UCLA coach Mick Cronin delivered a dose of brutal honesty following the Bruins’ loss in the NCAA Tournament early Sunday.
Cronin was asked about next year’s UCLA team following the Bruins’ 67-58 loss to Tennessee in Lexington, Ky. The coach was in no mood to deal with that question, citing some more pressing concerns.
“Right now, guys, it’s 12:40 a.m. and our season just ended. That’s it,” Cronin said. “You’re going to ask me about next year? Right now, my biggest concern is how bad the seats are on the Allegiant flight on that terrible plane that we’re going to have to fly home tomorrow.”
UCLA’s Mick Cronin, on when he’ll start worrying about next season.
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) March 23, 2025
“Right now guys, it’s 12:40 am and our season just ended. Right now my biggest concern is how bad the seats are on @Allegiant flight, on that terrible plane we’re gonna have to fly home tomorrow..”
I felt that pic.twitter.com/LQ9Zc57YKm
For the uninitiated, Allegiant Air is a budget airline that Cronin is apparently not a fan of. In this instance, one can certainly understand why he would not be looking forward to an uncomfortable flight from Kentucky to Southern California following a season-ending loss. Still, Allegiant probably wasn’t expecting to catch a stray here.
Cronin can certainly be very grumpy. The loss, combined with the late start time on the East Coast, could easily annoy anyone. Still, he led UCLA to the tournament in their first season in the Big Ten, and even won a game. That is something worth celebrating — just not until after the flight, apparently.
