UCLA Coach Mick Cronin Apologizes For Being An Absolute Lunatic
Cronin has been running hot lately, so it's nice that cooler heads have prevailed.
UCLA head coach Mick Cronin has been making headlines lately for all the wrong reasons.
During a blowout loss to the Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing on Tuesday night, Cronin took it upon himself to eject his own player, Steven Jamerson II, after what he deemed to be a "dirty play."
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Cronin caught a ton of flak for this, especially since replays showed that Jamerson was going for the ball, which admittedly would have been hard to see from the other end where Cronin sat.
The fiery head coach wasn't done there, though.
After the game was over, Cronin joined the media scrum deep in the bowels of the Breslin Center, delivering one of the most memorable press conferences in quite some time, claiming he didn't care about Michigan State's student section and then chastising the reporter for even asking such a question.
Then, he doubled down and accused the reporter of raising his voice at him (which he absolutely did not).
The whole exchange is absolutely legendary.
Well, apparently Cronin had a few days to sleep on it, and he offered up a very long and sincere apology for (some of) his actions on Tuesday night.
"The last thing I want to do is bring negative publicity to our school."
Well, alright then!
All kidding aside, it's good that Cronin owned up to what was an honest mistake and that he and Jamerson are on good terms.
Cronin has been running hot lately, so it's nice that cooler heads have prevailed.
Unfortunately, we still haven't gotten a ruling on whether that reporter actually raised his voice at Cronin, and I didn't hear an apology for that exchange, so I doubt we will ever get to the bottom of that.
This really isn't anything new for Cronin, though.
He has a history of spouting off on a number of things while at UCLA, from the play of his players to the travel schedule for conference games. So, hopefully this is actually a sign of him turning over a new leaf.
Regardless, I'll be rooting for you, Mick!
College basketball is a lot better when UCLA and Mick Cronin are both nationally relevant, so I hope this marriage lasts a lot longer.