by bcat

Let me start by making it clear that I am a HUGE Mick Cronin supporter and I have been from his start at UC.  As a fan, he was my first choice when the UC Bearcats were searching for a coach to lead them into the 2006-2007 season(The day I knew he was being hired I went out and bought four 6 packs of "Mickeys" and shared them with a fellow Bearcat fan.  It was a rough next morning.)   Mick is a hometown guy, a UC alumni, he was a UC assistant, he worked under two very good college coaches, he recruits very well and he had three years of success at Murray St., including two NCAA Tournament berths.  I would not think that too many people would disagree with me I say "Mick was an excellent choice to take over at UC", but that is not the case.

Mick has not really been given a fair chance by the fans since he arrived in Clifton.  It seems like only about 50% of the fans were happy about him being hired or had any faith in him to succeed at UC. The other 50% have been trying to get rid of him since before he coached a game.   Now in his 4th season, the first 50% have given up.  The problem is that some of the fans that supported him(and continue to) are starting to give up on him too.  What people should realize is that Cronin's first two seasons have to be thrown out the window.  UC was lucky to just have a guy show up and admit he was the head coach at UC. A big problem for the fans is that the Bearcats had a chance to go to the NCAA tourney last season and fell apart late in the year.  Depending on who you ask, you will hear many different reasons for the collapse but the way that it happened was embarrassing and there was no excuse to finish the season losing to Depaul when they still had a chance to make the post season.   That UC team finished in 10th place in the Big East(the same position as the year before. Which is a season that the Cronin supporters are not counting, for good reason).

The Bearcats are still in a position where they can make the NCAA tournament this season.   However, they have what looks to be the toughest schedule in the country over the last 10 games.  The fans do not care about this because UC has dropped some games that they should not have and it has put them in a "must win" situation every time out.  If you are watching the same games that I am, the team seems to be much worse than when they played in Maui back in November.  That is frustrating and the fans have seen this two years in a row.

The following are the losses that I consider to be "bad losses" this season

XU, Pittsburgh, St. Johns(I want to add UAB to the list but I will not).  They had a chance to win all three of these games and they gave them away.  They are better than all three of these teams(at least the team that played in Maui is).  Instead of being 5-5 in the Big East, they should be 7-3 with 8 to go and 3 against teams that they should beat.  I have questioned the coaching alot over the last two seasons and the more I watch the more I question it.  There are not only several bad decisions, questionable substitutions,  lack of preparation or at least getting the message across to the players but it looks like the players do not even listen to their coach.  I do not question if Mick is preparing for the game but I do wonder if he gets his message across to the players like a coach must do in order to be successful.  Are these guys listening to him?  If not, why not?  This is what is turning much of the UC fan base against Mick Cronin.

The questions that most people are talking about(including fans of other teams, which makes me sick) is should the decision makers at UC start to look for a new coach.  How long can they wait before they get rid of Mick?  How long do you wait for the results you need to stay relevant?  In my opinion a college coach needs four years to have a chance at success.  In this situation I think five years is fair.  However, UC is in a tough position.  If they keep Mick one more year(and then cut ties with him), then they are in serious danger of being close to where they were when Mick took over.  They will lose seven total players to graduation and/or NBA that year.  Leaving 5 players on the roster for a new coach.  If they get rid of Mick after this year, the new coach is set up nicely because nobody on the team can really transfer out.  There would be 5 seniors, 2 potential NBA draft picks, a red shirt sophomore, a red shirt freshman, a junior and two incoming freshman.  Everyone on this team is stuck at UC until they graduate or decide to try to go to the NBA.  The two potential early NBA entries need at least another year.

If UC is going to get rid of Mick Cronin, they must do it this year.  Otherwise sign him up for another four years.  If they sign him up for more time, then they take the risk of him not being successful at UC which leads to the seats being empty, the donations even worse than they are in this ongoing Huggins mourning process and the loss of a fan base all together.

I still think Mick is the man for the job(regardless of what I said Thursday night).  I am not even going to start naming potential replacements yet but I have thought about it because the possibility of him being replaced after this season is, and should be real.  If UC does not find a way to make the tournament this season, it is going to be a very interesting April and the decisions are going to be very crucial for the future of the UC basketball program.

Go Bearcats!