UCLA gets their #1 target take 5 or 6......

[ChisHawk81]

Cronin from Cincy is the man....What a debacle the entire thing was for UCLA. Wonder if Cincy fans are too heart broken losing Cronin as well?

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...478769/cronin-leaves-cincinnati-take-ucla-job

 

[anon_i8nzeu2gbf0ba]

Do they still play basketball at UCLA? What about football?

 

[NevadaHawk]

I can remember when UCLA was the sacred cow of college basketball. Seems like they dropped a level two since those days. Plenty of talent in the LA area and with the right coach they could rise back up but will they?

 

[anon_gjzkhykcp9iuj]

The biggest reason for the downfall of UCLA is their own extreme arrogance. They think they're better than everyone and think that everybody just wants to get on their knees and fellate them, when that hasn't been the case for 30 or 40 years.

 

[TombItMayConcern]

It was the same exact situation when they hired Alford.

 

[ChisHawk81]

It was the same exact situation when they hired Alford.

Good point and it further set them back by hiring the Fraud.

 

[jhawkinaz]

I can remember when UCLA was the sacred cow of college basketball. Seems like they dropped a level two since those days. Plenty of talent in the LA area and with the right coach they could rise back up but will they?

chances are good they will get back up there. They hit the skids through most of the 80's.....were mostly average to below average the entire decade. Then they got a good Coach ( *cough, cheater, *cough) and were back to being pretty damn good.

I will enjoy watching them struggle as long as they do, but I have to imagine they will keep swinging for the fences and eventually hit one out of the park again.

 

[BirdistheWord]

Their winning percentage has gradually declined with Jim Harrick being the only recent coach above .700, their quest to get back to that level continues....

Head Coach Years Won Lost %
Fred Cozens 1919–1921 20 4 .833
Caddy Works 1921–1939 173 159 .521
Wilbur Johns 1939–1948 93 120 .437
John Wooden* 1948–1975 620 147 .808
Gene Bartow 1975–1977 52 9 .852
Gary Cunningham 1977–1979 50 8 .862
Larry Brown* 1979–1981 42 17 .712
Larry Farmer 1981–1984 61 23 .726
Walt Hazzard 1984–1988 77 47 .621
Jim Harrick 1988–1996 192 62 .756
Steve Lavin 1996–2003 145 78 .650
Ben Howland 2003–2013 233 107 .685
Steve Alford 2013–2018 124 63 .663

 

[IowaHawkeyeFBnBB4Life]

I bet UCLA isn’t thrilled with Cronin. Cincy fans wanted to get rid of him.

Win/win for Cronin. You win and you’ll be set. Lose, we’ll collect a few million and retire.

 

[LuteHawk]

Since the John Wooden era, only 2 coaches have
stayed more than 5 years. The Ghost of Wooden is
alive and well at UCLA and the expectations are very
unrealistic. No coach will ever match up with his
legendary record..

 

[IowaNiceHawk]

Cronin from Cincy? huh..........
Well, I maybe should have applied for that job, after all.

There was the one year that my team got 2nd in the
Gus Macker 3 v 3 tourney in Rockford.

 

[Rustys Dad]

Boy Wonder was a terrible hire for UCLA. UCLA can be a solid Top 25 team but it needs a solid coach. The talent in and around that area of the country is good ... they just need the right coach to harness that talent. The day Boy Wonder was hired I gave him 3 years tops before he'd be canned. Cronin (in my opinion) is not a home run hire and most likely will be a coach who is canned in 3-5 years.

UCLA today is not the UCLA of old. Same as Nebraska football ... Those days are gone. Much more parity and the UCLA doesn't carry as much weight to kids today as it did back in the day.

Also, I was surprised UCLA was looking at Rick Barnes as Barnes is 64 years old ... He's a good coach ... but he's 64 ...

Every program today is looking for the next "hot" coach. So much money is involved in the high stakes of winning in college athletics. So much pressure to win "today" ... You don't get 4 years to prove yourself (unless Gary Barta is your AD ... so you'll be safe for at least 9 years.) ...

 

[mtdew_fever]

Cronin's record at Cincinnati is very good in the regular season. Only 6-11 in the NCAA tourney which doesn't scream "Hire Me" for what UCLA donors/fans are looking for.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

Cronin is a good coach, whose teams play hard. Definitely a better hire than Alford. Gotta enjoy it when a blue blood struggles, and wish there were more. Here in TX, it has been especially enjoyable seeing the Orange Bloods come down a few notches in FB

 

[SDHawkDoc]

There's really little excuse for UCLA to not be a consistent top 20 program. Putting together a list of what gives a program an advantage, they essentially check all the boxes.