Cuonzo Martin
Cuonzo Martin (born September 23, 1971)
Current position: Head men’s basketball coach
Current team: Missouri State Bears
Current conference: Missouri Valley Conference (MVC)
Tennessee record: 63-41 (.606)
California record: 62-39 (.614)
Missouri record: 78-77 (.503)
Missouri State record: 61-41 (.598)
Overall record: 264-198 (.571)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 4 (2014, 2016, 2018, 2021)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 1 (2014)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 3 (2011, 2012, 2013)
- CIT Championships: 1 (2010)
- CIT Appearances: 1 (2010)
- Missouri Valley Regular Season Champion: 1 (2011)
- Missouri Valley Tournament Champion: 0
Awards:
- Ben Jobe Award: 1 (2011)
- Missouri Valley Coach of the Year: 1 (2011)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2024-present | Missouri State |
| 2017-2022 | Missouri |
| 2014-2017 | California |
| 2011-2014 | Tennessee |
| 2008-2011 | Missouri State |
| 2007-2008 | Purdue (assoc. HC) |
| 2000-2007 | Purdue (asst) |
Cuonzo Martin Facts
- Cuonzo LaMar Martin
- Born September 23, 1971
- Hometown: East St. Louis, Illinois
- Alma Mater: Purdue University (BS, 2000)
- Was high school teammates with LaPhonso Ellis at Lincoln HS in East St. Louis, winning two state championships before going on to Purdue where he played for legendary head coach Gene Keady
- Drafted 57th overall in the 1995 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks but did not play for the team
- Spent three seasons in professional basketball with the Vancouver Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks, in the CBA and Italian LBA
- After one season as an assistant at West Lafayette HS (IN), Martin joined Keady’s staff at Purdue; stayed on as an assistant in 2005 when Matt Painter took over and was promoted to associate head coach in 2007
- Became the head coach at Missouri State in 2008, winning 61 games during his three-year tenure
- Claimed the 2010 CIT Championship and won the 2011 Missouri Valley regular season title
- Spent the next six seasons – three each – as head coach at Tennessee and California
- Went to two NCAA Tournaments (one with each school) and three NITs (two at Tennessee and one at Cal)
- Hired in March 2017 to be the head coach at Missouri, bringing him back near his hometown of East St. Louis
- Led the Tigers to the 2018 NCAA Tournament in his first year, then returned to the Big Dance three years later in 2021
- Went 78-77 in five seasons at the helm; fired in March 2022 after a 12-21 season
- In March 2024, Martin returned to Missouri State for a second stint as the Bears’ head coach
Cuonzo Martin Coaching Tree
- Houston Fancher (Charlotte)
- Jon Harris (SIU Edwardsville)
- Wyking Jones (California)
- Cornell Mann (Grand Valley State)
