Mick's in Canada, eh?

The Bearcats coach is doing Madness analysis for the Canadian TV network The Score. Not surprisingly, he's using his air time to talk up UC basketball. "I'm on TV saying, I want the next great Canadian player in Cincinnati,'' Cronin said Wednesday. "The guy I do the games with says, 'Here we go, he's recruiting again.'

"It's working to perfection. I'm getting e-mails from coaches all over Canada. I'm the only American college coach they know.''

While "next great Canadian player'' might be an oxymoron, it's cool to see Cronin using every advantage he can. As for Sean Miller:

Good column in the Detroit Free Press this AM about the patchy success of mid-major coaches making the transition to the big time. Michael Rosenberg points to Steve Alford and Dan Monson as recent examples of guys who have gone to the Big 10 from a Mid and not done very well. Monson took Gonzaga to the Eight in '99, and is out at Minnesota. New Mexico is looking at Alford. Iowa isn't sad about that. Miller's name is mentioned in the piece, along with Lowery from Southern Illinois and John Beilein of WVU. My feeling is, Minnesota has very little chance of getting Miller, but if Michigan makes a run, XU won't be able to match the money or, obviously, the competition. It'd be up to Miller to stay or go. Young, ambitious coaches don't take long to make that call.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070322/COL22/703220314/1048/SPORTS