Not so long ago, UCLA looked like a legitimate contender for the National Championship. Their defense was among the best in the nation, and it wasn’t particularly close.
However, that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. The No. 22 Bruins lost 75-94 to No. 4 Michigan, and coach Mick Cronin went viral after throwing his players under the bus.
The renowned coach didn’t mince his words about his players, ripping them and their effort in the loss and stating that they just didn’t want to win the game and were ‘soft.’
Mick Cronin calls his players ‘soft and delusional’
“Don’t tell me you want to win,” the coach said, angrily. “You start the game, Tyler Bilodeau gave up 12 points. Two screens, he didn’t say a word, 3s, and then he got dunked on three times. So, just don’t tell me you want to win. I mean, we’re soft.”
The coach didn’t stop there. If that wasn’t enough, he also ripped his players’ attitude and demeanor, going as far as to say that they were ‘delusional’ and full of themselves:
“I have to run on the court to get guys to play hard,” Cronin said. “It’s crazy, and it’s every day. I’m tired of it. I’m upset with everybody in that locker room, my assistant coaches and my players. It’s really hard to coach people that are delusional. The hungry dog gets the bone. We’ve got guys that think they’re way better than they are. They’re nice kids. They’re completely delusional about who they are.”
It must have been a very awkward couple of days on campus, and those comments might not do him any favors. The Bruins are now 2-2 in conference play and 11-4 for the season, and it’ll be interesting to see if they can bounce back after this.