Mick Cronin’s first hire at his new job is an old friend from his previous stop.
The newly minted UCLA men’s basketball coach hired former Cincinnati associate head coach Darren Savino for the same role in Westwood, the school announced Thursday. Savino was seen on campus Thursday speaking with Cronin and UCLA administrators.
“Mick and I know each other very well, and we can’t wait to get to work in Westwood,” Savino said in a statement. “UCLA has a tremendous athletic tradition and is a world-class institution. Having spent my entire life in the game of basketball, I know first-hand what an honor this is to be able to represent UCLA’s program.”
When asked of the future of his coaching staff at his introductory press conference, Cronin immediately named Savino as a potential candidate. However, the head coach wanted Savino, who had been with Cronin through each of the Bearcats’ nine straight NCAA tournament seasons, to be considered for the head coaching job at Cincinnati. UC ultimately hired former Northern Kentucky coach John Brannen on Sunday.
“Darren and I have been working together for a long time, and he’s a great basketball coach,” Cronin said in a statement. “He is an outstanding leader, he comes from a tremendous basketball background and he is in coaching for all the right reasons. Our players will love him. They will see that not only is he a great coach, but he also cares about them as people. That’s what I am looking for on my coaching staff, and he really embodies that.”
Savino has coached with Cronin for 11 years at two stops, beginning with a two-year stint at Murray State. In nine seasons together at Cincinnati, Cronin and Savino won at least 22 games each season with a 235-79 record (.748 winning percentage).
