Cincinnati Basketball: 5 candidates to replace John Brannen as head coach

Erik Martin

Fixing a program like Cincinnati will take a delicate touch, but it could also take the touch of someone already familiar with the program. When you throw in that this assistant coach has extensive experience under former legendary Cincinnati head coach Bob Huggins, then that only helps to add intrigue to bring Martin back to the Bearcats.

While Martin has never been a head coach, he’s certainly garnered plenty of experience over the years. After playing part of his collegiate ball under Huggins at Cincinnati, he spent nearly a decade playing professional basketball, including time in Korea. He spent time as an assistant at Cincinnati State before joining Huggins’ staff at Kansas State in 2006. Martin has been on Huggins’ bench at West Virginia for the last 14 years.

Having never been a head coach will likely work against Martin, but he certainly has the experience to be a solid hire. The former Cincinnati power forward has done fantastic work at West Virginia and has long since deserved a chance to run his own program. It might be in Cincinnati’s best interest to bring in a more experienced head coach, but there’s no doubt Martin could instill some intrigue back into this program and fanbase.