Murray State University Athletics
Racers Name Mick Cronin 13th Head Basketball Coach
4/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Murray State University chose one of college basketball's most highly regarded assistant coaches to continue its winning tradition in its men's basketball program.
On Saturday, April 5, the university introduced former University of Louisville associate head coach Mick Cronin as its 13th head basketball coach to approximately 200 fans and media members in the Racer Room of Roy Stewart Stadium.
“We are fortunate as a university to get Coach Cronin to join our athletic program,” said MSU president Dr. F. King Alexander. “His reputation as a coach and as a person make him one of the nation's top head coaching prospects.”
Cronin, 31, replaces Tevester Anderson who retired on March 23 after five years as head coach of the Racers. MSU director of athletics E.W. Dennison said that Cronin was chosen from a pool of several qualified candidates, many considered to be at the top of the coaching profession.
“It's rare in college athletics to have a search like this where a candidate surfaces from an outstanding pool of applicants and immediately sets himself apart. That's what happened in this instance,” said Dennison. “After a thorough search process, it was clear to everyone that Mick Cronin was the best candidate for this job.
“This is a great day for Murray State and we're proud to have him in our family.”
Cronin comes to MSU after working two years at Louisville and six seasons at the University of Cincinnati. He was regarded as one of the top assistant coaches in the country and was recently rated as “the No. 1 assistant coach in Conference USA,” and, “Most ready to be a head coach,” by Street & Smith.
“I'm extremely fortunate and very excited to have the opportunity to become the head coach at Murray State,” said Cronin. “Murray State has a great basketball tradition, outstanding support throughout the university and community, and I'm looking forward to working with everyone to take Racer basketball to the next level.”
Cronin has earned distinction in the coaching profession through both his success as one of college basketball's top recruiters, as well as his ability to instruct and motivate student-athletes. But it's his energy and work ethic which has become his trademark in the coaching business.
“I have been fortunate to have a long list of outstanding assistant coaches who have gone on to be successful head coaches and Mick ranks high on that list,” said Louisville head coach Rick Pitino. “Mick is a relentless recruiter and he communicates with players as well as any coach I have ever worked with.
“The Racers and Mick are entering a great marriage that is going to be successful for both parties.”
Cronin made no bones about the style of basketball that he will utilize in his first collegiate head coaching job.
“We're going to play a full-court, pressing style of basketball that should be very exciting for our fans,” he said, “and our program is going to represent Murray State University in an exemplary fashion on and off the court.”
As a recruiter, Cronin earned distinction as “the top recruiting assistant in the nation,” by The Sporting News after helping Louisville land back-to-back top 10 recruiting classes, according to Hoop Scoop and other national publications. He had a prominent role in signing 2003 Conference USA Freshman of the Year Francisco Garcia and C-USA All-Freshman Team member Taquan Dean, two players instrumental in Louisville's 25-7 record this season. While at Cincinnati, Cronin helped land two No. 1-ranked recruiting classes and another ranked in top 10. Those classes included two-time Conference USA Player of the Year Steve Logan and national high school player of the year DerMarr Johnson.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Cronin grew up in a basketball family as his father, Harold “Hep” Cronin, was a standout basketball coach at LaSalle High School. Mick Cronin played for his father at LaSalle, earning All-City honors by the Cincinnati Enquirer. He went on to attend the University of Cincinnati and graduated in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in history.
His coaching career actually began in 1991 while still in college as an assistant coach/head junior varsity coach at Woodward High School in Cincinnati where he coached future McDonald's All-American Damon Flint who went on to play at Cincinnati.
His first college coaching job came in 1995 when he joined Bob Huggins' staff at Cincinnati as a graduate assistant. He was promoted to a full-time assistant coach in 1997. Cronin honed his coaching skills in the summers by coaching all-star teams. In 1996 he coached the East Team, led by Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, in the Magic Johnson Roundball Classic. He was also the director of the Pittsburgh Roundball Classic and served as a coach at the Adidas ABCD All-Americans Summer Camp and the Five-Star All-American Summer Camp.
