UCLA’s Mick Cronin addressed his stance on IU basketball coaching search and name potentially connected to the opening

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Friday night was the second-straight home that IU basketball had its potential next head coach on the sidelines — opposing sidelines that is. After Michigan and Dusty May came to Assembly Hall last weekend, it was UCLA and Mick Cronin on Friday. As the speculation continues about who is a real candidate for the Indiana head coaching job, Cronin is certainly a name that has been more than tossed into the ring.

After UCLA’s 72-68 win over Indiana on Friday, Cronin was asked about his name being in the conversation for the IU job — and his level of interest.

“As far as me, I would never comment on a coaching situation. It would be wildly inappropriate because I’m the son of a coach, and the way I look at it is that Mike Woodson’s the coach at Indiana,” Cronin said postgame. “That man’s coaching his basketball team, and he was a national champion. I happen to know him. I know Kenya Hunter on his staff extremely well for many years and have tremendous respect for their kids and their team. To me, nobody should say anything that distracts from anything with them with that. So I just think it would be wildly inappropriate, mostly for what I said, my respect for coach Woodson. He’s over there coaching his team … That’s my stance on that stuff.”

Cronin, originally from Ohio, is in his sixth season with the Bruins after 13 years at Cincinnati. With UCLA, Cronin has taken the Bruins to the NCAA Tournament in three of his first five seasons — missing his first tournament last season. His first year was Covid, when the tournament was cancelled. He’s made it to two Sweet 16s and a Final Four during his time at UCLA. Before last season, Cronin made it to the NCAA Tournament in 12 straight seasons.

For his career, the 53-year-old has a winning percentage of 68.4 percent.

Indiana is on the verge of missing the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season and the 10th time since the 2009-10 season. In fact, IU basketball has made it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament just five times since 1994.

For some, the legacy and history of Indiana basketball is just that — in the past. But Cronin says ‘it’s still the Hoosiers’.

“There’s obviously blue blood jobs and people write these articles now, like what’s – because we haven’t won the title since ‘95. So it’s never gonna change. The Yankees are always going to be the Yankees. UCLA basketball, Indiana basketball is always gonna be – that’s just the way it is. So I don’t think, even though what’s it been since coach Steve [Alford] won it? 87, yeah? So it’s still the Hoosiers.”

While Cronin is a name that continues to be connected to the IU basketball program, one thing standing in the way is the large buyout to leave UCLA. Up until March 31, 2025 that number is $16 million. After the 31st it drops to $10 million. Will that be enough to keep Cronin out west and away from the Indiana sidelines?

Time will tell — but he’s clearly a name that many people want to be on the Indiana sidelines in the future.

SEE ALSO: ‘It’s still my job to get them over the hump’: Lack of late game execution continues to haunt IU basketball in conference play

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