Martin resigns at Cal, hires on at Missouri

BERKELEY, Calif. — In a 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 a place he knows well, a big attraction to lure him away from Berkeley after three seasons.

Missouri scheduled a “campus celebration” Monday that is open to the public. Martin will take over for the fired Kim Anderson.

Cal announced Martin’s resignation earlier in the day on the heels of the short-handed Golden Bears’ first-round NIT loss at home to Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday night. Cal went 2113 this season and tied for fifth place in the Pac-12. Martin was 62-39 overall, 29-25 in conference.

“We put forth our best effort to retain him, but he told me it wasn’t about Cal, rather a strong desire to move closer to home,” Cal AD Mike Williams said.

Martin previously spent three seasons at Tennessee, going 63-41 and guiding the Volunteers to the NCAA Tournament’s regional semifinals in 2013.

He took over a Tennessee program under NCAA investigation in 2011 and went on to average 21 victories per season. But, at times, he struggled to escape the shadow of former coach Bruce Pearl, who led the Volunteers to NCAA appearances in each of his six years on the job.

Martin, a native of East St. Louis, Ill., has been no stranger to the Midwest, having played for Gene Keady at Purdue before working eight years as an assistant there. His first college head coaching job came at Missouri State, where he went 61-41 from 2008 through 2011. He led the Bears to the Missouri Valley Conference title his last season.

As for Missouri, the onceproud program went 27-68 in three seasons under Anderson, including 8-24 this year in which the Tigers lost seven of their final eight games with a young team and shallow bench. Missouri’s 2-14 record in SEC play this season tied a school and conference record for losses.