In the moments following an 82-76 win at crosstown rival USC on Monday night, UCLA men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin appeared more relaxed than at any time during his inaugural Big Ten campaign. His Bruins (15-6, 6-4 Big Ten) have responded to a four-game losing streak by winning four straight and sit in the Big Ten’s upper third at the midway point of their first season in the new league. A lively Cronin said “performance and toughness” form the backbone of victory, and if anyone knows that it’s Cronin, who is as tough as they come.
Advertisement “To ask me if I’m happy? Understatement, understatement,” Cronin told reporters. It’s a new look for Cronin, who has generated more headlines for his grievances than for his team’s play on the floor. This month alone, he complained his team was too soft, then that his schedule was too hard, then that his players don’t receive enough rest, a point he referenced again following the USC game.
And in his most impassioned critique, Cronin teed off about how television contracts rule the sport. Every time he stepped in front of a camera it became another episode of Grumpylocks and the Three Bruins. Conference expansion, especially in the 18-team Big Ten, has created logistical issues for college basketball coaches, who never shy away from sharing their feelings.
Case in point: Within 15 minutes of the Big Ten’s internal release of its men’s basketball schedule last offseason, coaches’ objections flowed into th.
