How Cuonzo Martin wants to turn Missouri State basketball back into Springfield

Cuonzo Martin has counted more than 30 different restaurants he’s eaten at since being brought back as Missouri State men’s basketball coach.

Flame, Char and Jim’s Steakhouse are at the top of his list. The Cauli Fornia Dreamin’ burger at Black Sheep ‘took off’ and he enjoyed breakfast trips with recruits to Gailey’s. A trip to PaPPo’s, along with a first-time visit to I Love Tacos, is in the near future.

Martin goes to the various local establishments with a purpose; not just to reacquaint himself with local cuisine after 13 years away. He and his team are working on building “genuine” relationships with people in town, including cleaners, pet food stores and other establishments in the community.

“We want people to feel good about our program,” Martin said. “This is a great product and this is an arena that should be packed every night because this is our team. floor.”

Martin, 13 years after helping the Bears sell out Great Southern Bank Arena by winning a conference championship, is making it his mission to rebuild the energy around the program back to where he left it.

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Martin is replicating some of the things he did during his first three years. He will add what he learned during stops at Tennessee, California and Mizzou while leading four different teams to the NCAA tournaments.

Building relationships is also part of who he is. In his two years away from leading a college basketball program, he was out in the community trying to help those in need. He launched a podcast about leadership and topics such as men’s health, fatherhood, education, social issues and race. Martin returned to coaching to help develop young people through the game he loves.

Everything Martin does is in pursuit of fulfilling what he believes is his calling.

“Whether they put us in a casket or in ashes, we will all go at some point,” Martin said. “When I answer my father, Lord Jesus Christ, and say ‘OK, what was your job?’ I have to make sure I’ve done everything in my power to be the best version of myself and try to complete my mission and purpose in life.”

Cuonzo Martin spent his time outside of college training volunteering at various shelters

After being fired by Mizzou in 2018, Martin spent two seasons away from the hustle and bustle of college athletics. He lived in Orlando, where he decided to give back to the community every opportunity he got.

Basketball was still a part of his life. Martin served on different committees and frequently spoke at coaching clinics. He consulted behind the scenes and also met with NBA and USA Basketball teams. He said he studied the game from an administrative standpoint, knowing he would eventually feel the urge to return.

But basketball wasn’t on his mind when he volunteered at different homeless shelters and men’s and women’s shelters. He found that words of encouragement can help someone cheer up, whether it’s a “keep fighting” or something as small as asking how their days were going.

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“It was just ‘How can I help?’” Martin said. “Often when we say ‘humility,’ people think that’s weakness. That’s strength. That’s how I try to act every day.”

Martin wants to give everyone the chance to be seen, like he felt when someone gave him his first chance. Born and raised in East St. Louis, a city that carries a perception of poverty and crime, Martin knows what it takes to come from humble beginnings and have people invest in him until he succeeds. He recalls his days growing up on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, knowing he was surrounded by “beautiful people” in a “beautiful place” that “broken souls” were working their way out of.

Martin is a fighter and wants others to fight too. “Keep moving forward,” he will tell someone less fortunate, lying on the ground outside a Kum & Go or walking the streets of Orlando.

“It’s a natural thing,” Martin said. “This has really been my life since you learned about it as an assistant and then I started doing it here. It’s just part of who I am.”

Cuonzo Martin Wants Springfield to Take Over Missouri State Basketball on Opening Night

Building a community and spending time in it is not something Martin felt during his first stint coaching the Bears. There were a lot of unknowns and he was consumed with recruiting, building a team and the rest of the program. Upon returning, he already knows the program and has 14 years of experience as a head coach.

Martin’s has spoken at many Rotary clubs, focusing on the relationships he builds with people in the community. He also talked to new students at freshman orientation and plans to continue his outreach to those on campus as the fall semester and season approaches.

He’s hopeful these relationships will help Springfield residents take control of the team. He wants fans to feel like they need to be at Great Southern Bank Arena on opening night, rather than when the Bears are off to a 7-0 start or in late-season contention for a Missouri Valley or Conference USA championship.

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“We need them to show up on day one,” Martin said. “This is important to show our players, to show the community, to show the state, to show the conference, to show the country that this is Missouri State. This is a great product and we will do our part as a program. I think our fans need to understand that we need you from day one because we are not going to win a Missouri Valley Conference championship in March. We started winning when we started training in June and our fans need to understand that.”

More efforts will be made to connect roster members with the fan base. Missouri State has just two returning players from a season ago. Martin is not unaware of how difficult it is for a fan to engage with players who may leave next year because of the transfer portal and changes to transfer rules.

Martin has made Missouri State basketball’s social media a talking point, although he admits he’s not a big TikTok guy “yet.” He said he still has a good leg and can dance with the players if he feels like it.

The Bears will be no strangers. Martin said the athletes will be out in the community, as he always has. If fans are going to pack the stands at Great Southern Bank Arena once again, Martin, as part of his calling, will try to transform the members of the men’s basketball team into men the Springfield community will be proud of.

“We want every student to have to fight their way in and get to the point where we can’t feel the capacity of how many people need to be in this arena,” Martin said. “We have to continue to work diligently.”

This article originally appeared in the Springfield News-Leader: Cuonzo Martin wants to reignite interest in Missouri State basketball