Cuonzo Martin Is Hired At Tennessee

Cuonzo Martin has been named the new basketball coach at
 Tennessee, leaving Bears fans wondering who will step in
 to be the next coach. - Photo courtesy of
purduecancercenter.com

On Friday afternoon, Missouri State coach Cuonzo Martin denied having any contact with the University of Missouri regarding the vacant head coaching job left by the departure of Mike Anderson to Arkansas.

Mizzou fans considered Martin a legitimate candidate to replace Anderson and Missouri State fans worried they could lose their head coach to the big school in the state.

It turns out Martin wasn't talking to Mizzou.  Instead, he was talking to Tennessee and on Sunday it was announced that Cuonzo Martin is the new head men's basketball coach at the University of Tennessee. 

Martin is leaving Missouri State after his 3rd season as head coach. 

The Bears were coming off a 26-9 season that saw the school win the Missouri Valley regular season championship for the first time in the school's history. 

Martin was named the MVC coach of the year this past season for helping guide the Bears to a stellar season despite narrowly being left out of the NCAA Tournament. 

Martin leaves the program in better shape than when he started, although the new coach will be in a tough spot, having to replace 4 senior starters that leave via graduation.

Missouri State fans should be remiss and sad to see their talented young coach move on. 

But St. Louisans should be happy to see a local man move on to a better spot in his career. 

Sources:

• Cuonzo Martin takes Tennessee job