Mick Cronin: Motivational Speaker

 Mick Cronin makes his mildly suggestive way back into our powdered sugar hearts again this Thursday when West Virginia travels to Cincinnati.

We all know the man on the sideline, the one that makes us question just what he's trying to get his team to do in that picture to the right.

But what about the man away from the court? Mick was kind enough to send us the transcript of his "Losing is a Great Motivator" speech from this past offseason.

Men, losing is a great motivator. Remember when you were a little kid and you used to get picked on by all the other kids in your neighborhood? Crowd sits perfectly still.

Remember how you would have to run home with your underwear pulled over your head? Crowd sits perfectly still. I could go on but I said I would keep this to an hour. The point is, those were some powerful feeling! And you need to find a way to turn those feelings into action!

Now when I was a kid, those feelings motivated me to run home and cry in my bedroom all afternoon until mom got home with the jelly beans. I found a way to take that motivation to cry from my bedroom to the court. Back rows start to empty out. I cry about everything that happens out there.

My guy misses a layup, I'm screaming for a foul whether there's anyone around him or not. They dribble, I cry. They set a screen, I cry. I'm in that ref's head so deep, he probably can't stop thinking of the sound of my voice days after the game.

And one of these days I'm going to turn that approach into basketball glory! Woooo! Look where it's gotten me so far! Crowd starts talking amongst themselves and filing out.

It's in every last one of you. All you have to do is let it out. Last man in the crowd walking out the door, "Would you shut up?!"