NCAA News Wire
CBK roundup: Cronin not returning to Cincinnati bench
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Cincinnati’s Mick Cronin will not coach his team for the rest of the season for health reasons but will oversee the program in an advisory role.
Athletic director Mike Bohn made the announcement Friday while Cronin, 43, continues to deal with a non-life threatening vascular condition known as arterial dissection. Bohn said, because of precautionary reasons, Cronin will not coach the Bearcats during practices or games this season but will run the program and direct the coaching staff, game planning and recruiting.
Cronin, who has led Cincinnati to four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, has been advised to rest and avoid stress. TheBearcats are 9-3 this season and face SMU on Saturday.
—Chris Holtmann was named Butler’s permanent coach on Friday, replacing Brandon Miller.
Holtmann was serving as interim coach after Miller took a medical leave of absence before the start of this season, which would have been his second as head coach. The school announced that Miller will not be back with the program.
Since Holttmann took over, the Bulldogs are 10-4 this season going into Saturday’s game against No. 15 St. John’s.
—Texas point guard Isaiah Taylor will return to the court on Saturday for a Big 12 game against Texas Tech after sitting out the past 10 games with a broken left wrist.
Taylor fractured the wrist in a win over Iowa in November at Madison Square Garden in New York. At the time, he was averaging 15 points, four rebounds and three assists in three games.
Taylor is considered one of the top point guards in the country. The No. 11 Longhorns (11-2) posted a 8-2 record while he was out.
—LSU added a five-star prospect to his 2015 recruiting class on Friday. Shooting guard Antonio Blakeney committed the Tigers over Kentucky and Missouri, announcing his intentions on ESPNU. He had decommitted from Louisville in September and reopened his recruitment.
The 6-foot-4 Blakeney also considered North Carolina, North Carolina State and Oregon and others had been involved since his decommitment from Louisville in September. Blackney, who is from Florida, joins No. 1 overall prospect Ben Simmons in the LSU class. The two play on the same AAU team.
