Busting Brackets
Fansided

NCAA Basketball: Top 10 impact head coaching hires from 2008 offseason

By Joey Loose

BLOOMINGTON, IN - NOVEMBER 30: Tom Crean the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers points up to the student section following the 76-67 win over the North Carolina Tar Heels at Assembly Hall on November 30, 2016 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - NOVEMBER 30: Tom Crean the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers points up to the student section following the 76-67 win over the North Carolina Tar Heels at Assembly Hall on November 30, 2016 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 11
Next
NCAA Basketball Cuonzo Martin of the Missouri Tigers (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NCAA Basketball Cuonzo Martin of the Missouri Tigers (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

8. Cuonzo Martin (Missouri State)

Missouri State is a pretty solid mid-major program. They made a host of NCAA Tournaments several decades ago, and did make a Sweet Sixteen run back in 1999. Since then, there’s been a lot of good, not great teams for the Bears. They were ready for the next chapter of Bears basketball by 2008, nabbing an up and coming young coach from a Big Ten staff.

Cuonzo Martin starred under Gene Keady at Purdue back in the early 90’s. After a brief NBA playing career, he became a high school coach in Indiana before joining Keady’s staff with the Boilermakers. He was retained a few years later when Matt Painter took over the program. Martin had yet to be a head coach at any level but was ready for his opportunity at Missouri State.

The Bears reloaded their talent after a rough first season, and in 2010 won the CIT championship. Martin’s third season was even more successful, as the program won 26 games and made the NIT after claiming the regular season MVC title. That Missouri State team deserved to be in the NCAA Tournament and the Bears’ Tourney drought continues today. Meanwhile, Martin departed for Tennessee, the second of several stops on a successful coaching career to date.

Home/NCAA Basketball News