Purdue losing Asst Coach?

[IlliniRacer]

Cuonzo Martin interviewing for the Missouri State head coach position - Link

Rumors around STL say that its his if he wants it.

Would be a great hire for Missouri St. Great recruiter and an incredibly class act.

[Truth Detector]

The start of a very good coaching career IMHO.

[9rows]

i hate to hear that.

it is my understanding that mr. martin is a great recruiter and contributed greatly to the outstanding freshman class purdue has this year.

i hope he sticks around, but i could hardly fault him for moving on to a head coaching position.

[MoparsRule]

Hate to hear it too, but congrats to Cm if he gets it.

[turnrightgoleft]

I believe Painter has been encouraging Martin to become a head coach.

Martin is one of the all time greats in college basketball, from his beginnings, the way he remade his game, the way he battled illness, and his three Big Ten championships as a player.

[crispy]

Say it ain't Zo!

[NDGator]

The kid from ESL should do well if he decides to jump...

[IlliniRacer]

Press Conference scheduled for later this morning.

[MoparsRule]

Yep, it's official.

[turnrightgoleft]

Very sad to see him go, but wish him all the best.

[MoparsRule]

Some more info for the boiler fans:

Owens to reunite with Painter at Purdue
By Todd Hefferman, The Southern
Monday, March 31, 2008 11:11 PM CDT
CARBONDALE - One former Saluki will try to beat his old coach, while another will try his luck in the Big Ten Conference next season.

Former Southern Illinois University guard Kent Williams, the supervisor of basketball operations at Purdue, accepted an assistant coach position at Missouri State last week. Former Purdue assistant coach Cuonzo Martin was hired as the Bears' new head coach March 26.

"I'm ready for it," Williams said. "I've had three years to prepare for it. I've been around. We've seen success from that. I pretty well know what it takes."

Current SIU head coach Chris Lowery was an assistant under Bruce Weber during Williams' tenure at SIU. Now, at least twice a year, he'll become an opponent for the former Mount Vernon High School all-stater.

"It'll be definitely different, and definitely a weird situation," Williams said. "When you're going from player to coach, a lot of things like that do happen. We actually experienced that here, when we went against coach Weber."

Current Saluki assistant Jack Owens is headed to West Lafayette, Ind., to take an assistant spot alongside Matt Painter. Purdue finished 25-9 this season, losing to Xavier in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

"He's a big loss because he's an important part of our family," Lowery said. "Obviously, being close to Jack, and being close to him in age, he's someone I got very close to on staff. Between the coaching staff and the family, he did a great job for us."

Owens declined to comment on the move Monday.

A former Eastern Illinois standout, Owens just finished his fifth year at SIU and eighth overall as a collegiate coach. He came to Carbondale under Painter in 2003 as an assistant coach. Owens previously coached at EIU, Barton (Kan.) County Community College and Howard (Texas) Community College.

Painter, then an assistant at EIU, signed Owens to play for the Panthers back in the late 1990s. An honorable mention all-conference guard in the Ohio Valley, Owens led the league in assists in 1999 at 6.5 per game. He was a co-captain at EIU and was voted the team's most valuable player.

The move leaves Lowery two spots to fill during the offseason. Graduate assistant Jason Pacanowski finished the second year of his two-year deal this winter. The position will not be officially open until Pacanowski graduates in May. Lowery said he has not offered the position to anyone yet.

Purdue could make another run at the NCAA tournament next season. The Boilermakers could return 13 of 14 players. Two, freshmen Robbie Hummel and E'Twaun Moore, were All-Big Ten Conference this season. The team has signed two players for next season: guard Lewis Jackson and forward Ryne Smith.

Purdue tied for second in the Big Ten at 15-3. Its second seed at the conference tournament was its best ever. The Boilermakers were ranked as high as 14th in the country prior to the tournament.

Missouri State finished 17-16 in coach Barry Hinson's last season. Hinson's contract wasn't renewed after nine seasons in Springfield, Mo. Last season was the Bears' seventh straight winning campaign but the most losses since Missouri State went 13-16 in 2000-01.

With Martin, and a new, $67 million JQH Arena to play in, the offer was too good for Williams to pass up. Martin starred for coach Gene Keady from 1991-95 and played four years professionally before joining Keady at his alma mater.

"It's a job, and you gotta follow the job," Williams said. "When you get the opportunity, you gotta go where they're at."

[email protected] / 351-5087