Cuonzo Martin to Missouri State

by **SalukiWorld** » March 25th, 2024, 12:34 pm

https://x.com/petethamel/status/1772330 ... 8wqRSA0LoA

**Sponsor**

by **unipanther99** » March 25th, 2024, 12:38 pm

Huh. Okay.

by **racernation** » March 25th, 2024, 12:42 pm

Don't know what to think about this hire. Curious what the Bears fans will say.

by **MissouriValleyUnite** » March 25th, 2024, 12:49 pm

Wow! He definitely killed it last time. I remember in their 2011 finale on ESPN2 against Wichita, JQH Arena was sold out. Today it has 1/10th of the people as then. It would be great to see him fill up that arena in Springfield again.

by **BEARZ77** » March 25th, 2024, 1:03 pm

Bear fans will be mixed, but Zo was very well liked and respected at Mo St and he was successful. Many don't like the Purdue offense and we saw 10 years of it under Zo and Lusk, but he can recruit to this level, and his teams are tough and physical. Jevon Porter anyone ??

by **TylerDurden** » March 25th, 2024, 1:12 pm

I'm not sure reuniting with an ex who dumped you is the best move, even if everyone can understand why he left last time.

This strikes me as a backup to a backup plan, but in the end that doesn't matter. What matters is that they have a coach who has had success in the Valley, even if it was a single season of glory.

The more good teams in the league, the better. Here's hoping he can get it rolling in Springfield.

by **unipanther99** » March 25th, 2024, 1:23 pm

And if you have to reunite with one of your ex's, at least you picked the one your friends like.

by **scotte101** » March 25th, 2024, 1:39 pm

unipanther99 wrote:And if you have to reunite with one of your ex's, at least you picked the one your friends like.

ok. that made me literally laugh out loud. well played.

by **Sir Sci** » March 25th, 2024, 2:03 pm

A lot of mixed feelings among Bears fans. I personally land on the side of thinking that his hire probably means that Smart and Moats struck out with their first choice (presumably McCollum) but that this is still a good hire.

We know he can win games at Missouri State and he's been to four NCAA Tournaments and a Sweet 16 since then. It's not like he's gotten worse as a coach since leaving. The disappointing part is that we were wanting a big swing or an up and comer, and as mentioned this is like reuniting with an ex who dated around before coming back. It feels weird. And yet, if he can win then that's all that will matter, and we have a lot of evidence he can win.

by **ValleyFAN** » March 25th, 2024, 2:06 pm

Sir Sci wrote:A lot of mixed feelings among Bears fans. I personally land on the side of thinking that his hire probably means that Smart and Moats struck out with their first choice (presumably McCollum) but that this is still a good hire.

We know he can win games at Missouri State and he's been to four NCAA Tournaments and a Sweet 16 since then. It's not like he's gotten worse as a coach since leaving. The disappointing part is that we were wanting a big swing or an up and comer, and as mentioned this is like reuniting with an ex who dated around before coming back. It feels weird. And yet, if he can win then that's all that will matter, and we have a lot of evidence he can win.

Cuonzo feels like a "big swing" type hire though, does it not? He's recently been the head coach at Tennessee, Cal, and Mizzou and has wide name recognition throughout the sport.