struggled with anger management after watching his mother be fatally stabbed. My daughter's never going to have to write a letter; I'm never going to sign a contract that says, 'I'm going to be there for you.'". Gaia. Mick loved the California lifestyle, the UCLA tradition and the local horseracing scene. Mick was so sure of his destiny that he wrote it inside his notebook: head college basketball coach. His mother, Peggy, lived in a building that once sat on the university's new baseball fields. He is serving his second stint as the UCLA beat writer, which seems fitting since he has covered almost every sports beat except hockey and horse racing. [39] The were eliminated by Gonzaga for the second time in three years. By then, Cronin had long mastered the relentless, pressing defense and highly structured offense favored by his father. "She called it the 'J.O.B.' But he also realized it would never be enough time. Enjoy it.'". Cronin joined Pitino's staff in 2001. He starred in a local Catholic youth league that allowed teams to play zone only because they couldn't stop the young, shifty Cronin with man-to-man matchups. Cronin was promoted to full-time assistant in 1997 and began making a name as one of the elite recruiters in the country. [9], Cronin became the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Louisville under Rick Pitino, beginning with the 200102 season. His father, Harold "Hep" Cronin, is a legend on the high school circuit here. He treated the gig as though he was leading North Carolina or Kansas. 2 seeded Alabama, reaching the Elite Eight for the first time in his coaching career (and the first for UCLA since 2008). His first civics lesson? Cronin became a part-time Scout for three state areas in 1980 and scouted and signed several . He was still in his mid-20s when Huggins hired him to be Cincinnati's video coordinator before he became a full-time assistant for the program in the late 1990s. Then, they'd join the older cats at Indian Hills prep in the evening. He starred in a local Catholic youth league that allowed teams to play zone only because they couldn't stop the young, shifty Cronin with man-to-man matchups. It's a good crazy, though -- birthed by an unyielding passion. Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter. A few minutes into a Cincinnati practice, as the Bearcats prepared for a midweek trip to UCF, everything seemed fluid and sleek. Cronin has missed three games since December 20, when. If you look at the beginning to where he is today, Vaccaro said, hes the Cinderella story of my life on the events I did watching kids growing up in the coaching element.. Cronin has tried to erect a wall between father and coach. Cronin inherited eight seniors in his first season as head coach at Murray State in 2003, along with their bad habits. He's never changed on me. Cronin wanted to play, not coach. In 1983 Hep lead the Highlanders to an undefeated regular season. [33] The Bruins lost 9390 in overtime after the Bulldogs' Jalen Suggs banked in a 40-foot (12m) shot as time expired in the game,[34] a match that featured 19 lead changes and 15 ties. "There was a lot of bumps, bruises, broken bones, blood," Mathis said. He returned as a senior but was never close to the same player. Cronin took his first college coaching job as a video coordinator under Bob Huggins at the University of Cincinnati in 199697, and the following season was elevated to assistant coach, a post he held at UC until 2001. But sometimes, Cronin has learned, you gotta stay. Vaccaro never imagined that the young high school assistant whose boundless energy made him seem like a little puppy dog might one day take over at UCLA. As a child growing up on the west side of town, he used to follow his father Harold "Hep" Cronin -- a highly successful local high school coach with more than 400 career wins -- around the gyms of Cincinnati. But the scrappiest matchups were held in Mathis' backyard. There's a half-eaten Chick-fil-A sandwich and a collection of fries on the table. He's Cincinnati's coach. In recent years, he's fielded calls from schools that have offered multimillion-dollar contracts for supposedly greener pastures. It's one thing to lose a tough one on the road, another to come so close to victory in a sellout at home. The foursome included a walk-on, a tight end on the football team and a former NAIA player who arrived after Hurricane Katrina ravaged his school in New Orleans. . And he wasn't sure how his relationship with Sammi would evolve given the new terms of their interaction. He once snuck into Louisville's Freedom Hall with his friends to watch John Wooden lead Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and UCLA to a win over Houston in the 1967 Final Four. He treks through the snow in his black UGG boots here. Watch out TG!!! His brother, Dan, starred at Bethel College in basketball and baseball, and was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1988. Earlier that day, his father, Harold Hep Cronin, took a visitor on a tour of some of his sons favorite haunts. The Bearcats stumbled to an 11-19 record in Cronins first season, but their fortunes began to turn once he landed prep stars Yancy Gates and Cashmere Wright prior to his third season and Lance Stephenson prior to his fourth. And he wants to build a perennial powerhouse, too. [3] Hep Cronin was a high school coach with more than 400 career wins in Cincinnati. A pull-out radio had been installed, but the wires were crossed so that flipping it on only turned on the heater. He took up residence in a sprawling mansion alongside doctors and entrepreneurs. One of Hep's biggest finds was David Justice, the three-time All-Star who won two World Series. While he was completing his undergraduate work at the University of Cincinnati, he served as an assistant varsity coach and . How is the issue.". "Somebody had enough gas in a car to get there," Cronin said. And it's an attitude his players love. He loved his hometown dearly but sensed his storybook rise from junior varsity high school basketball coach to the head job at the University of Cincinnati might have another chapter left in some destination more exotic than the Bearcats newly renovated arena. "The rest of them have bad seats. The hours spent teaching classes. Cronin annually spoke with the Young Executive Group of the Catholic Inner-City Schools Education (CISE) Fund. He then moved on to East Coast Supervisor then Midwest Supervisor before becoming a National Supervisor in 2004. "Bye-bye," she tells the smitten gawkers as she walks down the hallway. The Bulldogs' Julian Strawther made a 35-foot (11m) basket with six seconds remaining, and they held on for the win. Cronin had game, but he didn't have any cartilage in his right knee. Cronin said he doesn't want her to think that his commitment to her is based on the outcome of a game. Fifth Third Arena's average attendance of 9,253 (capacity 13,176) was 48th nationally last year. Not only did his father coach basketball, he also was a teacher, a baseball scout for the Atlanta . They'd start at La Salle, Withrow or Purcell high schools in the afternoon. After the 200506 season, he was hired as Cincinnati's coach, replacing interim coach Andy Kennedy after the dismissal of Bob Huggins. Cronin became a part-time Scout for three state areas in 1980 and scouted and signed several Major League players including Rookie of the Year David Justice in 1988. But he had to get his fix somehow after knee injuries ended his career. I said, No, Im not stopping. Cincy entered the season as a sleeper in the American but could end the year as its champion. pic.twitter.com/9ILEhXStvH, - Mick Cronin (@CoachCroninUC) January 20, 2014. When the balls on the ground and theyre dribbling the ball, how are you defending? Hours after his program participated in the infamous brawl with Xavier two years ago, Cronin was at home playing Chutes and Ladders with Sammi. His mysterious suit guy -- he won't name him -- is here. That's why officials at the university have already commenced conversations about the matter. Dr. Harold Cronin, MD is a pediatrics specialist in Bridgeport, CT. Dr. Cronin completed a residency at Bridgeport Hosp. However, Cronin said he felt great and that he would be able to continue to oversee the program and be involved in recruiting. Im seeing my son, Hep recalled Friday during a telephone interview with The Times. By 2006, he'd been hired to lead to his alma mater and hometown squad after Huggins resigned. Ben Bolch has been a Los Angeles Times staff writer since 1999. Cronin and an assistant contacted Evans every time they were allowed to under NCAA rules, sustaining their pursuit until he signed a letter of intent. And Id say something like, Mick, youre not even playing Friday; Im not hurt. Shumate became immersed in core philosophies that go much deeper than a commitment to rebounding and a defense that some have described as a matchup man-to-man. Mick routinely teases his father about being stuck in frigid Cincinnati during morning conversations while driving to work in Westwood. He would be over there taking notes and Im sitting there eating M&Ms, laughing and cutting up and seeing what girl I could go talk to, said Dan, the starting point guard whom Mick backed up through his sophomore season. Someday, Cronin said of his postponed trip while standing in the remodeled kitchen of his Cincinnati home that was back on the market. But Cronin was busy tobogganing with Sammi, not dwelling on the loss to Louisville. Cronin is the third highest-paid NCAA basketball coach. . The Bearcats have reached the NCAA tournament in three consecutive seasons. His mysterious suit guy -- he won't name him -- is here. Just Sammi. Cronin stayed at Murray State for three years, though the schools athletic officials already were bracing for his departure after he won 28 games in his debut season and landed recruits who easily could have headed to more high-profile programs. Cronin was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year in his first season with the Bruins in 201920. He was anticipating going to college on a basketball scholarship.". [9][18] In 2016, the UC board of trustees approved a 2-year extension that would have taken Cronin through the 202223 season. It wasnt long before the fledgling coach realized how far ahead of his counterparts he already was thanks to his fathers influence. For the 200910 season, Cronin was able to successfully recruit Lance Stephenson, the all-time leading scorer in New York state high school basketball history who later had NBA stints with multiple teams. Mick played only at the end of blowouts and couldnt even hit the rim with the ball. Mick Cronin also spent two years under Pitino at Louisville before taking the top job at Murray State. Cronin arrived at UCLA after 13 seasons as the head coach at his alma mater, the University of Cincinnati (2006-19), and three seasons as the head coach at Murray State (2003-06). Youre not even going to get in the game, what do you care? When the balls in the air, are you blocking out? Bolch was once selected by NBA TVs The Starters as the Worst of the Week after questioning their celebrity journalism-style questions at an NBA All-Star game and considers it one of his finer moments. Cronin never raised his voice or stomped his feet as he directed his squad in the intense defensive drills -- three players clunked their heads during one hectic scramble for a loose ball -- that condition a program rated fifth in adjusted defensive efficiency, per Ken Pomeroy. "The problem is only three or four [thousand] of them have good seats," Cronin said. He's hard on you just because he wants what's best for you.". Nevertheless, he refused to quit until his final high school game. Cronin has tried to erect a wall between father and coach. He graduated from college here. It would all lead somewhere, he thought. he growled. Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame at Midway Stadium, Mick Cronins Dad is a Famous Baseball Scout & His Sons Biggest Fan, St. Paul Saints to Induct Harold Cronin into Scout Hall of Fame (May 12, 2008). It was pretty brutal at times.". And he wants to build a perennial powerhouse, too. The opportunities haven't been worth the risk of squandering the contentment he's found in his hometown. Although Cronin's teams struggled early in his UC career, he improved the school's win total each of his first five seasons. Leon liked that Cronin upgraded his defense and challenged his strategy. It's reasonable to question how a Division I coach manages his duties as a single parent -- Cronin is a bachelor -- and leader of a nationally ranked program. [14] Cronin had to pick up the pieces from a depleted program after Huggins was asked to resign with no warning three months before the 2005 season, and a temporary coach was used for a season. [3], Attending La Salle High School, the 5-foot-7-inch (1.70m) Cronin, playing point guard for his dad,[6][7][8] earned all-city honors in basketball at LaSalle. Sammi's "My Little Pony" backpack rests at an awkward angle on the couch, obviously tossed there by a carefree first-grader. That's why they trust him when he tells them he's more interested in their quality of life than their ability to help him win games. "Somebody had enough gas in a car to get there," Cronin said. I can only imagine how difficult the Nevada loss was to him.. He's someone I actually look up to.". 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