Tennessee's new basketball coach, Cuonzo Martin
With most of their top recruits wanting out, Tennessee needed to find a coach that would keep their players happy. They may have done just that with the hiring of Cuonzo Martin.
“Cuonzo has an inspiring personal story, and we look forward to his impact on Tennessee basketball,” UT athletic director Mike Hamilton said.
Cuonzo Martin was the head coach at Missouri State where he compiled a 61-41 record in three full years. He played college basketball at Purdue where he scored 1,666 points in his career. He was selected 57th overall in the 1995 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks. He also played with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Vancouver Grizzlies. In 1997 he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. he is currently in full remission.
“Cuonzo is among the most promising young coaches in the game, and we are excited about the coaching ability, toughness and energy that he brings to our program,” Hamilton said. “He has a proven track record of success as a head coach at Missouri State and as an assistant at Purdue as well as an outstanding career as a college basketball player.”
On Monday, March 28, Tennessee held a press conference to introduce Martin as the new head basketball coach.
“My family is overwhelmed and excited to become a part of the Vols family,” Martin said. “We will be successful . . . I think this is a Top 25 job, but the goal is to be the last team standing and be a national champion, and I think we can do that with the right pieces.”
From his resume, he seems to be a good hire for Tennessee. His stand-up attitude, and morals should play very well with the NCAA’s committee review board. Tennessee will go before the Infractions committee on June 10-11 in Indianapolis. The big question is how will the fans respond to Martin as their new coach. Bruce Pearl still has a lot of support among the fan base. From a resent poll on govolsextra.com, 32% of people do not agree with this hiring. For him to succeed at Tennessee he must win over the fans. That shouldn’t be too hard if he can find a way to keep the players and win next year, most fans will forget about Pearl.
