WATCH: Mick Cronin bemoans late-night UCLA-Gonzaga tip-off
Mick Cronin almost made it through his 20-minute press conference without hearing the one question about Saturday night’s nonconference clash with Gonzaga that he did not want to address.
Sure enough, though, the UCLA men’s basketball head coach closed his eyes, shook his head and wondered why anyone in charge of network TV programming would schedule an 8:30 p.m. PT start in Seattle.
“Oh, don’t get me started,” Cronin said before Thursday’s practice. “I’m trying to stay positive. … I mean, it’s ridiculous. I mean, why don’t we just play at midnight?”
For those on the East Coast, it essentially is. Cronin said his 84-year-old father, Hep, will need two naps earlier in the day just to get through watching the ESPN broadcast.
The ESPN TV lineup Saturday will feature five consecutive college basketball games starting at 12:30 p.m. PT, with the Bruins and Bulldogs finishing off the slate. That also likely means a later-than-advertised tip-off depending on when the top-ranked Arizona-No. 12 Alabama contest in the 6:30 p.m. PT window finishes. An overtime finish or a foul-heavy game would likely push UCLA-Gonzaga’s start to another one of ESPN’s networks until the conclusion.
“A window everybody’s sleeping,” Cronin said. “I mean, you could put re-runs on of the PBA King of Bowling and probably get — I mean, everybody’s sleeping, they’re sleeping.”
The biggest issue, Cronin said, is the return flight. UCLA just flew out to Seattle last week, beating Washington 82-80 in the Big Ten opener. Bruins wing Eric Dailey Jr. said the team did not land back in Los Angeles until around 2:30 a.m.
Cronin’s biggest gripe is that his players are also students who have to worry about attending class. It’s part of the reason UCLA’s nonconference schedule is entirely made up of games on the West Coast.
“It’s just crazy,” Cronin said. “How is that good for anybody?
“We travel enough with the Big Ten out of our time zone. You have to remember: Although our guys do get paid, it is semi-pro — the real reasons they pick schools — they still go to school. And they go to one of the best schools, the best public school in the world. So, the people they’re sitting in class with, their peers, are the best of the best.”
Watch Cronin’s full press conference below:
