Illinois Basketball: Five Head Coach Candidates to Replace John Groce
By Eric Bruce
No. 3 Cuonzo Martin
Martin, as many Illini fans are aware, coaches the California Golden Bears. He is in his third year with an overall record of 59-32. He also had success as a head coach at Missouri State and then at Tennessee where, in 2014, he took the Vols to the Sweet 16 after two years in the NIT.
His first year at Cal was not terribly remarkable. The Bears finished 18-15 and did not play postseason basketball. But of note, he immediately recruited a top 5 class that hit the court last year. The Bears entered the tournament with big expectations, but faded early, losing in the first round to a surprisingly tough Hawaii team.
This year Martin has the Bears playing well, but perhaps not quite at expectations. They are 18-6 and Lunardi currently has them as a 10 seed. But that could go south if the Bears don’t finish strong. Again, that game against Utah on March 2 might be a very important game for both teams tournament hopes.
Martin played pro basketball after a sterling career at Purdue. He eventually came back to the Boilermakers to start his coaching career as an assistant to Gene Keady.
Martin is from East St. Louis where he went to Lincoln High. He knows Illinois and the Big Ten, and it doesn’t take much research on the internet to find out that he is a favorite of Illini fans. Apparently, there are rumors that he is interested.
Martin is clearly a good recruiter, as referenced above. He has a top 40 class right now and he continues to recruit – including in Illinois. He “stole” point guard phenom Charlie Moore from the Illini last year. So he has success in this neck of the woods.
It is easy to see why Martin makes sense to coach the Illini. And at 46 years old, like Miller and the final two on my list, he has a ton of coaching in front of him.