Bearcats declined while Cronin thrived since parting ways | Opinion

Bob Huggins did great things to advance Cincinnati Bearcats basketball. Who could deny all the thrills, excitement, great performances and a Final Four? Huggins poor track record of recruiting players with character issues, a lost scholarship and looming academic suspension went almost unnoticed. Then, the police video of him stumbling around intoxicated surfaced, signaling the beginning of Huggins' end at the University of Cincinnati.

It took time, but then-UC President Nancy Zimpher had no choice but to fire Huggins after the DUI video and recruiting and academic problems. UC's athletic department decided to replace Huggins with Mick Cronin − the right choice for the job – after Andy Kennedy was the interim coach for the 2006 season. Of course, you'd never have known Cronin was "the guy" by the way the fans, news media and ardent Huggins supporters excoriated him.

During his time at UC, Cronin improved the basketball program's academics and character, compiled a 296-147 record, earned nine consecutive NCAA Tournament births (2011-2019), went to a Sweet 16, won two American Athletic Conference regular season championships (2014, 2018) and two tournament championships (2018, 2019). He was the 2014 AAC Coach of the Year and the 2018 Sporting News Coach of the Year.

Cronin took UC from a program collapsing under Huggins to one that was accomplishing great things with an even brighter future in front of it. You would think these accomplishments along with his devotion to Cincinnati and his background here (Cronin spent four years as an assistant coach at UC) that the athletic department would have fought hard to keep him here.

But no. Then-UC Athletic Director Mike Bohn had no support for Cronin. Instead of giving him a raise and long-term extension, Bohn made an offer that would have effectively cut Cronin's pay, making him the 49th highest-paid coach – earning less than 20 coaches who missed the NCAA Tournament and five who lost their jobs. Of course, Cronin deserved much more.

Cronin understandably went off to UCLA, and Bohn, in a knee-jerk move, hired Northern Kentucky University basketball coach and offensive mastermind John Brannen in April 2019. That didn't exactly turn out great. (UC fired Brannen two years later, accusing the coach of using methods of intimidation against players and making payment of special benefits for an unnamed player).

What has Cronin done since he left UC?

He took over a depressed .500 UCLA program and wins the PAC 12 regular season title for the first time in a decade. Cronin coached UCLA to two Sweet 16 appearances and a Final Four. He won two PAC 12 Coach of the Year awards and earned his 12th straight NCAA Tournament birth in 2023.

Team defense has been a key part of Cronin's success. UCLA went from 215th in defensive efficiency to third between 2019-2023 under Cronin. And improved from 310th in points allowed (77.8 points per game) to sixth (60.2 points per game).

Meanwhile, over that same time frame, the Bearcats' defensive performance has declined. Under coaches Brannen and Wes Miller, UC's defensive efficiency dropped from 26th to 80th between 2019-2023. The Bearcats are also allowing more points per game, going from 12th (62.7 ppg) to 148th (69.3 ppg).

This year, Cronin has eight freshmen, four sophomores, two juniors and a senior on his roster at UCLA. As of this writing, the Bruins are 5-4 with losses to fourth-ranked Marquette by only two points, 11th-ranked Gonzaga by five points, Villanova and Ohio State. Cronin is in for a challenging year as he rebuilds UCLA's program with young, promising players.

The Bearcats have seven seniors, five juniors, two sophomores and two freshman on their roster. As of this writing, Coach Miller has a record of 8-2, after suffering his third loss in the Crosstown Shootout to the 5-5 Xavier Musketeers. UC also suffered a 14-point loss to the unranked University of Dayton at Heritage Bank Arena, which was packed with Flyer fans. Miller's "team" of transfers looks nothing like a "program" even in year three.

Cincinnati dropped the ball by letting "the guy," Mick Cronin, slip away.

Tom Keltner lives in Germantown, Ohio, and was born and raised in Bridgetown and College Hill. He is a longtime Cincinnati Bearcats fan.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bearcats biggest mistake was letting Cronin leave for UCLA