![]() ![]() “The way he recruits,” says Pierson, “it’s not for everyone. Instead, Cronin has split the difference, offering UCLA fans what they need, rather than what they want or expect-a true man of the people. Many thought that Cronin would continue that pattern in Los Angeles (an accusation at which Cronin bristled) or that he would swing in the opposite direction and recruit only one-and-done NBA prospects to UCLA. The first time Cronin surprised Angelenos was when he began recruiting players to UCLA.Īt Cincinnati-where Cronin grew up-he recruited tough athletes, rather than skilled players, Pierson explains, “because he get five-star elite prospects” to play for the Bearcats. That places Cronin among the top 15 highest paid coaches in college basketball and in the top earners among California state employees, which includes investment officers, doctors and Chip Kelly, the UCLA football team coach who earns $5.7 million annually.īut even after losing 79-76 against the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Thursday night in the team’s third straight Sweet 16, Mick Cronin has set up UCLA to be the best basketball product in Los Angeles, and himself to be California’s favorite public employee.Īt first glance, one might bristle at the notion that a public employee is getting paid millions of your tax dollars to coach a basketball team- and that the practice is standard across the industry isn’t much of a salve.Īnd yet, longtime UCLA Bruins reporter and publisher of Bruins Report Online Tracy Pierson tells LAMag, “Mick will continually keep surprising you.” Now, after a pair of contract extensions, UCLA pays him $4.1 million annually. The move also saw Cronin double his salary (from $1.8 million at Cincy to $3.6 at UCLA). ![]() The fourth option in a messy hiring search, Cronin moved from his longtime job coaching the University Cincinnati Bearcats in the respected-but smaller-American Athletic Conference to the bright lights of Los Angeles and the Pac-12. Mick Cronin first walked onto the Nell and John Wooden court at Pauley Pavilion as the head coach of the UCLA Bruins Men’s Basketball team in 2019 a lucky man. ![]()
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