EAST LANSING, Mich. — Mick Cronin did not go quietly on the way to his team’s latest feeble loss.
With his players showing little fight, the UCLA basketball coach became increasingly combative as the Bruins’ season continued to crumble around him.
Some might say he went after the rare Bruin who was still competing.
Cronin ejected his own player after Steven Jamerson II committed a hard foul from behind on a breakaway dunk attempt late in the game, sending the backup center to the locker room.
“I guess he upgraded that to a flagrant-2,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo cracked late Tuesday night. “First time I saw a coach do that.”
That was just a prelude to another bizarre scene involving Cronin after an 82-59 loss to the No. 15 Spartans that followed a 30-point humiliation against Michigan three days earlier.
The coach engaged in a testy exchange with a reporter who asked about Michigan State students chanting UCLA center Xavier Booker’s name during the former Spartan player’s return to the Breslin Center.
“I could give a rat’s ass about the other team’s student section,” Cronin said. “I would rather like to give you a kudos for the worst question I’ve ever been asked.”
Cronin went on to ask the reporter if he thought the coach really cared about the other team’s students, prompting the reporter to respond that he didn’t in a high-pitched voice that did not seem antagonistic.
“Are you raising your voice at me?” Cronin asked before the reporter responded that he wasn’t.
“Yeah, you are,” Cronin continued. “Come on, dude. I mean, yes you were. Everybody’s standing here listening to you — this was on camera, they can hear you. I answered the question — I could give a rat’s ass about the other team’s student section. I coach UCLA, I don’t care about Michigan State’s students. Who cares?”
Cronin also took issue with a hard foul committed by Jamerson with about four minutes left in the game. With Michigan State’s Carson Cooper going in for a dunk in transition, Jamerson walloped Cooper from behind, sending him to the court. Cooper rose and stood face to face with Jamerson before the players were separated.
As referees went to review the play — eventually assessing Jamerson a flagrant-1 foul — the backup center walked toward the UCLA bench. Cronin tugged on his uniform and pointed toward the locker room, telling him to get off the court while being accompanied by director of athletic performance Dave Andrews.
Cronin explained that Jamerson was a “good kid” who had made a bad decision.
“If you want to be a tough guy, you need to do it during the game — for block-out, for a rebound,” Cronin said. “So I was thoroughly disappointed — the guy was defenseless in the air. I know Steve was trying to block the shot, but the game’s a 25-point game, you don’t do that.”
For perhaps the first time this season, Cronin faced some hard questions about his team after the Bruins (17-9 overall, 9-6 Big Ten) likely fell off the NCAA tournament bubble with their third loss in five games.
What about that lineup change that Cronin had promised but didn’t make after getting routed by Michigan?
“I mean, I had 37 different lineups in there tonight; who starts is irrelevant,” Cronin said. “I tried to sub five guys at one time, but the fifth guy was so not into the game he didn’t sub in.”
Does UCLA have enough talent to compete with the top teams in the Big Ten?
“I’ll leave you to that [assessment]; I just keep coaching my team,” Cronin said. “Ultimately, it’s how you play. … Obviously, right now, patently, blatantly, I should say, obvious, some guys are playing below their capabilities outside of Tyler Bilodeau.”
Did Cronin like what he saw from his players in the two days of practice between games?
“I didn’t like it,” Cronin said. “They don’t play hard enough — I’ve been telling you that for a long time — to be at the upper echelon of this league.”
Should Cronin send a message by changing his starting lineup?
“I don’t think that’s solving our problem,” Cronin said. “I mean, I can say, ‘Well, I tried this’ — you really think one thing is going to solve our problem? They used to say when I coached at Woodward High School [in Cincinnati], and I’ll leave you with this — some guys need to go see the Wizard. You figured out what that means.”
Presumably, Cronin was referring to a lack of heart. The Bruins may need to show some to save their season and avoid missing the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years.
Otherwise, Cronin may hear actual raised voices — from his bosses.