Sports
'I want it to be my last job.' Mick Cronin says he's committed to UCLA despite adversity
He’s questioned his players’ understanding of the game. He’s lamented his lack of name, image and likeness resources. He’s threatened to overhaul his young roster.
For much of the season, Mick Cronin has sounded like someone on the verge of a basketball crisis, if not an existential one.
The UCLA coach said he doesn’t read what’s written about him, but he’s heard from others about what they perceive as him expressing unhappiness in his job through his comments in the media.
So after his team staged its most improbable comeback of the season Wednesday night, Cronin pushed back himself.
As he stood in a hallway deep inside Desert Financial Arena, his team having polished off Arizona State after trailing by 15 points early in the second half, the coach suggested the only thing blue these days is the Bruins’ uniforms.
“I love UCLA, trust me,” Cronin told The Times. “I want it to be my last job. No matter what anybody says — I’ve heard stuff — I’m the coach at freaking UCLA. Like, come on, man. … To [predecessor] Ben Howland and me, we’ve sat in John Wooden’s chair. Come on, man. So I don’t want that narrative out there.”
After guiding the Bruins to a Final Four and two more Sweet 16s during his past three seasons, Cronin’s current team does not appear bound for glory. UCLA is 8-10 overall and 3-4 in the Pac-12, putting the Bruins on pace for their first losing record since Steve Alford’s team went 15-17 during the 2015-2016 season.
Barring a breakthrough Saturday against No. 12 Arizona (13-4, 4-2) at the McKale Center as part of a sustained turnaround or a championship run in the Pac-12 tournament, Cronin’s streak of taking his teams to 12 consecutive NCAA tournaments going back to his final nine seasons at Cincinnati will end in March.
The coach is clearly frustrated, and not just about this team’s fortunes. He believes recent misfortune might have cost UCLA its first national championship since 1995.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin, center, looks on during a blowout loss to Utah on Jan. 11.
(Rick Bowmer / Associated Press)
Cronin said the Bruins could have won the title in 2022 had Jaime Jaquez Jr. not blown out his ankle near the end of the Saint Mary’s game in the NCAA tournament, leading to his hobbled play in a loss to North Carolina the following week. Last season, Cronin said, UCLA was “clearly the best team in the country” before Jaylen Clark and Adem Bona went down with season-ending injuries.
“So we’ve been on a charmed ride,” Cronin said. “Tough run this year, it is what it [is] … great kids on the team, I’m going to try to coach them hard and try to get them better. They have to improve. So for me, it’s about them. We’ll address the roster at the end of the season, but right now, it’s about them and trying to help them get better.”
Even with seven freshmen among his eight newcomers, Cronin clearly thought this team could win at a high level based on his comments during the Maui Invitational, when he said he took it as a personal insult that the Bruins weren’t nationally ranked based on their recruiting class.
As his team went on to lose eight of nine games, Cronin acknowledged that having a roster ranking No. 319 out of 362 Division I teams in experience, according to basketball analyst Ken Pomeroy, was an issue leading to so many close losses. Asked about roster construction, Cronin compared his team to the chintzy Cincinnati Reds fighting the cash-infused Dodgers for free agents based on UCLA’s shortfall in NIL dollars preventing it from snagging top transfers.
“Nobody has put in more effort than me on the Men of Westwood,” Cronin said, referring to the team’s primary NIL collective. “But I’m not into effort; I’m into getting the job done. So I’ve got to work harder. But the people who have helped, I greatly appreciate them.”
The Bruins were in the running for Rutgers sharpshooter Cam Spencer (now making 46.8% of his three-pointers and averaging 15.5 points for Connecticut) and USC’s Reese Dixon-Waters (now averaging 12.1 points for San Diego State) but lost out for various reasons. They did get Utah guard Lazar Stefanovic, whose 18 points against Arizona State on Wednesday were a season high.
UCLA guard Lazar Stefanovic controls the ball in front of Arizona State forward Alonzo Gaffney during a Bruins victory Wednesday.
(Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)
The Bruins’ lack of hits in the transfer market, not to mention their inability to secure enough local high school prospects in a relatively weak class, forced Cronin to pivot to Europe. Though highly rated, three of the four players he landed from overseas have not made a quick impact amid injuries and ineffectiveness.
Guard Ilane Fibleuil has struggled to grasp the intricacies of college basketball. Guard Jan Vide missed nearly a month with a sprained ankle. Center Aday Mara, at 7 feet 3 and 240 pounds, appears underweight and overmatched. Only forward Berke Buyuktuncel has found a reliable role as a starter after rounding into form from an ankle injury and sitting out three games while awaiting NCAA clearance.
There have been some success stories. Freshman guard Sebastian Mack has emerged as the team’s leading scorer amid some maddening deficiencies on defense and freshman forward Brandon Williams reminds some of a young Jaquez with his fearlessness off the bench.
But for most of the season’s first 2½ months, too many of these young Bruins’ steps have been stumbles.
Late in the first half against Arizona State, four UCLA players clustered around the basket like traffic cones, just standing there watching as Jamiya Neal’s wild shot from the corner caromed off the backboard.
Into the collective inertia raced Sun Devils guard Frankie Collins to grab the ball and go in for an easy putback.
A livid Cronin immediately called a timeout, yanking two players.
It made no difference.
There was no button Cronin could push, no lever he could pull to shake his team out of its funk as it fell into a 15-point hole before its defense tightened and its shots started falling to spark the comeback.
A look at the teams’ rosters illustrated the challenge UCLA has faced all season against more veteran counterparts.
Like UCLA, Arizona State nearly turned over its entire team, returning just one starter. But the similarities ended there. While the Bruins brought in practically all freshmen, the Sun Devils went heavy on transfers. Along with two freshmen, Arizona State’s roster included two new transfers from Louisiana State and one each from Louisville, Houston Baptist, West Virginia, San Francisco and Tulsa — eight transfers in all.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin shouts directions to guard Jan Vide during a win over Washington on Sunday.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
That glut of experience helped the Sun Devils win their first five games decided by three points or fewer before faltering against the Bruins. By comparison, nine of UCLA’s 10 losses have come by single digits.
It’s a similar story for Arizona, which brought in three transfers who are playing massive roles including guard Caleb Love, forward Keshad Johnson and sixth man Jaden Bradley. The Wildcats are the only nationally ranked Pac-12 team and are likely to get another good seed in the NCAA tournament.
Meanwhile, UCLA continues to seek continuity after starting nine different players. Amid their many issues, the Bruins play with little purpose on offense and could go down as one of the worst-shooting teams in school history.
UCLA’s average of 64.4 points per game is the lowest since the adoption of the shot clock for the 1985-86 season and its 28.8% three-point accuracy is the worst since the three-point shot was adopted for the 1986-87 season.
Along the way, Cronin has told his players to not worry about missed shots and focus on playing with confidence no matter what’s happening.
“He always lets us know that he still believes in us,” Mack said, “and he still thinks that we can still do it.”
Having entered the season with 464 victories — the most of any active coach 53 years old or younger at the NCAA Division I level — Cronin knows what it takes to win. He just needs to make sure his players do as well.
“I’ve accomplished enough,” said Cronin, who will turn 53 in July. “I know some people don’t think I have; I have. I’ve been coach of the year in many conferences, I’ve been to a Final Four, I’m a kid from the west side of Cincinnati whose dad was a high school coach. It’s about them, so I’ve got to help them keep getting better and if you do the right things, you get a chance to win.”
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Russell Wilson and Sean Payton spent just one NFL season together, but tension lingered after a rocky year.
And it appears the tension that built up from that tumultuous stretch continues to linger.
Wilson’s interview on the “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast, recorded before last month’s Super Bowl between Seattle and New England, recently resurfaced.
In the interview, Wilson doubled down on his October comment labeling Payton “classless,” saying he felt slighted by his former coach’s remarks.
Head coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos talks to quarterback Russell Wilson on the sideline during an NFL preseason football game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium Aug. 11, 2023, in Glendale, Ariz. (Ryan Kang/Getty Images)
“[When] you’ve been on the same side or this and that, and I got the same amount of rings as you got, meaning Sean, right?” said Wilson, who won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks as Payton did coaching for the New Orleans Saints.
“I got a lot of respect for him as a play-caller, this and that, but to take a shot, I don’t like. I don’t think it’s necessary, you know, I mean, especially when I’m not even on your own team anymore. So, for me, there’s a point in time where you have to, I’ve realized, I’ve stayed quiet for so long. There’s a there’s a time and place where I’m not.
“I know who I am as a competitor, as a warrior, as a champion, too, and, you know, I’ve beaten Sean, too. You know, like we’ve been on the same place and the same thing. And so, it’s not a matter of disrespect. Just don’t disrespect me.”
Sean Payton and Russell Wilson of the Denver Broncos during an a game against the Minnesota Vikings at Empower Field at Mile High Nov. 19, 2023, in Denver, Colo. (Ryan Kang/Getty Images)
After a rocky one-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024, Wilson joined the New York Giants last offseason. However, he was relegated to a backup role after just three games.
Rookie Jaxson Dart quickly showed promise once he had the chance to start, but his season was briefly derailed by injury. Jameis Winston — not Wilson — stepped in for Dart in a handful of games. Dart threw three touchdowns in a Week 7 matchup with the Broncos, nearly pulling off an upset in what was eventually a close loss.
After the game, Payton said Dart provided a “spark” to the Giants’ offense.
“I was talking to [Giants owner] John Mara not too long ago, and I said, ‘We were hoping that that change would have happened long after our game,’” Payton said.
The New York Giants’ Russell Wilson attempts to escape a sack by Dallas Cowboys defensive end James Houston (53) in the first half of a game Sept. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Payton also said the Broncos would have faced less of a challenge had Wilson been under center.
“Classless … but not surprised,” Wilson responded in a social media post. “Didn’t realize you’re still bounty hunting 15+ years later though the media.”
Despite last season’s struggles and chatter about his football future, Wilson does not appear ready to call it quits in 2026.
“I wanna play a few more years for sure,” he said. “I think, for me, I’ve always had the vision of getting to 40, at least. I think the game is different. Quarterbacks, we get hit. It’s not, you know, we get hit hard, but … there’s certain rules. I mean, back in the day when I started, bro, it was you just get [clobbered].
“I mean, so I feel like the game allows you to, you know, live a little longer, I guess. I feel healthy. I feel great. But I think, more than anything else is, do you love the game? Do you love studying? Do you love the passion for it all? Do you love the process? Do you love the practice? Do you love — everybody loves the winning part of it, but it’s process. There’s a journey that you got to be obsessed with. And that part I’m obsessed with.”
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The early rounds of the BNP Paribas Open began Wednesday, with top seeds slated to start play Friday during the 12-day ATP and WTPA Master 1000 tournament.
A busy stretch of the tennis season reaches another gear at Indian Wells Tennis Garden, the second largest outdoor tennis stadium in the world.
While many consider it the “fifth Grand Slam” because of its elite player field, amenities and equal prize money for men and women, professionals acknowledge the tournament is part of a stressful stretch on the tennis calendar.
Indian Wells is followed by the Miami Open, another two-week Master 1000 tournament. The tour stops are known as the “Sunshine Double.”
Some players made the short trip from Indian Wells to Las Vegas this past weekend to participate in the MGM Grand Slam, an exhibition designed to help players ramp up for back-to-back tournaments.
American Reilly Opelka, a 6-foot–11 pro, said managing fatigue after a series of tournaments before hitting Indian Wells has altered his practice and play in exhibition matches, including a loss to 19-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca in Las Vegas.
“Normally in any kind of competition, you get excited and play with a pressure point … but you don’t feel this when you are practicing,” Opelka said.
“I was trying to feel like this a few days ago while practicing with … [Tommy Paul,] but instead we got tired and hungry. … That usually doesn’t happen. We just decided to stop and go to eat somewhere.”
Paul said despite the decision to cut practice short, he feels fresh for the upcoming events.
“I started the year pretty well and for Americans, we are excited for the Sunshine Double,” Paul said.
Casper Rudd lost to Opelka during the first round of the Las Vegas exhibition. The Norwegian also lost a week ago during the first round of the Acapulco Open, falling to Chinese qualifier Yibing Wu in straight sets.
Rudd said he felt “extremely tired” after the Australian Open in January.
Rancho Palo Verdes resident Taylor Fritz, ranked No. 7 in the world, said the best way to prepare yourself for grueling tour schedule is “putting [in] the time, work and repetition.”
“… Be there, be focused on the quality that you are doing,” said Fritz, a 28-year-old who won the Indian Wells title in 2022.
While some players are guarding against burnout, others struggled to even reach California. Some players who live in Dubai, including Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, have to contend with closed airspace triggered by the U.S. and Israel bombing Iran.
The ATP announced Wednesday that, “the vast majority of players who were in Dubai have successfully departed today on selected flights.”
Sports
Law firm fighting for women’s sports in SCOTUS battle comments on ruling possibly impacting SJSU trans lawsuit
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A law firm leading the charge in the ongoing Supreme Court case over trans athletes in women’s sports has responded after a federal judge suggested the case’s ruling could impact a separate case involving a similar issue.
Colorado District Judge Kato Crews deferred ruling in motions to dismiss former San Jose State volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser’s lawsuit against the California State University (CSU) system until after a ruling in the B.P.J. v. West Virginia Supreme Court case, which is expected to come in June.
Slusser filed the lawsuit against representatives of her school and the Mountain West Conference in fall 2024 after she allegedly was made to share bedrooms and changing spaces with trans teammate Blaire Fleming for a whole season without being informed that Fleming is a biological male.
Meanwhile, the B.P.J. case went to the Supreme Court after a trans teen sued West Virginia to block the state’s law that prevents males from competing in girls’ high school sports.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is the primary law firm defending West Virginia in that case at the Supreme Court, and has now responded to news that Slusser’s lawsuit could be affected by the SCOTUS ruling.
“We hope the ruling from the Supreme Court will affirm that Title IX was designed to guarantee equal opportunity for women, not to let male athletes displace women and girl in competition. It is crucial that sports be separated by sex for not only the equal opportunity of women but for safety and privacy. Title IX should protect women’s right to compete in their own sports. Allowing men to compete in the female category reverses 50 years of advancement for women,” ADF Vice President of Litigation Strategies Jonathan Scruggs said.
Slusser’s attorney, Bill Bock of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, expects a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the legal defense representing West Virginia, thus helping his case.
(Left) Brooke Slusser (10) of the San Jose State Spartans serves the ball during the first set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Oct. 19, 2024. (Right) Blaire Fleming #3 of the San Jose State Spartans looks on during the third set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym on October 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. ( Andrew Wevers/Getty Images; Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
“We’re looking forward to the case going forward,” Bock told Fox News Digital.
“I believe that the court is going to find that Title IX operates on the basis of biological sex, without regard to an assumed or professed gender, and so just like the congress and the members of congress that passed Title IX in 1972, allowed this specifically provided for in the regulations that there had to be separate men’s and women’s teams based on biological sex, I think the court is going to see that is the original meaning of the statute and apply it in that way, and I think it’s going to be a big win in women’s sports.”
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared prepared to rule in favor of West Virginia after oral arguments on Jan. 13.
Slusser spoke on the steps of the Supreme Court on Jan. 13 while oral arguments took place inside, sharing her experience with a divided crowd of opposing protesters.
With Fleming on its roster, SJSU reached the 2024 conference final by virtue of a forfeit by Boise State in the semifinal round. SJSU lost in the final to Colorado State.
Slusser went on to develop an eating disorder due to the anxiety and trauma from the scandal and dropped out of her classes the following semester. The eating disorder became so severe, that Slusser said she lost her menstrual cycle for nine months. Her decision to drop her classes resulted in the loss of her scholarship, and her parents said they had to foot the bill out of pocket for an unfinished final semester of college.
President Donald Trump’s Department of Education determined in January that SJSU violated Title IX in its handling of the situation involving Fleming, and has given the university an ultimatum to agree to a series of resolutions or face a referral to the Department of Justice.
Among the department’s findings, it determined that a female athlete discovered that the trans student allegedly conspired to have a member of an opposing team spike her in the face during a match. ED claims that “SJSU did not investigate the conspiracy, but later subjected the female athlete to a Title IX complaint for ‘misgendering’ the male athlete in online videos and interviews.”
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SJSU trans player Blaire Fleming and teammate Brooke Slusser went to a magic show and had Thanksgiving together in Las Vegas despite an ongoing lawsuit over Fleming being transgender. (Thien-An Truong/San Jose State Athletics)
SJSU Athletic Director Jeff Konya told Fox News Digital in a July interview that he was satisfied with how the university handled the situation involving Fleming.
“I think everybody acted in the best possible way they could, given the circumstances,” Konya said.
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