Coach Martin means business on MSU court

Coach Cuonzo Martin draws from a variety of role models - his mother, past coaches and business leaders - in forming his philosophy for the basketball court.

"'Work as hard as you can work, and I'll give you an opportunity,'" Martin remembers legendary coach Gene Keady telling him as a player at Purdue University in Lafayette, Ind. "Play as hard as you can play. I don't care about the stats."

Martin applies that mentality as head men's basketball coach at Missouri State University, a job he has held for just more than a year. Martin was the featured guest Tuesday at Springfield Business Journal's 12 People You Need to Know at the Clarion Hotel.

Martin also drills leadership skills into his coaching staff and team, often asking local business leaders to speak to them about the tenets of success, which he says can be applied on and off the court.

"Success is success," Martin said. "I tell my staff, 'Don't consume yourself with what we have on the floor right now'" - focus on what can be accomplished in the future.

Another key point in leadership for Martin is setting an example as a family man, and he encourages his staff to commit to time off the court.

"You've got to be efficient in your approach," he said. "If you're there till 9 o'clock at night, there's something you're not doing during the day."

Martin's playing history includes college ball for the Purdue Boilermakers, when he and forward Glenn Robinson led the team to consecutive Big Ten Conference titles in 1994 and 1995 as well as an Elite Eight appearance. He played professional basketball for four years, with NBA appearances with the Milwaukee Bucks and Vancouver Grizzlies; he spent most of his playing time in the Continental Basketball Association and Europe.

Martin was assistant coach for eight years at Purdue and in 2007 was promoted to associate head coach. He is now MSU's 16th head coach, and he took over the team just as the Bears moved into the new $67 million JQH Arena - a facility that Martin says would be the best in the Big Ten.

"But even before we had the arena, we had great fan support," Martin said, adding that community support for the Bears was his main attraction to MSU.

One question, however, remains on fans' minds: Could MSU make it to the Final Four in the next few years? Absolutely, Martin said.

"First and foremost, you have to have the talent," Martin said. "And you have to have success to get that caliber of players. I really think we can do it."[[In-content Ad]]