Sources: Martin nearing go back to Missouri State

• Pete Thamel, ESPNMar 25, 2024, 05:58 PM ET

Veteran college basketball coach Cuonzo Martin is on the cusp of a second stint at Missouri State, as sources informed ESPN that he and the school are working toward an offer to make him the next head coach.Martin is among the

most effective coaches in Missouri State history, as he led the school to its first and just Missouri Valley Conference routine season title in 2010-11. That title came in his 3rd and last season on the job.He went on from there to coach at Tennessee, California and Missouri. He left Tennessee after a run to the round of 16 in 2014 and likewise led both Cal and Missouri to NCAA competition appearances.Martin has been a head coach for 14 seasons. He has a 264-198 record. In his 3 seasons at Missouri State, he went 61-41. That included a 2011 NIT quote that included the Missouri Valley regular-season championship.Martin is a native of East St. Louis who dipped into Purdue before a brief profession in the NBA.

His college training career started at Purdue, where he worked his method up to associate head coach before taking the Missouri State task in 2008. He was dismissed from Missouri after the 2021-22 season, a decision that featured Missouri owing Martin $6 million

in buyout money. Throughout his year off in 2023-24, he worked on the podcast “It All Counts. “Martin would change Dana Ford, who was fired previously this month after six seasons and a 106-82 record.