Bill Koch

bkoch@enquirer.com

The University of Cincinnati players didn't know until an hour and a half before the game that head coach Mick Cronin would not be with them for their game Saturday against Virginia Commonwealth.

Cronin delivered the news personally in the UC locker room at about 10:30 a.m., then went home on the advice of his doctor. The Bearcats proceeded to absorb a 68-47 loss to the Rams at Fifth Third Arena.

"It was tough not having him," said senior forward Jermaine Sanders. "He's our leader. But we should have overcome it and played hard because he wasn't there."

After tests revealed that Cronin has a brain aneurysm, he alerted his staff late Friday night that he might not be able to coach the game. The final decision was made Saturday morning, according to associate head coach Larry Davis, who coached the team in Cronin's absence.

"He talked to (the players) about the game first of all and then he talked to them about his condition," Davis said. "He told them, 'I'm not dying. I've got a medical condition that the doctors are going to require me to stay out of the game until they know how to treat it.' This is a hard press conference for me because the guy has been one of my best friends for a long time."

There was no indication how long Cronin will be out. UC's next game is Tuesday night at Fifth Third Arena against Wagner.

"Every coach wants to get back as soon as possible," Davis said, "but Mick's a smart guy and he realizes this is a basketball game. As much as we wanted to win today, he has to do what's right for him physically because no basketball game is worth your life.

"He wouldn't let a doctor advise him how to coach a team and he's not going to advise a doctor. But I know this. He's a competitive guy. As soon as the doctor says he's OK, he'll be back."

The aneurysm was discovered after Cronin had complained of lingering headaches. The headaches began last Saturday after UC's double-overtime loss at Nebraska, according to Mick's father, Hep, who said Mick had an ice pack on his head on the plane ride back to Cincinnati.

"The headaches kept persisting after the Nebraska game," Hep said. "Normally if you lose a double-overtime game, as a coach, you get a headache. But it kept hurting. Sunday, Monday, all of a sudden it's Tuesday and it's not gone. They did an MRI and a CAT scan yesterday and they said there's an aneurysm there. Either they go in and fix it or they do medication. They could do either one."

Cronin, 43, coached the Bearcats' win over San Diego State on Wednesday but did not appear at the post-game press conference because he wasn't feeling well. He was at practice Friday and conducted interviews with reporters.

Cronin is scheduled for an angioplasty Sunday, according to his father. Contacted by text message during the game, Cronin said, "I'm good. Lucky we found it."

He declined to be interviewed after the game, saying that the school's press release speaks for itself.

There was no wavering on Cronin's part about whether he should coach Saturday once he received the doctor's advice.

"The (doctor) said do not get near the court," Hep said. "I can't be responsible if you coach that game because with an aneurysm, if you jump up and say something stupid, if you start blasting the players, you're liable to go down if that thing ruptures."

UC released a statement from Cronin before the game.

"I appreciate the UC Health medical community for all they have done to get to the bottom of my issue as quickly as possible," Cronin said. "Obviously, I am being held out of coaching the team for precautionary reasons, which I fully understand. I have total confidence in my coaching staff and players that they will be focused and ready to play today."

"The most important factor here is Mick's health, which is bigger than any game," said UC athletic director Mike Bohn. "We will support him and his family to the fullest extent and want Mick to be our coach for a long time. We have faith in Larry Davis and our outstanding coaches and support staff to lead the program today. We are blessed to have an outstanding medical team here at UC and thank them for their efforts."