UCLA Coach Mick Cronin Apologizes To Steven Jamerson For Ejection, But Says 'Brand Is Important'

UCLA head coach Mick Cronin might not "give a rat's ass" about the Michigan State student section, but he wants Bruins redshirt senior Steven Jamerson II to know that he's sorry for making a scene and ejecting the big man for a flagrant foul he committed during the team's Tuesday night loss to the Spartans.

Even before the referees reviewed the play and assessed Jamerson with a flagrant-1 foul, Cronin grabbed Jamerson’s jersey and pointed for him to leave the court in the waning minutes of Tuesday’s 23-point loss to the Spartans in East Lansing.

"I don’t think, to be honest, the entire world has ever seen that in a game," Bruins guard Trent Perry said.

"I already apologized to Steve, OK?" Cronin told reporters before UCLA's practice. "It’s the only reason I sent him to the locker room. I thought he literally made a dirty play and tried to wipe the guy out. Once I saw the film, I mean, he still got an F-1. To be honest with you, I don’t even know if he deserved that."

Cronin said Spartans coach Tom Izzo "thought the same thing when I communicated with him."

Cronin joked that Jamerson "asked me for $10,000 more in NIL because of that."

He went on to speak glowingly of Jamerson, who played three seasons at the University of San Diego before transferring to UCLA last summer for his final year of eligibility. Jamerson has started once in 26 games, averaging 2.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 11.3 minutes. He was unsuccessful in walking on at Michigan State earlier in his career.

"Steve is everything that’s good about college basketball," Cronin said. "He’s everything that I believe in about college basketball. That being said, I’m trying to protect, like I take it really seriously. Our guys don’t get techs. We’re not taking guys