Cuonzo Martin fired as Missouri men's basketball coach after five seasons

Cuonzo Martin's arrival in Columbia as Missouri men's basketball coach brought a jolt of energy to the program with top recruit Michael Porter Jr. also entering the fold.

Five years later, despite the Tigers making two trips to the NCAA Tournament during his tenure and being ranked in the top 10 nationally last season, Martin's time leading the program has come to an end because of potential that never fully materialized.

Martin was fired on Friday after a disappointing 12-21 season, which officially ended when LSU jettisoned Missouri out of the SEC tournament on Thursday.

Missouri officially announced the move early Friday evening.

"Coach Martin represented the university with an extremely high level of class and dignity," athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois wrote in a statement. "He is a man of high character whom I have the upmost respect for, and we are grateful for his contributions to our program, on and off the floor."

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After the loss to LSU, Martin said he wouldn't dwell on the decision Missouri made on his future either way.

"I'm at peace with whatever," Martin said. "If that's the best thing for both parties, that's the best thing for both parties."

CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein first reported the news of Martin's firing Friday afternoon.

His replacement will mark Missouri's third coach in the past eight years.

After coming to Missouri from California by way of Tennessee, Martin twice took Missouri to the Big Dance but never got out of the first round.

Three of his five seasons resulted in losing records, and the 2021-22 season was the final straw.

Missouri upset No. 15 Alabama on Jan. 8 and found a star in forward Kobe Brown. However, a 44-point loss to Arkansas, a37-point loss to Kansas in the Border War rivalry revival and a 25-point loss to Illinois in the Braggin' Rights game, among other brutal losses to Liberty and UMKC, led Reed-Francois to pull the plug.

Missouri won just 11 regular-season games and lost 13 games by at least 10 points. Martin finishes his tenure with a 78-77 record overall and a 35-53 record in SEC play.

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Missouri lost four of its five starters from its NCAA Tournament team in 2021: Dru Smith, Mark Smith, Jeremiah Tilmon and Xavier Pinson. Eight of Missouri's 11 players left Columbia after last season.

Martin, meanwhile, turned to freshmen and transfers to replace them this winter.

Missouri's challenges were immediate this season, as the Tigers struggled to put away Central Michigan in the season opener, lost by 14 points to UMKC in November and lost to Liberty by 21 points in December.

It was a harbinger of the struggles to come in SEC play and against high-profile rivals.

Martin, a survivor of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, exuded grace and big-picture perspective amid turbulent times in his position. He played an active role helping other parts of Missouri athletics, going out of his way to assist football coach Eli Drinkwitz in his recruitment of East St. Louis five-star receiver Luther Burden.

That grace could not overcome three losing seasons, as Missouri men's basketball will now look for the 20th head coach in program history.

This will be Reed-Francois' first major decision at Missouri. The men's basketball program stoked apathy throughout the course of this past season with plenty of empty seats at Mizzou Arena. She's now tasked with finding a coach who will instill energy and a strong, consistent presence in the SEC that Missouri has yet to establish.

Reed-Francois has already navigated the tricky situation with Martin's contract, which stated he could not be fired without cause until May 1 at the earliest. On that day, the buyout for Martin's contract would be $6 million, per his contract.

In a year, on May 1, 2023, that number would drop to $3 million. Any liquidated damages, or money needing to be paid to Martin as part of his termination, will "be paid in equal monthly installments until April 30, 2024, or in such lump sum as might be negotiated and agreed to by the parties," according to his contract.

Missouri announced Friday it would honor the rest of Martin's contract, which was set to expire on April 30, 2024.

"I believe that Mizzou is one of the best men’s basketball coaching jobs in the country," Reed-Francois said in a statement. "We have — and will — continue to invest in our men’s basketball program and I look forward to introducing the new leader of our program to our community in the near future. We will work quickly and expeditiously to find the candidate who is the best fit to continue building our championship culture."

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Cuonzo Martin fired as Missouri basketball coach after five seasons