Mick Cronin Rips "Delusional" UCLA Players in Another Public Tirade

Mick Cronin has become college basketball’s favorite Old Man that Yells at Clouds. The salty former Cincinnati coach has not softened his rough edges at all in Westwood. Even in a new era of college basketball, he is not hesitating to stand behind a microphone and rip his players to pieces.

UCLA got off to a strong start in Cronin’s sixth season. Despite an early setback to New Mexico at The Pit, the Bruins picked up marquee wins over Gonzaga and Arizona, and started 2-0 in Big Ten play by beating Washington and Oregon. They’ve since hit a few bumps in the road and the head coach ain’t too happy about it.

The Bruins lost to Nebrasketball on the road, then returned to Pauley Pavilion and got shellacked by Michigan in a nearly 20-point loss. In what has become a tradition, Cronin blamed the loss on his players’ lack of toughness.

“We’re soft. So don’t tell me you want to win. Just don’t tell me you want to win,” he said. “… It’s crazy and it’s everyday. I have the most energy of anybody at practice everyday. I’m upset with everybody in that locker room, my assistant coaches and my players. I mean, I don’t need to do anything else. I almost got 500 wins. I’m only 53. It’s a joke, it’s a joke. Yet I come in and I have more passion and energy and pride than everybody in (here) and that’s the problem.”

Cronin added, “The truth of it is, it’s really hard to coach people that are delusional. The hungry dog gets the bone. We’ve got guys who think they’re way better than they are. They’re nice kids, they’re completely delusional about who they are.”

Mick Cronin went OFF on his players following their loss to Michigan 😳

“We’re soft… Every day, I have more passion and energy in practice than anybody else. I’m tired of it. It’s a joke… The truth of it is, it’s really hard to coach guys who are delusional” pic.twitter.com/abGQdPkfQN

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) January 8, 2025

Cronin took plenty of credit when Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jacquez helped him get to a Final Four in year two at UCLA. Without those guys, he’s been pretty bad and that’s not his fault. Clearly, his players are too soft, that’s why they’re 11-4. When they went 16-17 last year and missed the NCAA Tournament, it wasn’t Cronin’s fault. His players weren’t smart enough to understand his coaching.

“The most important thing for a teacher is for his students to have aptitude or they can’t learn, they can’t apply, so your rate of progress and development is way too slow,” Cronin said after they blew a lead and loss to Stanford at home. “So if a team makes adjustments, we struggle to adjust to instruction on the fly.”

Clearly, Mick Cronin is not the problem. It’s kids these days who just aren’t good enough to be coached by him. That’s why UCLA is moving in the wrong direction. Don’t blame Mick. After all, he’s (almost) got 500 wins and he’s only 53!