Because *******, I'm cognizant enough to recognize where UC slots (or at least slotted, before Mick was more or less pushed out the door and the program became a total dumpster fire in a little over four weeks) into the hierarchy of college sports, and to recognize a good thing when I saw it. Newsflash, dummy: UC isn't Duke or Kentucky, and in all likelihood they're not competing for a national championship most years. Realistically, a sweet sixteen or an elite eight every few years with an especially good team and a favorable draw was pretty much the ceiling. Yeah, they probably missed their best crack at it last year with the Nevada debacle, but they also won 90 games over the last three years and were *supposed* to have a really good team coming back next year so I got over it.
Tl;dr: unlike you and a clueless minority of UC fans, I realized a long, long time ago that UC isn't actually an elite program and that they're likely not ever going to be--certainly not until they're in a better conference and playing all their games on national TV instead of behind the ESPN+ streaming paywall--I tempered my expectations accordingly and enjoyed winning a ton of games, winning the conference, being in the tournament *
every single year* and having a CHANCE to make a run because to do that you have to actually make the tournament first.
You know what sucks though? Sitting through a bunch of rebuilds because of regular coaching changes, watching your team lose a bunch of games, and having your season end when you lose in the conference tournament. Already did it once at UC just ten years ago, have had to do it twice for my other alma mater (Indiana) over that same stretch. It's especially aggravating in this case: UC did this to themselves by pushing Cronin out because of they and their fans' unrealistic expectations.
If you can't wrap your head around all that, I can't help you.
