Cuonzo Martin

Can Illinois State Get An At-large Bid? Is Cuonzo Martin Next At Mizzou

... So the Shockers have an auto bid to the NCAA Tournament. Can Illinois State get an at-large. Matt Norlander and I discussed that at the top of this episode of the Eye on College Basketball podcast. Our opinion: God, we would love to see Illinois State in the field. Good team. Great season. But the selection committee will almost certainly decide the Redbirds don’t have enough quality victories, and that they have too many bad losses, and that combination will likely prove difficult to overcome - especially considering Illinois State doesn’t have a Ken Pom number that hammers home its strength the way Wichita State had one last season. The Shockers were 21 st in Ken Pom on Selection Sunday last year. Illinois State is 49 th in Ken Pom right now. Again, we would love to see Illinois State in the NCAA Tournament. Gonna be tough, though. We followed that conversation with a conversation about Missouri’s opening. The school forced Kim Anderson to resign Sunday afternoon. Is Cuonzo Martin next? Maybe Lorenzo Romar? Maybe Dan Muller? We discussed all three potential candidates - then talked about North Carolina’s ACC regular-season title and ...

Cal's Cuonzo Martin Resigns To Take Job At Missouri

... coach Bruce Pearl, who led the Vols to NCAA appearances in each of his six years on the job. Martin, a native of East St. Louis, Illinois, has been no stranger to the Midwest, having played for Gene Keady at Purdue before eight years as an assistant there. His first college head coaching job came at Missouri State, where he went 61-41 from 2008 through 2011. He led the Bears to the Missouri Valley Conference title his last season. As for Missouri, the once-proud program went 27-68 in three seasons under Anderson, including 8-24 this year in which the Tigers lost seven of their final eight games with a young team and shallow bench. Missouri's 2-14 record in SEC play this season tied a school and conference record for losses. Anderson, who was fired with two years left on his contract, took over in 2014 ...

Coaching Profile

... the memory of Bruce Pearl was still fresh in many people’s minds. You’d be hard pressed to find a more spirited stump for Martin than this one , penned by former Tennessee basketball beat writer and current St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Ben Frederickson. Cal hasn’t been a regular tournament team under Martin, but the Golden Bears have been competitive. They’re squarely on the bubble this season, his third in Berkeley, and might be able to squeak into the field with a strong showing in the Pac-12 Tournament. Martin is 59-36 there. His buyout is manageable. MU could afford to give him a raise. The money isn’t an issue. It’s all about fit. THE CONS. Martin’s contract at Cal runs through 2019, and he’s only spent two seasons there. Even if the Golden Bears don’t make the NCAA Tournament this season, it seems like Martin has done enough there to keep the fan base at ease for the time being. He’d have at least two more years to build the program he’s at right now if he wanted to stay. You could make an argument that the Pac-12 is a better basketball conference ...

Illinois Starts New Era Swiftly Firing John Groce

... the city and its suburbs is certainly different. Martin was able to bring coveted prospects like Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb to Berkeley; could he be as convincing to even just one or two difference-making five-star players within Chicago city limits? He landed Charlie Moore, a Chicago-area point guard and top 100 recruit, when Moore’s plans to attend Memphis fell through. He certainly should be able to convince Illinois’ most prized signee, top 30 center Jeremiah Tilmon, to remain on board. After all, Martin and Tilmon share the same hometown. NC State may face challenge replacing Mark Gottfried as head coach. Illinois did well in moving fast to move on from Groce. It seemingly had at least one other candidate in mind, and that list may be longer than just Monty Williams. Archie Miller’s name surely will be bandied about. USC coach Andy Enfield and Oklahoma City Thunder assistant Adrian Griffin may get a look or may be interested. Though Cuonzo Martin is an extremely logical option, a number of circumstances can upend logic in a coaching search very easily. Still, consider the summer of 1990, when Martin was a ...

3 Big Questions About Mizzou's Coaching Search

... job in Martin's more-familiar Big Ten stomping grounds. One thing that should help the Tigers' cause, if it gets to that point: Martin knows firsthand how fast a team can rise in the SEC. It's Kentucky, then everyone else. Especially now that Billy Donovan has departed Florida. 3. Is Lorenzo Romar off the board. Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar. (AP Photo). Full disclosure: I don't think Lorenzo Romar deserves to be in this conversation despite his ties to the talented Porter brothers. Look at what he has not done with exceptional talent instead of hoping that trend will suddenly change. OK, rant over. Romar's name continues to be peddled, and multiple influential Missouri boosters want Washington's coach, per Dave Matter's reporting. But Romar might be staying put. Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports reported Monday night that Romar will be back at ...

Tatum's Time, Cuonzo's Choice, Muller Miffed, Shatty Sits

... 25 of the schools that made it (into the tournament) to see if they would play us. What do they want us to do?". The best indicator of Muller's frustration? He even stuck up for Wichita State after the Shockers were assigned a No. 10 seed. (Muller and Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall are not the best of pals.). "That is ridiculous," Muller said Marshall's Shockers. "They are one of the 20 best teams in the country. The committee clearly has biases, and that is based on one thing only, that's quality of wins. They have no understanding of scheduling apparently. One of the most frustrating parts is how stupid they are. Teams continue to outperform their seeds. Our league wins every year they get in.". 4. Dumb move, Shatty. The Capitals traded for Kevin Shattenkirk because the Blues defenseman was viewed as the power play X-factor that could push the Stanley Cup favorite over the edge. But he can't help much if he's not on the ice. Shattenkirk was suspended for two games on Sunday for this ugly hit on Kings defenseman Kevin Gravel. The boneheaded move cost Shattenkirk more than $47,000. The Capitals lost their first game without Shattenkirk, which happened to be their fourth ...

Cuonzo Martin An Offseason Coaching Target

... One year of offseason rumors claimed the Cal football head coach. Could the carousel reignite this spring with Cuonzo Martin. Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated reports that Cuonzo Martin will be an offseason coaching candidate in a few places, particularly from his Midwest origins. Cuonzo Martin, California. He’s led both Cal and Tennessee to the NCAA tournament and holds a career record of 183–115. Martin is from East St. Louis, Ill., played at Purdue and got his start as a head coach at Missouri State. His Midwestern roots make it likely Illinois, Missouri or Arkansas could all swoon for him. LSU could be intrigued as well. Expect Martin’s name to be bandied about a lot the next few weeks, as he fits at too many places. Let’s take a look at each situation. Illinois basketball coach John Groce is on the hot seat. The Illini sit in a tie for next-to-last in the conference. Martin hails from East St. ...

Martin Would Make Sense For Tigers Or Illini

... for Sterk. Coming up with names has become more interesting than watching most of the games. But the wish list should start with Martin. He would have a lot to think about — if the price was right. Martin is no longer working for the athletics director who hired him. Cal coaches can grow tired of the strict academic standards that make it harder to cast as wide of a recruiting net as their Pac-12 peers. Both Mizzou and Illinois would bring Martin's family closer to the relatives and friends who still call St. Louis home. Martin and his top assistant Tracy Webster know the recruiting terrain well, and would benefit from being able to pitch Martin's story to local recruits whose parents remember Martin and La Phonso Ellis starring at at East St. Louis' Lincoln High. Martin might even put a stop in SLU coach Travis Ford's new prospect pipeline. A relationship with Mizzou exists, because the Tigers have ...