Cuonzo Martin addresses departure for Cal, his relationship with UT during Knoxville radio interview » GoVolsXtra
Cuonzo Martin talked Thursday.
The former Tennessee men's basketball coach who on Tuesday was introduced as the next head coach at California explained his reasoning for turning down a UT contract extension, shed light on the timeline that led to his departure and gave his parting thoughts to UT players and fans during a 12-and-a-half minute radio interview with Hallerin Hilton Hill of News Talk 98.7.
Martin said Cal first contacted his representation (his agent is Buddy Baker of Exclusive Sports Group) after the Vols (24-13) loss to Florida in the SEC tournament semifinal on Feb. 11. He said he plans on taking his entire coaching staff with him to Cal in some capacity. He said multiple times his decision to leave UT after three seasons was tied to neither money nor the online petition that called for the rehiring of previously fired coach Bruce Pearl, which surfaced before the Vols jumpstarted a disappointing season into a Sweet 16 run.
Instead, Martin said the time was simply right for a split.
"The one thing I wanted to make clear and understood, it had nothing to do with any petition," Martin said. "Really. Nothing at all. That didn't phase me one bit. It didn't. I just really felt like it was the best thing for both parties. In order for the University of Tennessee, the fan base, to get what they need and what they're looking for, it was probably time to make a change. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. I truly feel like (UT athletic director) Dave Hart was fair to me in every way, shape or form. I thought Dave Hart gave me a tremendous opportunity. Chancellor (Jimmy) Cheek has been great. For me there are no hard feelings absolutely whatsoever. It had nothing to do with a fan petition. It was just sometimes it's time. That's the best way to put it."
But when Martin was asked for his final message to Knoxville, he steered back toward fan support.
"I've never been to a place that had more passion in the fan base like here in Knoxville at the University of Tennessee," Martin said. "That part is great. They have done a tremendous job getting on board with Coach Jones. He's a great man, and I imagine the guy they hire (will be). Get on board. Be a part of it. When there are bumps in the road, stick with it. Understand the coach is doing everything in his power to make it right. And stay the course. Because what happens is, whatever is written, whatever is said, not only does the coach get it, those players get it."
Martin agreed to a five-year deal at Cal two weeks after he and Hart announced Martin would return to UT for a fourth season. Monetary terms of his deal at Cal have not yet been released. The contract adjustment he walked away from at UT would have given him a two-year extension and bumped his annual salary from $1.35 to $1.8 million. His buyout, however, would have dropped to $1 million for the remainder of his time at UT, a sign his departure was likely imminent, one way or another.
This was Martin's first interview with local media since he accepted the Cal job. He has not responded to Knoxville News Sentinel interview requests. You can listen to the full interview here (link).
https://soundcloud.com/chris_marion/hallerin-hilton-hills-cuonzo-martin-interview-041714
Below is a transcript of the topics addressed, along with Martin's response.
--Was the move based on money?
"It's never about money for me. No way shape or form. Hallerin, we grew up with peanuts. We never had a lot of money. We had a lot of love, but not a lot of money. It's never about that to me."
--Are details available on his new five-year deal at Cal?
"No. Not yet. I'm not sure yet. We're still working on those things. But it's never really been about money. When you see the money, it's never been about that. For me it's most cases about a peace of mind and an opportunity to be successful in life."
--Did the Pearl petition, which totaled more than 30,000 signatures, bother him?
"Honestly, not at all. By the time I found out about the petition, we lost our last game at A&M. After that we got on the road. By the time I found out about it, it might have been maybe 1,000 people had signed it I think it's unfortunate, because what happens is, people read it. More than anything, with the petition and all the exposure on our run to the NCAA tournament, it kind of gave our program and the university a black eye so to speak. Because it is such a tremendous university. So many respected people that have attended the school, worked here, wonderful people. I think it gave us a black eye more than anything as a university. You have so many great fans. The things I would always tell our players is, you have 15 to 18,000 people that attend games. Wonderful people. You have a lot of fans that can't attend games because of financial reasons, or because of distance. Don't let a small group deter you from the success of a wonderful university."
--His message to UT players?
"For the guys that are returning, the thing I told those guys, Tennessee is a great place for you guys. You need to represent this university. You need to stick together. They need to make sure the incoming recruits stay with them. That's the thing I told those guys. Because they are family. Thats what we teach. That's what we preach. They understand that. They've been great. The guys that are gone, I talked to those guys. They were very disappointed in a lot of ways with what took place. As well with some of the guys in the program. Just how their coach was treated. That's a tough thing to deal with. But I was fine with it. Because in the end, Hal, they learned a lot of valuable lessons. Dealing with adversity. Going through tough times and how to handle them. Now 10 years down the road, if they are faced with some things like that, they'll say, coach went through this. They'll at least be familiar with how to handle the situation."
--While not using his name specifically, Martin was asked to explain the flip of Kingsley Okoroh, a 7-foot-1 center who committed to UT on Monday then switched his commitment to Cal less than 24 hours later.
"I can't speak on a kid specifically because we are waiting on all the paperwork to go through. You're talking about a young man that, when I recruited and visited with him, I was the head coach at Tennessee. When the young man made the commitment, there was probably a four-day span when I made the decision. The last time I went out to see him on a visit, there was no intention of me going to where I was going. Now, all of a sudden, you have a span of, I think, three or four days where he hadn't signed a national letter. Well, he wants to go with a coach. That's what happens a lot of time with recruiting. We talk about all the time a young man committing to a university. In most cases they commit to the guy that's the coach. That's what happened with this young man."
--What about UT's incoming four-player recruiting class?
"The current guys that have signed National Letters of Intent to play for the University of Tennessee, my thing with their families is Tennessee is a good place. I'm not telling them one way to do it. That's their decision. I'm not trying to take them to California Our current guys on the roster, all those guys are committed to the University of Tennessee."
--Is his UT staff making the move to Cal?
"I would like to take all of them in some capacity. They are part of the reason why we have success. They are part of my family. I would definitely like to take all of them."
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More details as the story develops.
