In Reply to: Agree 100% posted by Cachorro on January 20, 2026 at 11:40:14
was remarkably adaptive.
Look at his roster shifts, from the early '60s to the mid-'70s. An unprecedented record of success which will highly likely never be approached again.
Sure, he had 3-4 yr control of his varsity players back then, but the physical makeup shifted notably as he made the unprecedented productive adjustments.
Then, take Cronin.
In many ways, the anti-Wooden. From Murray State to Cincy to UCLA, it's still: 'guys, I've been doing this a long time' and: 'my way or the highway'. Game schemes that start and end with the defense. 'I don't care if you score, as long as you defend hard, tote up your deflections and follow the script'.
A recurrence of bruisers (particularly at Cincy) who bang, but rosters that rarely feature creative and orchestrative PGs, as well as Cs who suck oxygen out of the paint in scoring on plays specifically drawn up for them on the O end. If you disagree, name said star Cronin PGs and Cs ~ the usual fulcrums of college O's ~ over his 2 1/2 decades.
Of course, comparing Cronin to Wooden is unfair and absurd.
But, it looks like, in logging 23 seasons as a head coach at the close of bidness this yr, he will have toted up 1 FF and 3 S16s...................leaving 19 other seasons on the comparative sidelines.
He's a solid D coach, albeit his defensive effort this yr is a lesser outlier.
So, to quote your above, it's hard to argue against your:
"I don’t believe we can afford to wait for Cronin to fundamentally change who he is as a coach — nor is there any guarantee he’d even be successful if he did."
You, more succinctly than me, helped explain his progressive 4 seasons, but also his 19 seasons on the comparative sidelines. He's not going to change...................so says his weighty Twenty Three season sample size, that he himself often references.