University of California men’s basketball coach Cuonzo Martin has enjoyed a great deal of success in his first five years as a collegiate head coach.
Martin was the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 2011 after leading Missouri State to the league championship. In 2014, Martin led the University of Tennessee to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
In his first season at Cal, the Bears are 16-10 overall and 6-7 in the Pac 12 Conference, with pivotal games upcoming against Stanford, Oregon, and league Cadillac Arizona.
A former star player at East St. Louis Lincoln High, Martin played at Purdue on three Big Ten Conference championship teams. He was later an assistant coach at Purdue from 2005-2008. He went on to spend three years as head coach at Missouri State and three years at the University of Tennessee before landing feet-first at Cal.
Unlike some other former great athletes from East St. Louis, Martin is proud of his hometown. During his first press conference he made it known he was proud of East Boogie and his roots.
“I’m a young man from East St. Louis, Illinois and now I have the opportunity to coach at the No. 1 public institution in the world – and that is very humbling,” Martin said.
His former coach at Purdue, Gene Keady, said this about Martin when he was hired.
“Cuonzo Martin is the best leader I’ve ever been associated with in my 55 years of coaching,” Keady said. “He is as great family man, a great program man and he was a pleasure to coach. Counzo is determined to do things the right way, and Cal is getting a great mentor and coach to replace another great leader in coach Montgomery.”
Martin inherited a team that is young and has a future NBA player in junior guard Tyrone Wallace (6’5) leading the way. Thus far the Bears have been inconsistent during the 2014-15 campaign. The Bears had a seven-game winning streak and two four-game winning streaks, but then they lost eight out of nine during a tough stretch from December 22 through January 24.
However, don’t be surprised if Martin’s team finishes strong entering March Madness. His Tennessee team struggled during the second half of last season before putting together their magical run in the NCAA Tournament.
