After a lot of thought—and more than a year of second-guessing—I’ve finally reached a point I didn’t think I would: I think Cronin should be fired.
That’s not something I say lightly. I understand how hard it is to land a quality coach. In my opinion, we haven’t had someone at the Ben Howland level since he was let go, and there’s absolutely no guarantee we’d hire someone better than Cronin—let alone better than Howland.
But for me, this isn’t really about the X’s and O’s or even the results on the court. It’s about everything else. Just off the top of my head, here’s where I have real issues:
1. Publicly calling his team soft and delusional.
2.Saying they didn’t have the aptitude to learn.
3a. Not playing Mara, even though the metrics consistently showed the team was better with him on the floor.
3b. Losing Mara—or seemingly not realizing he was unhappy.
4.The lack of high school recruiting, which feels like a serious long-term problem.
5. Last nights debacle
6.And the ongoing inability to control his emotions.
That’s why I’ve finally come around. It’s not just about wins and losses anymore.