Ben Cronin always struck me as that really tall kid who was forced to play basketball because of his size. I'd see him at the OCC high school basketball fall camp when he was probably only 15 years old, but already of gargantuan stature.He was awkward, as many overgrown kids are. He didn't seem to have much talent, yet you knew the coaching staff at Henninger High School would be doing their best to turn him into a Section III standout.
And that they did. Cronin averaged nearly 20 points per game by his senior season with five outings with 27 or more points. He received a scholarship to play basketball at the University of Michigan. But it doesn't look like he'll be doing much more of that.
After just 26 minutes of playing time spanning over two seasons, his collegiate career -- marred by injury -- may now be terminated by injury. Cronin had surgery to repair an injured hip in January. Having played just two games as a freshman to that point, he was given that year of eligibility back by the NCAA.
Now five games into his redshirt freshman year, he's still bothered by the same hip. So much so that his career looks to be over. There aren't many seven-footers in college basketball today. Cronin was a legitimate 7-feet tall and weighted in at nearly 270 pounds. That type of body could have done some damage in the physical Big Ten Conference. Now Michigan fans will never know exactly how many NIT titles Cronin would have brought them. It's a sad end to what could have been a very promising tenure in the maze and blue.
Image - Syracuse.com
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