Mick Cronin describes emotions of having his dad come to potential 500th win

UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin is rapidly approaching a major milestone. His next win is going to be the 500th of his career.

In preparation for the celebration that comes with that kind of milestone, Cronin’s father is traveling to Los Angeles to be there in person. It’s a moment that Cronin himself is certainly anticipating, but knows it will be made much more emotional by having his father there in person.

“Look, he’s 83,” Mick Cronin said. “You get to a certain point, and I don’t know how old you guys are with your father, the fact that he’s alive is a gift. So, although I pay for everything and have for about the last 15 years, which is an honor to be able to pay your dad back, still paying for everything but I’m glad because when somebody’s 83 knock on wood his health has been great.”

Mick Cronin grew up in Cincinnati. There, his father Hep Cronin was a high school basketball coach. There, he would have more than 400 career wins. Unsurprisingly, that’s where Mick Cronin would get his love for the sport and from coaching.

“I look forward to calling him every day driving over the mountain… like, yesterday, he sent me the pictures. There was complete snow in Cincinnati. The fact that he can take a picture is — so, anyway, happy,” Cronin said. “Yeah, happy. That’s why I was wondering why he was coming for this one and not the Michigan State game.”

Mick Cronin got his first head coaching job at Murray State in 2003 and since then has worked his way from there to Cincinnati and ultimately to UCLA. Along the way, he’s accumulated a record of 499-231, including a 134-60 record at UCLA, where he’s taken the Bruins to the Final Four.

It’s a career that has seen Cronin take on lessons from his father. Those lessons are things he works to apply to the job he’s doing.

“When you’re a high school coach, you don’t coach for money. It’s all about relationships and teaching. That’s what coaching used to be about. I try to hold on to that,” Cronin said.

“And I know people at times are like, ‘This guy’s hard on his players.’ I try to be a truth-teller because I want these guys to grow up because they live in a fantasy land, and it’s not their fault. I know people say, ‘He calls his players delusional.’ It’s not their fault, we have created the fantasy land. The commercialization of youth sports, pay-for-play, and all the money and branding that surrounds this whole thing. It puts them in a fantasy land that’s not going to be there for them when the ball stops bouncing. That’s what I try to prepare them for… that’s what my dad was about and that’s what I try to be about.”

UCLA’s next game is scheduled for Tuesday night against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The hope for Mick Cronin is that there won’t be a wait for win number 500 and the monkey will be quickly off his back.