**Official MU Head Coach Search Thread**

[DJ's left nut]

Seems like this deserves its own thread. The news will start coming fast over the next week or two, IMO. Recruiting is a 365-day event and we can't afford to be rudderless for long.

My vote - Cuonzo Martin.

Discuss.

[eazyb81]

Originally Posted by Archie Bunker

Update on one the guys on the "list"

http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/georgi...oops-job-29587

Georgia Tech Source: Gregory Offered Hoops Job

Thank God. He was near the bottom of my list.

Seems like an extremely mediocre coach.

[Archie Bunker]

http://blogs.news-leader.com/msu/201...-a-disservice/

Martin says Mizzou job speculation a “disservice”
Posted on March 25, 2011 by Lyndal Scranton

Missouri State’s Cuonzo Martin met with the local media late this afternoon and refuted a Kansas City Star report from earlier today that, citing an unnamed source, the University of Missouri had contacted him about its basketball-coaching vacancy.

“Nobody from Missouri has contacted me, whatsoever,” Martin said. “No search firm has contacted me about Missouri. Bottom line.”

Martin, 61-41 in three seasons at MSU, said it was important to get the correct information out.

“It’s a disservice to Missouri State, our fans, the players on my team and our current recruits,” Martin said.

At the same time, Martin said having his name in the rumor mill is a signal that the Bears’ program is doing things right.

“It’s unfortunate, but is it a good problem to have? Yes, because it means we’re successful,” Martin said.

Martin declined to directly address if other schools with openings — Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, North Carolina State among others — had contacted him. He has not directly been linked to any of those openings so far.

Martin, 39, said considering the so-called “big job isn’t always the best job.”

“I have to do what’s best for my family. This is a great situation for my family,” Martin said of being at MSU. “It’s not a case of X amount of dollars. When I took this job, it wasn’t about the dollars.

“It’s about being successful as a program. It’s about putting yourself in the best place to be successful.”

Martin said part of being successful is getting the Missouri Valley Conference back to being a multi-bid league. He said all league schools need to upgrade their schedule strengths to make that happens.

[luv]

Originally Posted by Archie Bunker

http://blogs.news-leader.com/msu/201...-a-disservice/

Martin says Mizzou job speculation a “disservice”
Posted on March 25, 2011 by Lyndal Scranton

Missouri State’s Cuonzo Martin met with the local media late this afternoon and refuted a Kansas City Star report from earlier today that, citing an unnamed source, the University of Missouri had contacted him about its basketball-coaching vacancy.

“Nobody from Missouri has contacted me, whatsoever,” Martin said. “No search firm has contacted me about Missouri. Bottom line.”

Martin, 61-41 in three seasons at MSU, said it was important to get the correct information out.

“It’s a disservice to Missouri State, our fans, the players on my team and our current recruits,” Martin said.

At the same time, Martin said having his name in the rumor mill is a signal that the Bears’ program is doing things right.

“It’s unfortunate, but is it a good problem to have? Yes, because it means we’re successful,” Martin said.

Martin declined to directly address if other schools with openings — Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, North Carolina State among others — had contacted him. He has not directly been linked to any of those openings so far.

Martin, 39, said considering the so-called “big job isn’t always the best job.”

“I have to do what’s best for my family. This is a great situation for my family,” Martin said of being at MSU. “It’s not a case of X amount of dollars. When I took this job, it wasn’t about the dollars.

“It’s about being successful as a program. It’s about putting yourself in the best place to be successful.”

Martin said part of being successful is getting the Missouri Valley Conference back to being a multi-bid league. He said all league schools need to upgrade their schedule strengths to make that happens.

http://ozarksfirst.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=428786

(Springfield, MO) -- With his name swirling around college basketball as a hot coaching talent, Missouri State's Cuonzo Martin met with the media Friday.

It wasn't to address that situation, rather it was an opportunity to look back at a magical Bears season that was his best coaching job since arriving in Springfield three years ago.

Cuonzo Martin was able to blend a quartet of seniors with junior Kyle Weems, and freshman Nathan Scheer to take this team to 26 wins.

Missouri State won the valley's regular season championship for the first time ever, and advanced to the second round of the NIT Tournament.

Weems was named the valley's player of the year, while Cuonzo Martin was named coach of the year.

"Winning the valley championship was a great, great achievement for our guys. They did a great job with that. That's something you dream about. It's so hard to do -- to be the last team standing. I think our guys did a tremendous job with staying focus. The things they were able to accomplish I think speaks volumes to our program."

As for his name being mentioned with other coaching jobs being opened in the Midwest, Martin continues to say that neither himself nor his agent have been contacted by the University of Missouri or any other school for that matter.

But it's easy to see why the 39-year-old is high on everyone's candidate list.

In three years at Missouri State, Martin has taken the Bears from last place in the valley to regular season champs.

Last year's team won the CIT National Tournament, while this year's squad advanced to the second round of the NIT.

He says being a hot commodity is flattering.

"This is a good problem to have," he says. "I'm employed by Missouri State. This is where I want to be. I enjoy being here. I think I'd be doing a disservice if I talk about anybody else -- any speculation. That's all it is. No search firm has contacted me about Missouri. Bottom line."

[Jerm]

Well I'll go ahead and cross Mooney's name off the list....

[KCBOSS1]

I guess I'm just sitting and enjoying the idea of Anderson signing with Arkansas after listening to all of the CP bull about his moving to Arkansas being a demotion and he would never go to Arkansas....bla, bla, bla. You know, I don't hear many of us from Arkansas bashing Mizzou or Kansas, and in fact, I like both schools fine. But I've heard all kinds of ignorance bashing Arkansas fans, calling us arrogant, inbreds, etc.....just curious about the double standards there.

[|Zach|]

Originally Posted by KCBOSS1

I guess I'm just sitting and enjoying the idea of Anderson signing with Arkansas after listening to all of the CP bull about his moving to Arkansas being a demotion and he would never go to Arkansas....bla, bla, bla. You know, I don't hear many of us from Arkansas bashing Mizzou or Kansas, and in fact, I like both schools fine. But I've heard all kinds of ignorance bashing Arkansas fans, calling us arrogant, inbreds, etc.....just curious about the double standards there.

Link? Never heard anyone say that.

[KCBOSS1]

Originally Posted by |Zach|

Link? Never heard anyone say that.

Anderson to Arkansas???? Thread on the 24th. Don't get me wrong, I like Mizzou and want them to find a great coach. But there are just tireless Arkansas insults across this board and several Arkansas CP members. Just gets a little old.

[KCBOSS1]

and the "He would never go to Arkansas" wasn't a quote. Just implied.

[the Talking Can]

Originally Posted by KCBOSS1

I guess I'm just sitting and enjoying the idea of Anderson signing with Arkansas after listening to all of the CP bull about his moving to Arkansas being a demotion and he would never go to Arkansas....bla, bla, bla. You know, I don't hear many of us from Arkansas bashing Mizzou or Kansas, and in fact, I like both schools fine. But I've heard all kinds of ignorance bashing Arkansas fans, calling us arrogant, inbreds, etc.....just curious about the double standards there.

Arkansas fans are inbred sheep pokers who believed they were going to get Bill Self....they're only slightly less insane than UK fans...

Hogville is proof humanity deserves to be exterminated

[Rams Fan]

Originally Posted by KCBOSS1

and the "He would never go to Arkansas" wasn't a quote. Just implied.

I don't remember anyone thinking in the past two weeks that Anderson would never go to Arkansas.

Ever think that Mizzou fans are kinda pissed that they lost their coach after he flirted with other teams for three straight seasons and was about to get a raise from Mizzou because of it?

[|Zach|]

Originally Posted by KCBOSS1

and the "He would never go to Arkansas" wasn't a quote. Just implied.

Nobody said it because nobody thought that.

Feel free to play the Mizzou fans are mean to me and i dont know why card all you want but lets try not to make up bullshit to do it.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by KCBOSS1

Anderson to Arkansas???? Thread on the 24th. Don't get me wrong, I like Mizzou and want them to find a great coach. But there are just tireless Arkansas insults across this board and several Arkansas CP members. Just gets a little old.

To be fair, no one even knew Arkansans can read.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by eazyb81

Latest from DeArmond:

http://campuscorner.kansascity.com/node/1745

Sounds like the Painter interest has legs. It still is illogical to me why he would honestly make a lateral move for a bit more money.

Maybe he really does hate Purdue's administration.

I just don't understand why Purdue would want to lose a 2 time Big Ten Coach of the Year & a Purdue graduate.

If he is willing to come to Mizzou then it's a no brainer.

[mnchiefsguy]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

I just don't understand why Purdue would want to lose a 2 time Big Ten Coach of the Year & a Purdue graduate.

If he is willing to come to Mizzou then it's a no brainer.

I wasn't onboard with Painter at first, but the more I hear the more I like. He has not had a great tournament record, but he has done some great things in the regular season, and has done so with some major injuries to his team the past couple of years. Plus, since he is a Purdue grad, if we did lure him away, we would not have to worry about him wanting to go "home", since he will have already been there.

[Rams Fan]

Purdue produced legendary UCLA coach John Wooden. It's steeped in basketball-rich Indiana and the Big Ten.

In three of the last four seasons, Boilermakers coach Matt Painter has been named conference coach of the year. And the school is his alma mater.

That combination makes Painter seem an improbable target and an unlikelier hire for Mizzou as it seeks to replace the departed Mike Anderson.

But sources familiar with his thinking have told the Post-Dispatch that Painter, 155-66 with six NCAA Tournament appearances in seven seasons as a head coach, doesn't necessarily equate Purdue to his dream job.

At least two of those sources are well-connected to Mizzou's search committee and have conveyed to it that Painter would listen.

The committee, led by athletics director Mike Alden, is said to have gotten nothing but favorable feedback about Painter as it went about its work two days after Anderson announced he was leaving for Arkansas.

Painter was described as "out of pocket" by a friend, and his agent, Buddy Baker, could not be reached Friday.

But in interviews with college basketball insiders well-acquainted with Painter and his landscape at Purdue, several themes emerged that illuminate why he could be willing to leave if MU should ask.

Not necessarily most significant but most obvious are financial considerations.

By letting it be known it was willing to bump Anderson from $1.55 million a year to around $2 million annually, Mizzou signaled it has the will and means to make a top-tier commitment that would be among the most lucrative 15 salaries in the nation.

Painter, meanwhile, makes $1.3 million a year plus bonuses.

He has been candid about why he negotiated an escape clause effective at the end of Purdue's season that essentially means no buyout. (Damages incurred by leaving simply would be paid off by Painter surrendering bonuses that were to come.)

"Some coaches have had astronomical buyouts, and they go to another job and they're paying it off for three, four, five or six years, and you don't want to be in that kind of position," Painter, 40, told the Lafayette (Ind). Journal & Courier last year when he signed an eight-year extension. "Any time you can put yourself in a position to have a lower buyout, that only makes sense."

If that makes him sound like less than a committed Purdue lifer, there are other reasons he could see Mizzou as more fertile.

Even as Purdue undergoes major renovations, it will have a hard time matching Mizzou's facilities, which are said to have dazzled Painter when he brought his team to Mizzou Arena in December 2007.

Some say Purdue's past makes it a better job.

But while Purdue may have more history than MU, it's not as radically different as some might suppose in any contemporary sense. MU never has reached the Final Four, and Purdue has twice, in 1969 and 1980.

Since the second one, Purdue is 26-22 in NCAA tourney games. In that same span, Mizzou is 17-21.

If that means Missouri would be at best a lateral move for Painter, so be it. But the quality of the job has to be defined not just by its past but its potential.

And according to a budget database compiled on bbstate.com, MU spent slightly more on basketball last year ($5,345,179) than Purdue ($5,171,495) and has visibly better resources.

It's also believed Painter faces more academic hurdles recruiting there than he would at MU, and sources familiar with both schools believed his recruiting reach could extend farther from Columbia than West Lafayette, Ind.

In theory, Painter could retain some of the recruiting inroads he's made there and re-invigorate MU's presence in St. Louis, where Anderson either had little success, little interest or both.

Painter spent six seasons at Southern Illinois Carbondale, which tapped into St. Louis for star players such as Darren Brooks on its way to a 2002 Sweet 16 run.

A year later, Painter guided the Salukis to a 25-5 record in his first year as a head coach before going back to Purdue as coach in waiting for a year as Gene Keady prepared to retire.

The Boilermakers went 7-21, the most losses they'd suffered in a single season in school history, and after a rough first year (9-19) in Keady's seat Painter began the resuscitation with a 13-game improvement and NCAA tourney appearance and was able to usher in a top five recruiting class.

Purdue hasn't looked back since, with Painter twice taking it to the Sweet 16.

Even so, he still coaches for a school whose basketball tradition forever will be in the shadow of Indiana University, where in fact Painter had wanted to go. With Notre Dame back to national prominence and nearby Butler emerging as a deep postseason regular, Purdue is easily lost in the shuffle. Mizzou is the only major basketball power in Missouri.

All of which could be appealing enough to Painter, even if it looks like a reach at first blush.

martin comments

Missouri State coach Cuonzo Martin, the subject of speculation about the Missouri job, issued a statement saying no one from Missouri had contacted him or his agent and adding, "My priorities continue to be with Missouri State and building a championship program here." Martin indicated he would have nothing more to say on the Missouri job.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colle...237a67bf4.html