KNOXVILLE – The vast majority of University of Tennessee basketball fans may little note nor long remember Nov. 17, 2010. The Volunteers edged Missouri State 60-56 that night inside Thompson-Boling Arena, a victory to send them to the Preseason NIT semifinals in New York City.
But Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton never forgot it. Not because the Big Orange won, but because of the way the Bears played in defeat.
“I definitely put Cuonzo Martin in my Rolodex that night,” Hamilton said Monday afternoon as he explained Martin’s hiring as UT’s 18th head coach.
“I loved the way his team competed, the discipline they showed, the defense they played. They were very impressive.”
The University of Tennessee at Knoxville announced the hiring of former Missouri State coach Cuonzo Martin on Sunday night, replacing Bruce Pearl.
AP Photo/Mark SchiefelbeinMartin had been very impressive as a Purdue Boilermaker some 17 years earlier inside the same arena, scoring 29 points and hitting a school-record eight 3-pointers in an 83-78 NCAA Southeast Regional semifinal win over Kansas.