As we await the official announcement from Missouri on the hiring of Cuonzo Martin, Cal has released the following statement:
Cuonzo Martin, who led California’s men’s basketball for the past three seasons, has resigned as head coach, Director of Athletics Mike Williams announced Wednesday.
Martin has stepped down in order to pursue other opportunities. Assistant coach Wyking Jones will serve as interim head coach.
“Cuonzo Martin informed me this morning that he is resigning to accept a position at another school. 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,” Williams said. “We appreciate all that Cuonzo has done with our men’s basketball program over the past three seasons, creating excitement inside Haas Pavilion, guiding our team to a pair of postseason appearances and improving the academic performance of our student-athletes.”
In his three seasons at Cal, Martin amassed a 62-39 overall record, and 29-25 record in the Pac-12. Most recently, the Bears wrapped up a 21-13 season, tied for fifth in the league and reached the Pac-12 Tournament semifinal before earning a No. 1 seed in the National Invitation Tournament. Cal’s season ended Tuesday evening with a 73-66 loss to CSU Bakersfield in the first round of the NIT.
Martin earned one NCAA Tournament berth and one NIT berth in his three years at the helm, and secured one of the nation’s top recruiting classes in 2015-16, bringing in eventual No. 3 NBA Draft pick Jaylen Brown as well as two-time All-Pac-12 selection Ivan Rabb.
Last season, Cal went a perfect 18-0 at home and tied for third in the Pac-12 with a 23-11 overall record and 12-6 record in conference. The Bears earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament – the highest seed in school history – before falling to Hawai’i in the first round. The end of the season saw both Brown and Bob Cousy Award finalist Tyrone Wallace selected in the NBA Draft.
Martin’s squads also posted high marks in the classroom as well, recording a perfect single-year APR score of 1000 in 2014-15 and demonstrating the highest overall increase in grade point average, from 2.60 to 2.84 in 2015-16. Sam Singer earned Pac-12 All-Academic honors all three seasons under Martin, and Stephen Domingo and Roger Moute a Bidias also collected multiple all-academic awards.
Williams will conduct a nationwide search for the next head coach of the Golden Bears.
“We now turn our full attention to a national search to find a new men’s basketball coach,” Williams said. “The success of the program is of the highest importance to me, our department and our entire Cal Athletics community. It is important that we continue on our upward trajectory and hire someone again who understands what it takes to recruit and succeed at a top academic institution. We wish Cuonzo and his family the best and thank him for what he’s contributed to Cal basketball and the Cal community.”
http://www.calbears.com/news/2017/3/15/mens-basketball-cuonzo-martin-resigns-as-head-coach.aspx
