Big rally fries Friars
whirlwind few hours, Cuonzo Martin resigned at California on Wednesday and was announced as the new coach at Missouri in his home state.
He’s headed back to the place he knows so well, a big attraction to lure him away from Berkeley after three seasons.
Missouri scheduled a “campus celebration” for Monday open to the public. Martin will take over for the fired Kim Anderson.
“We are thrilled that Cuonzo is returning to the Midwest and that his family will now call Columbia home,” GETTY strength has been their junior leaders — Delgado, point guard Khadeen Carrington and forwards Desi Rodriguez and Ismael Sanogo, the team’s top defender. Carrington (16.9), Rodriguez (15.9) and Delgado (15.3) provide most of the scoring, while freshman guard Myles Powell has double figures in seven of the last 14 games. “Last year was just getting our feet wet,” Sanogo said. “The whole altitude thing was crazy. This year we’re experienced.” The Pirates have room to improve their shooting in the tournament. Last year, leading scorer Isaiah Whitehead was limited to 10 points on 4 of 24 shooting. A foul-plagued Delgado was held to 7 points and 6 rebounds, while Rodriguez and Carrington had 8 points apiece on 6 of 16 shooting. Seton Hall, which has posted consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time since 199293, does have a fallback. It is playing excellent defense. Villanova scored 55 points in its semifinal win. “The way we played defense that whole tournament, I don’t think we let up at all,” Carrington said. “The Marquette game we shut them out for six or seven minutes, and Villanova, we played unbelievable. We just have to take that defensive mindset into the Arkansas game.” This marks the first time that Seton Hall has gone to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments since reeling off four straight appearances from 1991-94. “We’re going to the tournament with a lot of confidence,” Rodriguez said. “We just have to stay together and run our offense and defend. If we defend, and we get out and run, we are a very tough team to beat.” —AP Mizzou athletic director Jim Sterk said. “From the outset of our search, our goal was to find a coach who had demonstrated success, academically and on the court, while also sharing our values and who can help to re-ignite interest in Mizzou men’s basketball among our fan base. I believe we found all of that and more with Cuonzo and I look forward to watching him compete for championships and postseason appearances for many years to come.”
Cal announced Martin’s resignation earlier in the day on the heels of the short-handed Golden Bears’ firstround NIT loss at home to Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday night.
Cal went 21-13 this season and tied for fifth place in the Pac-12. Martin was 62-39 overall, 29-25 in conference.
WASHINGTON CANS COACH: Washington fired coach Lorenzo Romar on Wednesday after 15 seasons at the school, a fate that seemed certain once the Huskies failed to receive an NCAA Tournament bid for the sixth straight year despite a steady stream of talent. —AP