Cincinnati's Mick Cronin won't return to coach basketball team this season
Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin will not coach the team for the rest of the season as he deals with a non-life threatening medical condition, the school announced Friday.
Assistant Larry Davis will coach the team during Cronin's absence.
The school says Cronin is dealing with arterial dissection and will oversee the program in an advisory role for the rest of the season. Cincinnati announced last month that Cronin had a brain aneurysm, which caused him to miss to three games.
According to the University of Virginia health system, arterial dissections "occur when there is a tear or damage to the inner wall or lining of an artery." It can be fatal but can also be treated if it detected early.
"Coach Cronin's career is not jeopardized by this condition and we all look forward to seeing him back on the court next season and enjoying a long successful career thereafter," Dr. Mario Zuccarello, chair of University of Cincinnati Health department of neurosurgery, said in a release.
Cronin will not coach the team during practices or games this season, but he will still recruit and direct the coaching staff.
"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 release. "This program is bigger than any coach or 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 and has compiled a 171-110 record in his tenure and taken the Bearcats to the NCAA tournament in each of the last two seasons. This season, Cincinnati is 8-3.
- Scooby Axson