#mick-cronin

#mick-cronin

"You know, true toughness is how you compete and how you go to work everyday," the coach said. "Steve's a good kid, he made a bad decision, but if you wanna be a tough guy, you need to do it during the game, for a blockout, for a rebound. So I was thoroughly disappointed. Guy was defenseless in the air. I know Steve was trying to block the shot, but game's a 25-point game, you don't do that."

Pleasantries weren't the point of the conference call with Mick Cronin. The UCLA basketball coach asked the player who could help his team contend for a national title about his plans after college. That was easy enough. Dent told Cronin that he wanted to play in the NBA. OK, Cronin responded, let's say you're playing the Lakers tomorrow. Who would you guard?