Why UCLAs Mick Cronin is hungry for more than wins on game days

ROSEMONT, Ill.– Mick Cronin was charming with every word again Thursday, the UCLA men’s basketball coach barely going a minute without ripping off a one-liner about something that caught his fancy.He relayed his message to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts about his team’s close call in the playoffs against Atlanta.“I texted Dave, ‘Quit making me nervous,’” Cronin said.

“I really did.We’ve got to get [Shohei] Ohtani going again.

But with the lineup we have, the bottom of our lineup can get a couple of home runs and we win.”He had fun with a reporter asking about guard Jaylen Petty’s ability to play on the ball.“What do you mean by that?” Cronin quipped.“Like, my dog plays on the ball – he rolls around, he plays on the ball.

He doesn’t ever bring it back, he likes me to throw it.”Wearing a bespoke blazer, he made sure to get in a reference to his fancy threads after being asked about another coach’s style.“Like, style to me is a sportscoat,” Cronin said, pulling on the lapel of his jacket.“It’s pretty damn nice.”It’s always this way when Cronin meets with reporters on media day or one of his weekly availabilities, the most gregarious and hilarious coach in Southern California riffing on every topic and filling every notebook multiple times over.Which raises the question: Why can’t Cronin always be like this?Of course, few coaches are going to be agreeable after a loss, but maybe something Cronin occasionally mumbles on the way out of postgame press conferences – “Time to get out of here, I’m hungry” – explains why he tends to be considerably grumpier on game days.You see, Cronin doesn’t eat whenever his team plays.Seriously.He confirmed as much Thursday inside the Donald E.

Stephens Convention Center.Maybe he’ll down some Powerade Zero, Gatorade Zero or coconut water before the game.That’s it.

Only sugar-free fluids.As he explained the root of his culinary restraint, it’s more by curse than by choice...