The Eight Steps ... Ben Cronin's Journey Back
8/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Tom Wywrot, U-M Athletic Media Relations
Walking into Crisler Arena, Ben Cronin was smiling and climbed the eight steps up to the U-M men's basketball locker room, punched in the code and opened the door, took a step and smiled. There it was -- a white jersey with the No. 35 with "Michigan" stretch across the chest.
"I did it," he would say with his patented smile.
Recruited out of Syracuse, N.Y., Cronin was one of four newcomers to the Wolverines for 2008-09-- U-M head coach John Beilein's first recruiting class. In high school, he was a force, averaging 12.6 points, 11.7 rebounds and 7.2 blocks per game at Henninger High School. He was ready to help the Wolverines get back to the top of the Big Ten and to the NCAA Tournament.
It was a long time coming for Cronin, whose journey to Ann Arbor took many twists and turns, but it was cut short when he missed the majority of the 2008-09 season due to surgery on his left hip. His trips up the eight steps were slow, crutch-aided steps, someone usually opening the dooras hewalked into the locker room to a shirt and tie waiting.
Last season, after missing most of the preseason with the hip injury, Cronin did all he could to make it back to the court before the end of the season. He was able to get into two games, showing just a small glimpse of what his seven-foot frame was capable of.
In his Michigan debut, the center came off the bench with victory well in hand to play two minutes against Michigan Tech in the season opener. In limited action, he sank two free throws for his first collegiate points and grabbed three rebounds. In his only other game of the season, he saw eight minutes of action against Norfolk State, scoring six points, grabbing two rebounds and blocking a shot.
"Every time I stepped out on the court, I had a beaming smile on my face," Cronin recalled. "I know you have to be all business when you are on the court, but I was smiling ear to ear the whole time I was out there. I could not even help it."
Then the decision came. His hip was not responding to physical therapy and he made the choice to shut it down for the seasonand undergo surgery. A disappointment for sure, but it is Cronin's nature to just smile and move forward.
"Was it a disappointment Sure," Cronin said of having to sit out the season. "But it was a real good year in the fact that I got to be with the team and really bond with this great group of guys and Coach Beilein. I watched the success of last year and watched them do so well. I will not lie, there were times it was real tough not being able to play and just sitting around doing rehab every single day. There were a lot of practices I did not get to watch or trips I did not get to go on because I was on crutches. There were points where I could be helping the team out when they could use an extra big body and that made things better."
It is that attitude and friendly nature of U-M's gentle giant that helped him become an instant fan favorite. He played in only two games and was out for the rest of the season, but it did not stop several members of the Maize Rage from creating a small pod of groupies just for him called "Cronin's Cronies". They even printed t-shirts.
"It felt pretty cool," said Cronin of U-M's student embracing him. "I wish that I could have showed them a little more and get them a little more excited. I didn't get the chance really because of the surgery, but I got a chance to meet a lot of great people. I am glad that Michigan has some great fans, some great supporters here."
That supportinspired Cronin through some of his toughest days. The last two years have been two of the most defining for Cronin, who seems much older than the 20-year-old kidhe is.
Prior to coming to Ann Arbor, Cronin lost his father, Sean. A devastating blow, but he handled it maturely and knew he still had to come to Ann Arbor to play basketball and earn his degree. Admittedly for Cronin, there were several times he got homesick last season, but he continued to strive forward.
"Yeah there were some difficult patches," said Cronin, who has embraced his big brother role. "I am the middle child of five, so I just knew I had to help out in any way I could for my two younger siblings. It was real rough knowing that I was not there. I am real close with them. I spoil the heck out of them whenever I am at home. It is always a lot of fun with them. My older brother is real busy with college and my older sister is married with kids, so I just help my mom out with whatever I can when I get home."
As time went on, his love for Ann Arbor grew with the help of his new friends, or even "family" as he would say, giving him the encouragement and time to get through the setbacks and adjust to his new life.
"There was one huge escape for me," said Cronin during the rough periods last year. "The biggest one is probably just my faith that I have. I think that I have a great group of friends at Athletes in Action. I met them about halfway through the year, right around the surgery. They really helped me through a lot of different things. Having that same kind of faith in common makes it that much easier to talk about things.
"I can relate a little more. My church group was great. I have a lot of great friends I have made here. I have my basketball family and another church family that helped me get my mind off basketball when I needed it. My mom at home, I can call her any time. But the biggest thing was my faith. I really think that got me through it."
And now It was that faith that helped Cronin work hard every day and eventually get him back on the practice court towards the end of last season. Even though it was sparingly and in limited drills, he was on his way back. He had spent so much time on the sideline; he began to see things differently. There was a method and reason for everything. He picked up on some things players do not necessarily see from being in the drill. Cronin learned what it was to be a coach.
"I look at it now and I can see a lot of different things," said Cronin of getting to watch practice from a different angle. "I know that I have grown up in the past year; you never really tell when you are growing up. You have to step outside and look at things. I can tell that last year I had to do a lot of different maturing. I had to watch things even though I had been the starting center on every team I had played on since I was a freshman in high school. It was a pleasure watching this great team, watching them come together. It makes me that much more excited about coming back this year. I did a lot of growing up."
It is that attitude that will pay dividends when Cronin returns to the floor.
"I have been told a good role," said Cronin of what he will bring to the team this year. Coach and I never talk minutes or anything like that. I have been told what coach wants of me and what he thinks I can do. My own personal goal is to be on the court as much as I can. I do not want to step off the court if I can.
"I am not saying that can necessarily happen, but that is what I want to do. I do not have any goals about scoring points or anything like that. Whatever I am doing on the court to help this team win and get better is what I want to do. I think you have to be flexible with your roles, especially with Coach Beileins offense. He will put you here, he will put you there. He is a genius with it, but you have to be flexible."
Withthat flexibility Cronin has been able to look inward and realize that he still has work to do. Nothing comes easy, but he wants to make sure he is back to 100 percent before getting back to the court. In fact, he was even able get a little bit back from last year, after he applied for and was granted a medical hardship waiver, allowing him an extra year of eligibility.
"The last piece I need to put together is just getting in great shape. With the hip, I have not been in great shape for awhile," said Cronin. "That is the one thing I need to get. And I need to get a little more strength. The Big Ten season is so long. The rehab has gone great and I am strong enough right now. But with the season, I need to be that much stronger to get through. I have been running great and playing great with it."
With his smile in tow, Cronin has carried his strength, faith and family with him through the spring and summer workouts. Now with classes about to begin, he realizes that those eight steps are going to be there.
This time he might skip a few to open the door and see that jersey hanging there again.
"I am going to be thrilled when I get back on and I get to play," said a smiling Cronin. "Michigan is a great place to be and part of the reason I came here was to be part of this basketball team. I think it will be a great chance to get going again and I will be thrilled. I have no idea how I am going to react, but I am sure I will be smiling on the floor like I was before."
