How Martin will return MSU to where it needs to be
Cuonzo Martin said he walked through Great Southern Bank Arena and the memories returned from when he coached Missouri State to a championship in 2011.
He recalled one of the last times he coached on the same floor. Over 11,000 fans filled the arena to watch him lead the Bears to a championship. He often looked at the photo where he threw his arms up in victory as the students stormed the floor with a Missouri Valley Conference title in hand.
Martin recalled the game on Monday afternoon as he was reintroduced as Missouri State's head coach, 13 years after he left the school to coach at Tennessee. He reminisced, with a packed room welcoming him home, on one of the great days in Bears history. The 69-64 final score of the Bears' win over Wichita State was on the scoreboard in the background.
"I look at the picture when we won the championship against Wichita State and just think about Nafis Ricks driving to the rim and playing great defense," Martin said. "I think about Adam Leonard shooting deep 3's. Jermaine
(Mallett) at 6-foot-3 and Kyle Weems, Superman, and Will Creekmore with the best footwork in the country. They had the drive to be successful and it was a beautiful experience for me as a coach getting into this thing."
Missouri State celebrated Martin's homecoming days after it announced it had reached a five-year deal with the only coach to lead the university to an MVC championship. His family sat in the front row as the band played the fight song as he made his way to the podium.
Outgoing Missouri State president Clif Smart and current MSU athletics director Kyle Moats introduced the coach while stressing the importance Name, Image and Likeness at the school moving forward. They laid out Martin's résumé, having been to the NCAA Tournament four times in his 11 seasons since leaving MSU, including a Sweet 16 appearance as Tennessee's head coach in 2014.