After five seasons, Cuonzo Martin has been fired as head men’s basketball coach at Missouri. Martin was 78-77 overall with two NCAA Tournament appearances, though both were opening round exits.
“Coach Martin represented the University with an extremely high level of class and dignity”, AD Desireé Reed-Francois said in a release. “He is a man of high character whom I have the upmost respect for, and we are grateful for his contributions to our program, on and off the floor. He is not only a coach, but is a teacher, and he has impacted the lives of every student-athlete who came through the program over the last five years. We wish him, Roberta, and their family nothing but the best in the future.”
Upon his hiring in 2017, he made a quick splash by landing commitments from star recruits (and brothers) Michael Porter Jr. and Jontay Porter. However, injuries hampered both of their college careers and while they both reached the NBA, they did not have much of an impact on Tiger basketball.
The Tigers were 12-21 (5-13) this year and were eliminated in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday. This was the fourth head coaching job for Martin – 264-198 overall – after stints California, Tennessee and Missouri State.
We will have our initial list of candidates live tomorrow (SAT 3/12) on a busy day in college basketball.
credit to Ed Zurga/Getty Images for the photo
