Mick Cronin Q+A

To get ready for UCONN's game at Cincinnati on Saturday, I sat down with Bearcats coach Mick Cronin, to see what, other than fear of another potato famine, scares him.

Todd: Hey, Coach, thanks for sitting down with me today.
Mick: I'm actually still standing, (sitting) ok, there we go. Ya know, it's a little earlier than I usually like to do media, but I managed to have me bowl o' Lucky Charms, so I'm good to go.
Todd: Great. Let's begin with how you got started in basketball. I was impressed to see you earned All-City honors as a point guard at LaSalle High here in Cincinnati. How'd ya do it? Killer crossover? Sweet jumper?
Mick: Actually, I patented a little move we called "The Nutmeg."
Todd: I've never heard that term applied to basketball. So, it was like the soccer move, you would dribble the ball through the opponents legs?
Mick: Ha, ha, ha. (wry smile) I guess you could say that. Not only did I dribble through the opponents legs, I ran right through 'em! It was like watching a four year old play with adults.
Todd: Oh. I see. Your bio says your father was a coaching legend at the high school level in Cincinnati. Says here he won over 400 games! He must've had an impact on you getting into the profession...
Mick: Where did you get that? Wikipedia?
Todd: Yes, I did.
Mick: That is a patent falsehood! My father was an employee of the Keebler Cookie Company. He was amongst the first elves to unionize at Keebler. The working conditions in that tree were no where near what you see on the commercials! Those were shot off-site with actors.
Todd: Wow, Mick, I'm sorry. I didn't know.
Mick: It's ok, not a lot of people know I'm half elf, half Irish. My father married a normal size woman, and I came out somewhere in the middle. Kind of like that show on TLC.
Todd: Let's move on. When you took the job at Cincinnati, was it a priority of yours and the administration to clean up the program? This place used to be filled with thugs like Jason Maxiell, Kenyon Martin, and Bob Huggins. But now, I mean, I spent an hour Google-ing for arrests and couldn't find anything on these kids! You guys are cleaner than Notre Dame, really.
Mick: Well, to be honest, it's kind of a mixed blessing. I mean, at least those thugs won games. We are a clean program, but we kinda suck too. And, in his defense, Deonta Vaughn is a much bigger thug than people give him credit for. How Deonta has avoided arrest is beyond me.
Todd: Have you ever considered dyeing your hair?
Mick: Well, its been a tough year, but I don't think I'm going gray yet (nervous chuckle).
Todd: I would never suggest you are graying. But you are a red head...
Mick: (blank, unamused stare)
Todd: Last question. Your first head coaching job was in Kentucky, at a small college called Murray State. Was it difficult to succeed at a school where the three largest donors don't have a full set of teeth between them?
Mick: It was difficult. But contract negotiations made all the troubles worth it. None of the trustees could count very high, and most of them wore tin foil hats in honor of Senator Jim Bunning. So right before i signed my contract I added a bunch of zero's, and no one could tell the difference! I heard the guy who coached there before me convinced them that a .100 winning percentage was the highest number possible. That hoax lasted for like six years, until the county got their first calculator in 2001 and found out he was lying to them.
Todd: Great story. Thanks for taking some time to talk with me today, Mick.