The University of Tennessee has hired Missouri State’s Cuonzo Martin to replace the recently fired Bruce Pearl. Missouri State won it first Missouri Valley Conference regular season title under Coach Martin. Cuonzo Martin was there for three years and was named the 2011 MVC coach of the year. Missouri State comprised a 61-21 record over those three years which included a 26-9 overall record this year.
Martin is a former basketball player and graduate of Purdue and was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1995 draft. He played pro basketball for 4 years. Martin now takes over a Tennessee program that will probably be in a rebuilding phase after the sanctions that were imposed during Bruce Pearl’s tenure. He is scheduled to be formally introduced at a news conference on Monday at 2:30pm.