REPORT: Former Bruins HC Complains About Cronin's Language

UCLA coach Mick Cronin caught a little bit of heat over the weekend from a former UCLA head coach, critiquing the way that he coaches his guys, specifically from the language aspect.

The big question to be asked: Why is this a gripe above any other sort of coaching deficiency?

Former UCLA Bruins player, assistant and head coach Gary Cunningham spoke on a panel for the "Celebrating 50 Years of Learning from Coach Wooden" event that took place Saturday afternoon. LA Daily News' Haley Sawyer covered the event, providing the comment from Cunningham.

"I never heard a swear word [from John Wooden]," Cunningham said. "The coach here now [Cronin] doesn't know how to make a sentence without a swear word."

Really? Swearing is the glaring difference between Wooden, one of the greatest to ever do it in college basketball, and the rising star of a head coach that Cronin is. I wonder what Cunningham's thoughts are on the late, great Bob Knight when he was with the Indiana Hoosiers.

A head-turning comment made from a former Bruin, especially considering the success that the program has had since Cronin began leading, six years ago. Not to mention, his team just sealed a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament and swept rival USC for the first time in his career.

There may not be a head coach in college basketball right now that does not use a cuss word a time or two when trying to get through to their players. The fact that this is a legitimate complaint on one of the more successful Bruin head coaches is quite laughable.

Cunningham had a three-year career as a player at UCLA (1960-'62), appearing in a Final Four in '62. He would go on to coach under Wooden ('65-'75), later becoming the Bruins' head coach from 1977 to 1979. He held a 50-8 record in two seasons at the helm of the program and won the Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the 1977-78 season.

Cronin is not dropping "F" bombs in postgame pressers or visually losing his mind with a barrage of expletives during timeouts. Whatever Cunningham has been noticing is not something that is being identified and concerned about from the rest of the Bruin fans and alumni.

Writing as someone that was born nearly 40 years after Cunningham's time on campus, it may have been different back then as a few swear words was the ultimate sin. Nowadays, common coach speak includes a few explicit words that may be warranted during frustrating moments of a season.

This is not to say that swearing is a key to success, but it is just a part of college athletics that comes along with being a coach or a player. If Cunningham were to hear what is said on NBA floors in today's era, he may faint.

Cronin is the youngest active head coach to reach 500 wins, won four different Coach of the Year awards across three different program, taken the Bruins to three Sweet 16s, plus a Final Four (2021) and won a Pac-12 title in 2023.

If he leads this team to another deep run in March or even a Final Four appearance and the biggest gripe is, he swears too much, then it is safe to say that Cronin is doing a fine job at the helm of one of the most illustrious program in college athletics.

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