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Cincinnati’s Mick Cronin done coaching for season

By Phil Watson

Nov 14, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Mick Cronin against the St. Francis (Pa) Red Flash at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats won 52-37. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 14, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Mick Cronin against the St. Francis (Pa) Red Flash at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats won 52-37. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin will take on an advisory role for the rest of the season as he deals with a medical condition.

Having been advised to avoid stress and he deals with a serious—but not life-threatening—health condition, Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin and the University of Cincinnati athletic department announced Friday he will take on an advisory role for the remainder of this season.

Cronin, 43, has been diagnosed with a condition called arterial dissection, discovered after he sought treatment for lingering headaches. An aneurysm that had not ruptured was found.

Cronin had sat out the Bearcats’ last three games, a loss to VCU on Dec. 20 and wins over Wagner and NC State.

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Cronin will continue to run the program and recruit, according to the school. However, he’s been told to avoid stress. If you’ve ever seen Cronin on the sidelines during a game, you’d know that coaching basketball games would not meet the whole “avoid stress” criteria.

Associate head coach Larry Davis will continue as acting head coach.

“I have the utmost confidence in our coaching staff and players that we will continue to develop as a team and play Bearcats basketball,” Cronin said in a statement. “This program is bigger than any coach of player. I don’t want this to be a distraction but instead want the focus to be on the growth and support of this team.”

Cronin is in his ninth season at Cincinnati, where he is 171-110 and has taken the Bearcats to the last four NCAA tournaments.

Cincinnati shares the inaugural American Athletic Conference regular-season title with Louisville last season, going 15-3 in conference play and 27-7 overall. But the Bearcats were upset in the second round of the tournament by Harvard.

Dec 23, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats associate head coach Larry Davis against the Wagner Seahawks at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats won 72-48. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats associate head coach Larry Davis against the Wagner Seahawks at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats won 72-48. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /

Davis, 58, was head coach at Furman from 1997-2006, going 124-139 in nine seasons with the Paladins (I just wanted an excuse to write “Paladins,” because it’s one of the coolest nicknames out there).

Cronin brought on Davis shortly after he took the job at Cincinnati.

Prior to coming to the Bearcats, Cronin was head coach at Murray State for three seasons, going 69-24 and leading the Racers to two NCAA tournaments.

Cincinnati is 9-3 this season, with losses to Ole Miss at the Emerald Coast Classic in late November, in double overtime at Nebraska on Dec. 13 and to VCU two weeks ago.

The Bearcats open conference play against SMU on Saturday.

Regardless of who coaches the Bearcats, the issue will be offense. No one averages double figures and the team is shooting only 43.4 percent overall this season and only 28.5 percent from 3-point range.

But Cincinnati ranks 11th in the nation, allowing just 55 points per game, which helps offset their 285th-ranked offense that scores 63 points a contest.

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