A lot has changed for Mick Cronin since he became the head coach at UCLA in 2019, including a move to the Big Ten and the college basketball transfer portal affecting recruiting.
While Cronin is grateful for his position, he is not naive as to how difficult his job has become in the last five years. Cronin emphasized both of those points with a one-line joke to reporters on Wednesday.
“I'm the only one under contract for next year, which some people may be happy with and some people may not, but I am,” Cronin said, via California Post reporter Ben Bolch.
Cronin has yet to bring UCLA back to national title contention, but Bruins fans should want him back. The 54-year-old has brought them to the NCAA Tournament four of the last five years and is the only former Pac-12 coach to successfully navigate the Big Ten transition.
Cronin's complaint refers to the persistent issues all NCAA coaches face, with the transfer portal allowing any player to find a new school every offseason. Teams attempt to combat the predicament by having recruits sign multi-year NIL deals, but the Duke-Darian Mensah college football debacle proves that tactic can get worked around.
Like most teams, UCLA has had its ups and downs in the college basketball transfer portal. Cronin has secured significant recruits in the last few years, including Donovan Dent and Johnny Juzang, while losing several other key players, such as Aday Mara, Dylan Andrews and Berke Buyuktuncel.
However, although Cronin openly complained about the struggles programs face in retaining players year to year, UCLA has primarily been adept at holding onto its homegrown talent. Jaime Jazquez Jr., Tyger Campbell, Tyler Bilodeau and Skyy Clark have each been key players for Cronin throughout their lengthy careers with the Bruins.
