Mr. SEC says it's Martin

[MULawAlum]

I apologize if this has already been posted, my UT friend just sent it to me.

http://mrsec.com/school/tennessee/

Tennessee: On Friday night, missed free throws cost the Volunteers a trip to the Elite Eight for just the second time in school history.  On Sunday, coach Cuonzo Martin was meeting with Marquette officials.  How does a major SEC school with a top-notch arena find itself on the verge of losing its coach to the Golden Eagles?  Well, that petition to "Bring Back Bruce" Pearl to Knoxville is a good place to start.

A vocal segment of the UT fanbase never gave Martin a chance.  He inherited an NCAA cloud and a roster picked for 10th place in the SEC.  His teams got better each year, culminating with this year's Sweet Sixteen run.  But fans who will accept no one other than Pearl cared not.  "He can't recruit."  "He's a terrible coach."  "He doesn't excite us."  "He doesn't play an exciting brand of basketball."  All have been heard in the Volunteer State.  A internet report on Friday claimed that some Tennessee boosters had denied Martin the right to use their private planes to recruit.  Athletic director Dave Hart was ready to fire Martin had the Vols missed the NCAA Tournament.  And on top of this, Martin has the third best record in the SEC over the last three years (behind Donovan and John Calipari) but his salary ranks 10th or 11th in the league depending on which list of contracts you trust.  UT's brass didn't race to hand him an extension and a raise after the Vols fell on Friday, either.

If you were Martin and you had a chance to get back to the Midwest (he played at Purdue), make more money, re-start your clock (always the smart move), and work at a school where basketball is the top sport, wouldn't you take it?

From what we at MrSEC.com have been told, Martin and Marquette have all but sealed their deal.  UT's coach and AD are expected to meet today, but at this point it would be a major surprise if Martin were to stalk the Tennessee sideline next season.  The coach's buyout clause to leave Tennessee drops from $2.6 million to $1.3 million when the clock hits midnight tonight.  The only negotiation today might be over that clause.

Hart and Tennessee seem to have little interest in coughing up big cash for a man they were ready to fire two weeks ago.  And after being given the "You're not Bruce Pearl!" treatment in Knoxville, it's not believed Martin wants to stick around when a portion of the fanbase will always be against him.  It's also important to remember that Hart played basketball at Alabama.  He's a hoops guy and likely feels he can find his own basketball coach; he inherited Martin.

Things are always fluid and last-minute surprises can't be ruled out, but it looks like Tennessee is about to be in the market for yet another new coach.

[LastWarrior]

#DONEDEAL

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

After reading that it made me much more comfortable with the Martin hire if that is to be the case.

[MULawAlum]

I'll add that I had never heard of this website, but my friend said he goes there for all of his UT/SEC news and he claims the website is generally a pretty good source for SEC news.  But who knows.

[Newsdreams]

#DONEDEAL

Source?

[MMPT947]

If it is gonna be Cuonzo, then welcome aboard!

[Benny B]

I especially like the citation of "an internet report on Friday claimed..."

[GoldenWarrior11]

If it's Cuonzo, and signs are pointing to that happening, I love the idea of getting a head coach (with previous head coaching experience) with a chip on his shoulder.

[VegasWarrior77]

per twitter speculation: UT will target Gregg Marshall.

[GoldenWarrior11]

Buzz only has 22k Twitter followers.
Shaka Smart has 26k followers.
Cuonzo Martin has 46k followers!

That counts for something, right?

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

What does Tennessees incoming recruiting class look like?

[GoldenWarrior11]

What does Tennessees incoming recruiting class look like?

4 3*
3 of the 4 are from the South, and the 4th is from Illinois (Larry Austin).

[source?]

Source?

What?

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

Buzz only has 22k Twitter followers.
Shaka Smart has 26k followers.
Cuonzo Martin has 46k followers!

That counts for something, right?

Includes 36,000 petition signers!

[NotBuzzWilliams]

Source?

I'm the source.

[MikeDeanesDarkGlasses]

What does Tennessees incoming recruiting class look like?

Nothing special.  No top 100 players.  

My question is how does this guy lose out on 2 top 100, in-state recruits, Leron Black, from Memphis, Tennessee ...... to Illinois of all places?  

And. ......

Jalen Lindsey Top 100-  Another In state player..... goes to Providence.

I think the sharks realized it was open season in Tennessee.  Not one guy was recruiting from in-state in the class.
You might as well send Diamond Stone a parting gift.  This guy can't protect his own house.  

[Daniel]

We need a coach who is an outstanding recruiter.  Then hopefully he's a great in-game coach. Recruiter is number one.

[chapman]

What does Tennessees incoming recruiting class look like?

Buncha unranked players that cap out at three stars.  The UT boosters were wise to withdraw funding for recruiting when they saw a bad investment.  MU's geniuses decide to sweeten the deal with even more. 

[MUSF]

Nothing special.  No top 100 players.  

My question is how does this guy lose out on 2 top 100, in-state recruits, Leron Black, from Memphis, Tennessee ...... to Illinois of all places?  

And. ......

Jalen Lindsey Top 100-  Another In state player..... goes to Providence.

I think the sharks realized it was open season in Tennessee.  Not one guy was recruiting from in-state in the class.
You might as well send Diamond Stone a parting gift.  This guy can't protect his own house.  

Are you serious with this garbage?!? You just cherry pick stats and anecdotal evidence to support your predetermined position.

C. Martin is not a horrible coach... stop trying to make everyone believe he is.

[mechaghidorah]

per twitter speculation: UT will target Gregg Marshall.

So UT gets the good coach, and MU gets UT's discarded crap.

[MikeDeanesDarkGlasses]

Are you serious with this garbage?!? You just cherry pick stats and anecdotal evidence to support your predetermined position.

C. Martin is not a horrible coach... stop trying to make everyone believe he is.

It shows he tried recruiting those players and offered them scholarships.  He didn't get them.  The sharks did.. not to mention, mediocre schools cherry picked his own state.  That's a red flag in my book.  

I want someone who can recruit, because if you don't have the horses, you're not going to get far in the race.  I demand at least 3-4 star recruiting.  If Martin recruiting 3-4 stars consistently, I'd be all for him to come to MU.  

I hold the bar high and you reach quite low sir.    

[tower912]

"I demand".........really?    That implies you have some influence or standing.   

[MUSF]

Buncha unranked players that cap out at three stars.  The UT boosters were wise to withdraw funding for recruiting when they saw a bad investment.  MU's geniuses decide to sweeten the deal with even more. 

Really, you're going to support UT boosters and Administration? They're the smart ones in this scenario?

Let's look at a few facts...

1. Football is top priority at UT - School s**t cans national championship coach and hasn't competed for SEC since
2. UT can't hire football coach away from Duke, that's right Duke.
3. UT hires the moral pillar Bruce Pearl to helm the BBall program - he enjoys great success
4. In a huge surprise to absolutely nobody, Pearl turns out not to be such a great guy and gets s**t canned
5. New coach takes a program in disarray and improves it steadily over three seasons - many boosters treat him like a second class citizen at UT and lobby to get Pearl back.

The above hardly looks like wisdom in action.

[Newsdreams]

What?

You are the......

[Newsdreams]

I'm the source.

But are you the inside source?