For 100 days, the UCLA Bruins have been without a full-time head basketball coach. It’s almost unthinkable that a program as storied as UCLA would struggle so mightily to fill its vacancy, but their grand plans to land a big name fell through each time due to a lack of funds (or willingness to part with those funds).
John Calipari famously had “interest” in UCLA, only to return to Kentucky on a lifetime deal. Jamie Dixon was also in discussions, but the Bruins weren’t willing to pay for his $8 million buyout, so he remains at TCU. Rick Barnes, who led Tennessee to the Elite Eight this year, was also reportedly in deep discussion, before that fell through and he chose to stick with the Vols as UCLA’s offer wasn’t even as much as his initial deal at Tennessee.
Throughout the UCLA coaching search debacle, one name has remained: Mick Cronin, head coach at Cincinnati. While clearly not the top choice, he always seemed like the most realistic quality option given the money situation in Westwood and on Tuesday, the school made that hire official.
Welcome to Westwood, Coach Cronin!#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/8nBU5nNxaY
— UCLA Athletics (@UCLAAthletics) April 9, 2019
How Cronin’s hardnosed style meshes with the UCLA program remains to be seen, as does his ability to recruit on the west coast, but his record at Cincinnati stands on its own. He’s led the Bearcats, his alma mater, to nine straight NCAA Tournament appearances and made them into one of the most consistent high mid-majors in the country.
UCLA was an intriguing enough job to pull Cronin away from Cincy, with the allure of trying to bring the Bruins back to prominence on a national scale too enticing to pass up.
