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Jay Bilas rips Mick Cronin for postgame rant after Michigan loss: 'That, to me, looked simply like blame'

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•about 12 hours•

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Jay Bilas
© Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

After coming back to take a lead against Michigan this week, UCLA ended up falling to the Wolverines after getting outscored 32-14 in the final 11 minutes. That led to a fiery postgame rant from Mick Cronin in the postgame press conference, and it didn’t sit well with ESPN’s Jay Bilas.

Cronin called his team “soft” and “delusional” as he questioned the Bruins’ effort in the 94-75 home loss. He also questioned how much they wanted to win, citing multiple key plays during his response.

To Bilas, the rant didn’t seem like a coach trying to show accountability. Instead, he argued it was more “blame” from Cronin.

“I didn’t care for what Mick had to say after the loss to Michigan,” Bilas said on ESPN College GameDay. “Coaches like to talk about accountability a lot, and rightfully so. Accountability’s important in everything. But I don’t think that’s what accountability really looks like. That, to me, looked simply like blame.

“I heard a lot of ‘I.’ ‘I’m doing this and I’m doing that, and nobody else is doing it.’ One, I don’t think that’s true. But that’s for him to decide, not me. But I didn’t care for it. Oftentimes, when I hear something like that – and it’s not often – I think of what Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers says. He says he loves coaches that resist the responsibility of coaching because they’re easy to beat. When you talk negatively about your players, what you’re really doing is seeking comfort because your teaching is struggling.”

Cronin didn’t just call out the UCLA players, though. He also expressed his frustration with his coaching staff. But Bilas pointed out Cronin recruited the players on the roster and hired the coaches, and he turned the question about effort around.

“Mick Cronin recruited all those players,” Bilas said. “He brought them in. And he hired all those coaches. I get it. Coaches like to think they’re more passionate and they’re tougher than their players. I happen to think this is true – Mick Cronin is not tougher than his players. When he was playing, he would not have gotten one loose ball, one rebound against the guys he’s got now. That would not happen. I don’t believe any of that, and I don’t think it’s productive.

“But if he had said the same thing in the confines of the locker room to his players, that’s fine. When you do that publicly, I don’t care for it. Maybe his players do. Maybe they’ll respond positively to it. I don’t think it’s the right thing to do. But that’s his decision, not mine. I’m just saying what I think of it.”

UCLA’s first game after that postgame rant came Friday night – a 71-60 loss to Maryland. Cronin was ejected in the second half of the matchup after receiving back-to-back technical fouls.