Former Tennessee Vols Head Coach Cuonzo Martin Takes Over Missouri Tigers in Same Position
Former Tennessee Basketball head coach Cuonzo Martin has accepted the same position with the Missouri Tigers three years after leaving the Volunteers.
Less than three years after taking the Vols to the Sweet Sixteen and then bolting for the California Golden Bears, Cuonzo Martin is heading back to the SEC.
Fresh off of a blowout NIT loss in a disappointing season, Martin is heading back home to take the head coaching job for the Missouri Tigers. According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Martin is expected to accept a seven-year deal worth $21 million.
He replaces Kim Anderson, who never even came close to a winning season in three years with the Tigers.
A native of East St. Louis, Cuonzo Martin came to Tennessee following a three-year stint with the Missouri State Bears.
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He entered a hostile environment, replacing Bruce Pearl, who was one of the most beloved coaches in Tennessee basketball history.
On top of that, turnover among recruits left him with a decent amount of talent but not enough talent to meet expectations that were set under Pearl.
As a result, his team reached the NIT his first year while they tried to adjust to his system.
In his second year, his go-to player down low, Jerronne Maymon, suffered a season-ending injury. That caused another NIT appearance and put him on the hot seat.
His third year was supposed to be the breakout year with the addition of Robert Hubbs III, but Hubbs ended up getting hurt for the year. As a result, the Vols had to reshuffle their system again.
And that had them playing catch-up to reach the NCAA Tournament for a third straight year. That put Martin squarely on the hot seat, especially with Pearl’s show-cause set to end in a month.
Then, however, his Vols got red-hot and played their way into a play-in game in the tournament. They won three straight games after that to reach the Sweet Sixteen. Then, against the Michigan Wolverines, a bad call kept them out of the Elite Eight.
After that loss, he bolted for Cal.
The drama surrounding Tennessee fans’ treatment of Martin was bad for both sides. Vols fans were unfair to him when you consider the circumstances.
However, they mostly just wanted Pearl back. Yet when he bolted for Cal and the Tennessee program sunk into worse shape, fans got defensive.
On the outside, it looks like Tennessee fans ran off a good coach, and the program suffered as a result.
But there’s much more to the story than that.
Still, just like Pearl, Cuonzo Martin is back on Tennessee basketball’s radar since he has returned to the SEC. And there’s nothing the Vols can do to avoid him.