UCLA coach Mick Cronin’s No. 18 Bruins fell to a shock 80-72 loss to the California Golden Bears. The loss dropped Cronin’s team to 5-2 for the season after suffering a narrow loss to rivals, the No. 5 Arizona Wildcats, last month. After the match, Cronin did not hold back as he questioned his team’s composure in a critical judgment of the game.
Mick Cronin Blasts His Team’s Mentality in Explosive Interview
During his postgame news conference after the loss to the Golden Bears, Cronin heavily criticized his team’s attitude and mentality when faced with adversity during tough games.
“Our team attitude was terrible; it’s been a problem for a month, it affects performance,” Cronin said. “So I think our team struggles to take a punch. I would say we got a glass jaw. If you were to describe us as a fighter,” Cronin said.
“We’re going to toughen up, or it’s going to be a long year. But you can’t have a glass jaw. You know, you know. But that’s scary right now for us. Like, that’s got me. Nervous. They deserve to win. They came ready to play. We had some guys did not. That’s on me,” he added.
Despite blasting his team’s mentality, Cronin took a portion of the blame for the upset loss to the Golden Bears. Despite the Bruins leading at halftime, California went on a 29-12 run to start the second half, allowing the Golden Bears to build a lead that would not be troubled by Cronin’s team at any point.
Up next, the Bruins will face the unranked Washington Huskies and Oregon Ducks before a tough road game against the No. 12 Gonzaga Bulldogs, in a stretch that is sure to test UCLA’s mettle.
The outspoken Cronin first questioned his team’s mentality after the Bruins’ season-opening 80-74 win against the Eastern Washington Eagles, even going as far as questioning his future at the program due to the mistakes made by UCLA’s defense.
“Unfortunately, we won that game easily,” Cronin said. “When you have the wrong attitude in life, it shows up, so I blame myself. I knew this was coming, and I couldn’t stop it, so I failed miserably. I tried in shootaround. Arrogance. Lack of humility. Don’t want to defend, don’t want to rebound, don’t want to play defense. There are so many mistakes, I’d like to fire myself for our defense.”
Since he became the UCLA coach in 2019, Cronin has led the Bruins to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament and a Pac-12 regular season championship. In addition, he has won the Pac-12 Coach of the Year award twice in his six-year tenure.
