So, I think we might have a new leader on this thing. There are times in a coaching search where I know or believe things and I can't really tell you why or how. You guys pay for this site and if you do so, part of the reason you do so is that you believe I have ways of getting good information. This is one of those times I ask you to trust me.
I feel that as of this morning Cuonzo Martin is Missouri's top target. I can't say it for sure. But I do have some information that gives me reason to believe it.
A few nuggets on Cuonzo.
Here is what he said when he was asked about other jobs last week: "Same thing as last year [when these rumors came up.] I work for Cal. My job is to do my job. Anything other than that I don't consume myself with it."
Here is what he said yesterday: “Well for me, the most important thing is being here at Cal and coaching our basketball team. Because that’s the most important thing. All the other stuff, if time presents it, those things in the air, we’ll deal with them when it gets to that point, but right now, the most important thing for me right now is this basketball team to get prepared to win a basketball game on Tuesday night.”
It's not a lot different, but it is a little different: "We'll deal with them when it gets to that point." I know someone who covers Cal and his read yesterday was that the tone had changed slightly in those few days. He came away thinking Cuonzo was perhaps more open to looking at another job yesterday than he came away thinking last week.
Cal plays in the NIT against Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday night at 1015 Central. So obviously it's a minimum of Wednesday before any next step is known between Martin and other schools. And the Bears ought to win that game. If they win that one, they get the winner of Colorado State/Charleston. If they win that, it's probably Houston or BYU. Cal's a No. 1 seed. They're favored to make it to the semifinals in New York, which start two weeks from tomorrow. So they could be playing for a while.
The elephant in the room with Cuonzo is Illinois. Every piece of information I have is that Martin would prefer Illinois over Mizzou if both jobs are offered. But Missouri has a jump on Illinois. They've known they were firing their guy for quite a while and they actually did six days earlier. They've got a jump on this process. And if they want to go hard after Martin before Illinois gets super serious (or while Illinois chases guys like Gregg Marshall or Scott or Bryce Drew) they might be able to get a leg up. Perhaps they make it clear to Martin it's his job before Illinois does and that's a factor.
I am very confident that Martin has had overtures from both Missouri and Illinois. Contact has been made, if not in person, at least through his people (and I don't think in person is out of the question with Mizzou). One person told me about two weeks ago that Martin's staff has been very active recruiting the state of Illinois lately "and they aren't doing it for Cal."
I am also very confident that Jim Sterk is a very big Cuonzo Martin fan. I can't say that he's definitively No. 1 on Sterk's list, but he's on the very, very short list. The recommendations from the Bennetts (Dick and Tony) carry a lot of weight. Martin has a sterling reputation as far as the NCAA and is generally regarded as one of the best people in the coaching business. Everyone I know who has worked with him or dealt with him regularly really likes him and praises him.
I want to be clear that I don't think the job has been offered to Martin and I don't think this thing is over. Missouri still has a list. Here are the guys that I think are on it:
Gregg Marshall: Again, I'm not real optimistic Missouri has any shot. But I'm not sure they've definitively been told no either. I think it's real simple with Marshall: "You tell us what it takes to get you. If we can do it, we'll do it. If we can't, we'll move on." That's it. It's not a negotiation or a long process. Of course, it also doesn't get resolved before the weekend at the earliest because Wichita State is playing in the NCAA Tournament.
Chris Holtmann: I am very confident Missouri likes him and he's in the top three to five. I am less confident Missouri could get him. Butler is favored to make the second weekend.
Scott Drew: Repeat what I said about Holtmann. To a T.
Tom Crean: It's still about where Crean is on the list. I checked back in with a couple of sources in Indiana late last night. And the feeling is still that it's kind of a poker game right now. The feeling is that there's a better chance Crean stays at Indiana than there was a week ago, but it's still far from a sure thing. One person told me he still believes that Indiana is going to give Crean every opportunity to search out another opportunity and if he finds one, they wouldn't be unhappy. But they also might be willing to stick with him another year. That's far from an ideal situation if they don't view him as a long term guy, but it's possible.
As far as where Missouri stands with Crean, I no longer am sure. I will reiterate that I was told last week Crean really likes the job. But he's not going to take it for free either. He's certainly going to want the appearance to be that Missouri really wants him and made him an offer he couldn't pass up rather than it appearing that he bolted the pressure of Bloomington for a soft landing in Columbia. Whether that would be true or not doesn't really matter, it's just about what it would look like. There would have been opportunity to meet with Crean (likely on Friday or Saturday) but I can't confirm that Missouri did. I'm just saying the window was there.
The following is simply my opinion:
If I had to handicap the list right now in order of likelihood, I'd do it like this:
1) Martin
2) Crean
3) Drew
4) Holtmann
5) Marshall
If it's not one of those five guys, I think it means Missouri couldn't get any of them and will move on to the B list. Either way, the earliest this is resolved is probably Wednesday or Thursday and I think it's far more likely it goes into at least next week.
The only guys on that list Missouri could really talk to this week in person would be Crean and Martin. Both play in the NIT tomorrow night. The other three are preparing for the NCAA Tournament and there's no way in hell Mizzou can get an audience with them until after their teams are done playing for good.
I'm still of the mindset that Martin and Crean are the two most likely options. But I've flip flopped my opinion of their order of likelihood.
We'll do our best to monitor it all because we've reached the point where there could be some action and things will likely change daily if not more often than that. I've still got some more messages out this morning and will add anything here that I come up with.
I feel that as of this morning Cuonzo Martin is Missouri's top target. I can't say it for sure. But I do have some information that gives me reason to believe it.
A few nuggets on Cuonzo.
Here is what he said when he was asked about other jobs last week: "Same thing as last year [when these rumors came up.] I work for Cal. My job is to do my job. Anything other than that I don't consume myself with it."
Here is what he said yesterday: “Well for me, the most important thing is being here at Cal and coaching our basketball team. Because that’s the most important thing. All the other stuff, if time presents it, those things in the air, we’ll deal with them when it gets to that point, but right now, the most important thing for me right now is this basketball team to get prepared to win a basketball game on Tuesday night.”
It's not a lot different, but it is a little different: "We'll deal with them when it gets to that point." I know someone who covers Cal and his read yesterday was that the tone had changed slightly in those few days. He came away thinking Cuonzo was perhaps more open to looking at another job yesterday than he came away thinking last week.
Cal plays in the NIT against Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday night at 1015 Central. So obviously it's a minimum of Wednesday before any next step is known between Martin and other schools. And the Bears ought to win that game. If they win that one, they get the winner of Colorado State/Charleston. If they win that, it's probably Houston or BYU. Cal's a No. 1 seed. They're favored to make it to the semifinals in New York, which start two weeks from tomorrow. So they could be playing for a while.
The elephant in the room with Cuonzo is Illinois. Every piece of information I have is that Martin would prefer Illinois over Mizzou if both jobs are offered. But Missouri has a jump on Illinois. They've known they were firing their guy for quite a while and they actually did six days earlier. They've got a jump on this process. And if they want to go hard after Martin before Illinois gets super serious (or while Illinois chases guys like Gregg Marshall or Scott or Bryce Drew) they might be able to get a leg up. Perhaps they make it clear to Martin it's his job before Illinois does and that's a factor.
I am very confident that Martin has had overtures from both Missouri and Illinois. Contact has been made, if not in person, at least through his people (and I don't think in person is out of the question with Mizzou). One person told me about two weeks ago that Martin's staff has been very active recruiting the state of Illinois lately "and they aren't doing it for Cal."
I am also very confident that Jim Sterk is a very big Cuonzo Martin fan. I can't say that he's definitively No. 1 on Sterk's list, but he's on the very, very short list. The recommendations from the Bennetts (Dick and Tony) carry a lot of weight. Martin has a sterling reputation as far as the NCAA and is generally regarded as one of the best people in the coaching business. Everyone I know who has worked with him or dealt with him regularly really likes him and praises him.
I want to be clear that I don't think the job has been offered to Martin and I don't think this thing is over. Missouri still has a list. Here are the guys that I think are on it:
Gregg Marshall: Again, I'm not real optimistic Missouri has any shot. But I'm not sure they've definitively been told no either. I think it's real simple with Marshall: "You tell us what it takes to get you. If we can do it, we'll do it. If we can't, we'll move on." That's it. It's not a negotiation or a long process. Of course, it also doesn't get resolved before the weekend at the earliest because Wichita State is playing in the NCAA Tournament.
Chris Holtmann: I am very confident Missouri likes him and he's in the top three to five. I am less confident Missouri could get him. Butler is favored to make the second weekend.
Scott Drew: Repeat what I said about Holtmann. To a T.
Tom Crean: It's still about where Crean is on the list. I checked back in with a couple of sources in Indiana late last night. And the feeling is still that it's kind of a poker game right now. The feeling is that there's a better chance Crean stays at Indiana than there was a week ago, but it's still far from a sure thing. One person told me he still believes that Indiana is going to give Crean every opportunity to search out another opportunity and if he finds one, they wouldn't be unhappy. But they also might be willing to stick with him another year. That's far from an ideal situation if they don't view him as a long term guy, but it's possible.
As far as where Missouri stands with Crean, I no longer am sure. I will reiterate that I was told last week Crean really likes the job. But he's not going to take it for free either. He's certainly going to want the appearance to be that Missouri really wants him and made him an offer he couldn't pass up rather than it appearing that he bolted the pressure of Bloomington for a soft landing in Columbia. Whether that would be true or not doesn't really matter, it's just about what it would look like. There would have been opportunity to meet with Crean (likely on Friday or Saturday) but I can't confirm that Missouri did. I'm just saying the window was there.
The following is simply my opinion:
If I had to handicap the list right now in order of likelihood, I'd do it like this:
1) Martin
2) Crean
3) Drew
4) Holtmann
5) Marshall
If it's not one of those five guys, I think it means Missouri couldn't get any of them and will move on to the B list. Either way, the earliest this is resolved is probably Wednesday or Thursday and I think it's far more likely it goes into at least next week.
The only guys on that list Missouri could really talk to this week in person would be Crean and Martin. Both play in the NIT tomorrow night. The other three are preparing for the NCAA Tournament and there's no way in hell Mizzou can get an audience with them until after their teams are done playing for good.
I'm still of the mindset that Martin and Crean are the two most likely options. But I've flip flopped my opinion of their order of likelihood.
We'll do our best to monitor it all because we've reached the point where there could be some action and things will likely change daily if not more often than that. I've still got some more messages out this morning and will add anything here that I come up with.
