Mick Cronin sends clear message on ‘turnover-itis’

On Saturday, the UCLA Bruins enjoyed a dominant victory over Pac-12 rival Washington State. Still, Bruins head coach Mick Cronin was not thrilled with his team’s performance on their homecourt due to what he called turnover-itis. After the game, Cronin sent a pretty clear message to his team about the high turnover mark going forward.

“We had some turnover-itis. We had some possessions, three in a row. As you can see, I was trying to make a point tonight,” said Cronin. “You’re not playing if you’re turning the ball over. Because we won’t win the Pac-12, we won’t go where we want to go in the NCAA tournament if you turn the ball over. And I told them we will lose at Oregon State; if you go on the road and turn the ball over, you will lose. If you look at my record, since we rebuilt Cincinnati, my road record is pretty good. It’s because my teams take care of the ball. It’s how you win on the road.”

In the 76-52 victory, the no. 7 ranked team in the country had a much better performance hanging on to the ball than they did in the game prior to Saturday’s contest. Against the Washington Huskies, Cronin’s Bruins finished the game with 18 turnovers. In comparison, against the Cougars, that total dropped down to 10 total turnovers for the game.

With the NCAA tournament right around the corner, UCLA must hold themselves to high expectations. The Bruins have had one of the better teams in the country for much of the season, which should bode well when it comes tournament time. But if they do not have their turnover-itis under control by then, it could mean an early exit in March.

Cronin jokes about ‘head coach disease,’ quotes Bill Walton on trade-offs at UCLA

UCLA‘s basketball team has eight games remaining on their regular season schedule, four at home and four on the road. Head coach Mick Cronin sent an email to the Bruins’ students to encourage them to attend their remaining home games. But at a recent press conference, Cronin made it clear that he wasn’t the sender, joking that he suffers from an interesting illness.

“Well the athletic department sent it out for me, I’m very not capable. See after certain years you get HCD, head coach disease. You can’t find your keys, can’t do anything but coach,” Cronin said.

Cronin shared a story about an example of him showing symptoms of head coach disease that happened recently on a UCLA game day.

“Last game I got here for Thursday, I came through mid-morning, shoot around, 6 o’clock game, somebody had to turn my car off for me. It was running all day,” Cronin admitted. “They talked to me about the email, I thought it was a great idea, but yeah I wasn’t the sender.”

Hopefully Cronin wins his fight with HCD, and hopefully the Bruins’ faithful can fill up Pauley Pavilion to close out the season, as he was also asked how much he wants a packed house for their four remaining home games.