Illinois was not on anyone’s mind, even though the No. 10-ranked team, outside of the AP Poll, is the fourth-best team and top-ranked offensive squad in the country, per KenPom.

But coach Mick Cronin had other matters to address before even talking about the UCLA men’s basketball Saturday affair against Illinois, UCLA’s third straight ranked matchup.

The room was silent as Cronin walked into the media room before practice on Friday morning.

Phones and cameras focused on the Bruin coach, waiting to capture the moment everyone was waiting for.

And before a reporter could say anything, Cronin uttered the one word everyone was waiting for.

“Sorry.”

Cronin spent the first 2:19 of his media availability explaining what he saw and his thoughts behind ejecting redshirt senior Steven Jamerson II from UCLA’s 23-point loss to Michigan State last Tuesday.

“I already apologized to Steve,” Cronin said. “I thought he made a dirty play and tried to wipe the guy out. You can’t be down 25, you’re getting your butt kicked – don’t try to take somebody out or hurt somebody on the other team, which is what I thought. Now, I’m sure I was blocked. I’m on the other end. Obviously, their reaction – I thought he tried to crush this kid.”

The forward/center committed a flagrant one foul when he hit Spartan center Carson Cooper on a transition dunk attempt in the waning moments of a contest where the Bruins trailed by 27 at the time.

And after receiving a dual technical foul with Cooper for the scuffle that ensued – his fifth and final foul – Cronin dragged Jamerson to the corner of the UCLA bench, promptly instructing his coaching staff to get the redshirt senior “out of here”.

Cronin’s actions received nationwide attention, with many scrutinizing the Bruin coach for the way he humiliated his own player in front of almost 15,000 Spartan fans in Jamerson’s return to East Lansing – the school he attended his freshman year as a regular student.

And after millions of people voiced their opinions on how the seventh-year Bruin coach handled the situation, Cronin spent Friday morning talking about the person Jamerson is.

“Steve is everything that’s good about college basketball,” Cronin said. “The guy walked on – he tried to walk on at Michigan State. He walked on at San Diego, got a scholarship, graduated from a great school in USD, here getting his master’s. So it gives me a chance to tell you what a great guy he is. He’s everything that I believe in about college basketball.”

But Cronin did not stop there either.

The head honcho said that preserving and upholding the Bruin brand while painting the school in a positive light is at the forefront of his priorities.

“I was wrong, I apologize,” Cronin said. “That being said, the brand is important to me. So I need to dial back some of my humor, so I apologize. Sometimes I’m too candid. For example, talking about how bad our flight was after the NCAA tournament. You have to realize, and I have to do a better job of this, that in this climate, you’ve got to be careful with what you say.”

And Cronin emphasized he was the perfect fit for UCLA after acknowledging that his recent behavior was out of line.

The head coach said that he never tries to be bigger than the program and that he never makes it about himself.

“I’m a good fit here because I know I’m not bigger than the brand, and the brand matters here, the school matters,” Cronin said. “The last thing I want to do is bring negative publicity to our school. I apologize to our people – school, students, everybody in our community, because it’s important.”

And Cronin said that no one protects his players more than he does to cap off the extensive apology.

Citing his relentless coaching of former Bruin forward Peyton Watson – who played just 12.7 minutes per game under Cronin despite going No. 30 in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft – Cronin said that he sleeps well knowing he does everything he can for his players.

“Peyton Watson, for example, didn’t play hardly at all,” Cronin said. “Parents probably were not happy with that, but I sleep well at night because I know I coached his butt off every day and gave him actually more than some of the other guys because I knew it was going to be one year and he wasn’t getting to play. ”

Cronin’s apology served as a surprise on the eve of a top-10 matchup.

But one rooted in vulnerability, rather than humiliation.