RIP "Spoon": Charlie Spoonhour, 1939-2012

(Image: Kansas City Star)

Legendary college basketball coach Charlie Spoonhour died in his Chapel Hill, North Carolina, home today at the age of 72. Spoonhour spent nearly 20 years as a head coach in NCAA Division I college basketball, having served as head coach at Missouri State University (then known as Southwest Missouri State), Saint Louis University and the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV). Spoonhour had been in poor health in recent years. He was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 2010. He received a lung transplant at the Duke University Medical Center in August of the same year.

Charlie Spoonhour rose to prominence in the mid 1980s when he turned the university now known as Missouri State -- then, as previously noted, a little-known state school in the Ozarks known as Southwest Missouri State -- into something of a mid major college basketball powerhouse. Spoonhour had nearly twenty years of paid coaching dues under his belt when he arrived at the Springfield, Missouri, school in 1983 to begin his career as an NCAA Division I head coach, a mere year after the Southwest Missouri State men's basketball program began competing as an NCAA Division I institution.

During his time at Southwest Missouri State (1983-1992), Spoonhour led the Bears' basketball program from obscurity to relative national prominence (short-lived though it may have been). From 1986 to 1992, Spoonhour's Southwest Missouri teams were fixtures in the post season: during that stretch, the Bears made five NCAA Tournament appearances and appeared in the NIT twice. But it was the 1986-87 team that caught the attention of the the national media and thrust Charlie Spoonhour into the spotlight. Led on the court by future NBA point guard Winston Garland, Spoonhour's 1986-87 Bears steamrolled their way to the Mid-Continent Conference championship, finished the season with a 28-6 overall record and upset the Horace Grant-led, 13th-seeded Clemson Tigers in the NCAA Tournament. But "Spoon," as he was affectionately known, didn't gain notoriety solely on the basis of his on-court exploits. By the late 80s, the man at the helm of the little school from the Ozarks with the somewhat bewilderingly directional name (at least bewildering to media types in Manhattan and Bristol, Connecticut) had garnered the attention of the national sports media in part because of his endearing personality. A son of Kansas and Arkansas, Spoonhour combined a crusty, old school demeanor with a sharp wit and a folksy, yet charismatic persona.

In 1992, Spoonhour left Southwest Missouri to take on the challenge of returning the once-prominent Saint Louis Billiken basketball program to college basketball relevance. At St. Louis, the "Spoon" succeeded and then some. In seven seasons as the Billikens' head coach (1993 to 1999), Spoonhour's teams made three NCAA Tournament appearances; went from playing sparsely attended home games in a small, antiquated gym to regularly playing in front of full houses in the new 19,000 seat downtown St. Louis home that they shared with the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues -- the then-newly-opened Kiel Center (now known as the Scottrade Center); and convinced the most sought-after St. Louis prep basketball star in a generation -- Larry Hughes -- to resist both the temptation of jumping directly from high school to the NBA draft, and the pull of playing for one of college basketball's high-profile, elite programs (Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Syracuse, Arkansas, Missouri, etc.) in order to stay home and play for the Billikens.

As it happens, Hughes left college for the NBA after playing only one season (and it was a relatively tumultuous season at that), but his unexpected decision to stay home and play for Charlie Spoonhour made it abundantly clear that Coach "Spoon" had put the St. Louis Billikens back on the college basketball map. Unfortunately for St. Louis, the Billikens' time in the sun was short-lived. During Spoonhour's tenure, St. Louis was a program that routinely acquitted itself well in Conference USA -- when C- USA was considered a major conference (St. Louis' Conference USA rivals included Louisville, Cincinnati, Marquette, DePaul, Memphis and Alabama-Birmingham [UAB]). But the program regressed to perpetual mediocrity shortly after Spoonhour's 1999 departure. The Billikens last appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2000 ( under the stewardship of Spoonhour's successor, Lorenzo Romar).

Saint Louis' fortunes fell further in 2005, when Conference USA came apart after most of the aforementioned power programs left for the Big East. Saint Louis joined the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2006, where the Billikens remain. The Atlantic 10 is, to be sure, a quality league, but there's no doubt that its stature is a notch or two (or three) below the stature of the old C-USA. And it's only been in the last two years, under the guidance of another larger-than-life head coach -- Rick Majerus -- that the Billikens have been competitive in their new conference home.

But while Saint Louis was fading from its brief, Spoonhour era return to college basketball's national scene, Charlie Spoonhour was busy trying resurrect another well-known college basketball program -- the once-fabled Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) Runnin' Rebels. In 2001, Spoonhour was hired to replace former John Calipari assistant and one-time coaching wunderkind Billy Bayno as the head basketball coach at UNLV after Bayno landed the historically scandal-ridden Rebels' basketball program in hot water with the NCAA (who'd have thunk it!) over improprieties pertaining to the recruitment of then-prep star Lamar Odom. At UNLV, "Spoon" did what he was hired to do: right the ship, make the Rebels' notoriously sleazy basketball program respectable, get the program off of the NCAA's hit list, and win basketball games. But Spoonhour inherited a program that the NCAA had placed on probation for four years as punishment for Bayno's sins. Spoonhour compiled a respectable 54-31 record -- not bad for a program on probation! -- but failed to win over UNLV alumni and fans the way he'd won fans over in St. Louis. Spoonhour abruptly retired during the middle of the 2004 season.

The following year, Lon Kruger was hired to steer UNLV back to respectability. Kruger succeeded in short order, but he couldn't have done so if not for the foundation that Coach Spoonhour had spent the previous three years laying down.

In the years that followed his retirement from the coaching ranks, Charlie Spoonhour did yeoman's work as a television analyst for Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball games. Though Spoonhour's TV work for the Missouri Valley never reached a big, national audience (thanks to the Valley's relative obscurity and strictly regional appeal), "Spoon" was easily one of the best color commentators in the business. Much like the "color work" that Bob Knight currently does for ESPN, Spoonhour drew on a lifetime of basketball knowledge to break the game down into terms that entertained, but more importantly, informed the viewer. His breezy, down-home style was engaging and fun, but if you listened closely, the "Spoon" could be heard putting on a veritable coaching seminar. A better example of "wit and wisdom" could hardly be found.

Charlie Spoonhour will be missed.

Tennessee Hires Cuonzo Martin

(Photo: University of Tennessee Dept. of Intercollegiate Athletics).


Last week, Tennessee fired embattled men's head basketball coach Bruce Pearl. And just as Virginia Commonwealth and Kentucky were punching their respective tickets to the 2011 Final Four on Sunday evening, Tennessee announced that Missouri State head coach Cuonzo Martin had been hired as its new men's basketball coach (more here).

Cuonzo Martin is a native of East St. Louis, IL. He played on two IHSA championship basketball teams at East St. Louis Lincoln High School. Following high school, Martin went on to Purdue, where he played for legendary coach Gene Keady from 1990-1994. In the 1994 Sweet Sixteen, Martin set a Purdue record for three point shots made in a game when he completed eight three pointers against Kansas. After playing professionally in Italy and in the old Continental Basketball Association (R.I.P.) for a short time -- with a seven-game sojourn in the NBA sprinkled in along the way -- Martin returned to the United States and successfully battled cancer. With his health improved, he joined Keady's Purdue coaching staff in 2000. After eight years as an assistant at Purdue, Cuonzo Martin accepted the vacant Missouri State coaching position in 2008.

With his move to Tennessee, Cuonzo Martin becomes the fifth active former Gene Keady assistant to helm a high major college basketball program. Other active products of the Keady/Purdue coaching tree at high majors include Kevin Stallings at Vanderbilt, Bruce Weber at Illinois, Matt Painter at Purdue and Steve Lavin at St. John's.

Cuonzo Martin is a good choice for Tennessee. He's a young, up-and-coming coach who has been successful at the helm of one of the better Mid Major programs in college basketball. Missouri State won the Missouri Valley Conference regular season race this season, but were left out of the NCAA Tournament when they failed to win the MVC tournament. It's worth mentioning that in Martin's three seasons at Missouri State, none of his teams made it to the NCAA Tournament. That's notable, since Martin replaced Barry Hinson, who was fired by Missouri State after his teams made four consecutive N.I.T. appearances, but failed to make the NCAA Tournament -- even after finishing with back-to-back 22 win seasons and top 40 RPI ratings. Hinson's failure to lead the Bears program to the NCAA Tournament was widely believed to have been the deciding factor behind his ouster. Drive and Dish thought Martin was a good choice for Missouri State when he was hired. And there's no doubt that he's done well in his brief stay at that school. But it's hard to see how his stewardship of the Missouri State basketball program has been a significant improvement over that of Coach Hinson. Aside from having the aforementioned young, up-and-coming coach aura working for him, his on-court results appear remarkably similar to those of the man he replaced.

Nevertheless, congratulations are in order for Cuonzo Martin and for Tennessee. Tennessee has replaced a severely ethically-challenged coach with a new coach who's widely thought of as a good dude. But Coach Martin has his work cut out for him. On the positive side, Tennessee has good facilities, a great arena and outstanding talent on its roster. But after scandals incurred by Pearl and former football coach Lane Kiffin, Tennessee athletics will presumably be under the microscope of the NCAA (or at least they should be). And one would expect (or perhaps more accurately, hope) that some level of sanctions will be placed on the Tennessee athletic department -- and on the basketball program specifically -- by the enforcement wing of the NCAA. If NCAA sanctions come to pass, Martin will face an uphill climb at Tennessee. It's also worth bearing in mind that, as is the case at all SEC schools not named "Kentucky", football is king at Tennessee. Despite the Volunteers' recent hardwood success, men's basketball will probably always take a back seat to football (and even to women's basketball) in Knoxville. Remember, early in his tenure at Tennessee, Bruce Pearl was so desperate eager to drum up support for men's basketball by endearing himself to Tennessee fans that he donned body paint and joined the student cheering section at a Lady Volunteers basketball game. Tennessee men's basketball eventually did become popular during Pearl's reign, but the Vols were usually ranked between 10-15 in the AP Top 25 during that time. Fan support for men's basketball is a relatively new phenomenon at Tennessee. It remains to be seen if it will survive Pearl's departure.

Along those lines, it's worth noting that in 1997, Kevin O'Neill resigned as basketball coach at Tennessee to take the same position at Northwestern. At the time, Northwestern was hardly an attractive job. But O'Neill was eager to bolt Tennessee for a Big Ten school -- apparently for ANY Big Ten school -- because men's basketball was little more than an afterthought at football-crazy Tennessee. The irascible O'Neill continually clashed with an athletic department that he characterized as disinclined to devote adequate resources to the men's basketball program. Tennessee replaced Kevin O'Neill with Jerry Green, who was replaced by Buzz Peterson, who was replaced by Bruce Pearl. Now Cuonzo Martin replaces Pearl.

Kevin O'Neill left Tennessee more than a decade ago, but it remains to be seen whether the difficulties he had getting adequate support for men's basketball from the Tennessee athletic department are entirely a thing of the past. Cuonzo Martin apparently thinks they are. He'll soon find out for sure.

Recently Fired Missouri State Coach Hinson Exudes Class and Dignity

For nine seasons, Barry Hinson coached one of the most successful basketball programs in the Missouri Valley Conference. But despite his success (which included consecutive 22-win seasons in 2005/06 and 2006/07, top-40 RPI ratings both seasons and four consecutive trips to the N.I.T.), Hinson's Missouri State teams never got invited to the NCAA Tournament. And that ultimately cost Hinson his job.

In March, Missouri State fired Barry Hinson. Shortly thereafter, Cuonzo Martin was hired to replace Hinson.

But despite no longer being employed by Missouri State, Barry Hinson has stayed in Springfield, MO. And remarkably, he's been helping Martin -- his replacement -- as Martin transitions into his first head coaching job.

What's more, Hinson recently attended -- and spoke at -- Missouri State's basketball banquet, despite no longer being Missouri State's basketball coach.

Barry Hinson is a very good basketball coach. A former Junior College coach, he's paid his dues and then some: he rose from the bottom of the profession to prominence at Oral Roberts and then at Missouri State.

But coaching prowess aside, Coach Hinson is a class act. And that's a rarity in the business of college basketball.

Here's to hoping that Hinson lands on his feet.

Cuonzo Martin Named Head Coach at Missouri State

By Trashtalk Superstar

Yesterday, Missouri State announced that Cuonzo Martin has been hired as the new men's head basketball coach. Prior to his hiring at Missouri State, Martin spent eight years at Purdue, where he served as the Associate Head Basketball Coach. Martin played for Gene Keady at Purdue from 1991-95.

Cuonzo Martin's arrival at Missouri State comes an important juncture in time for the Bears' basketball program. As Missouri State's press release states:

"Martin becomes the 16th head coach in the history of Missouri State, the 27th winningest NCAA Division I program in America. He will take over the reins of the program in time for the 100th anniversary of Missouri State’s basketball program and will inaugurate the Bears’ move into the $67 million 11,000-seat JQH Arena for the 2008-09 season."

Edit:

Earlier in the month, Drive and Dish noted that Coaching News Online was floating a rumor about Illinois Head Basketball Coach Bruce Weber's purported interest in the Missouri State job. The "rumors" section at Coaching News Online reported that Bruce Weber had been talking to Missouri State about the school's head coaching job.

While there turned out to be no truth to the rumor that Bruce Weber was headed to Missouri State, it's probably true that Bruce Weber was talking to Missouri State about their head coaching job. Weber spent eighteen years as an assistant to Gene Keady at Purdue. He coached Cuonzo Martin at Purdue and maintained frequent contact with Martin while Martin was coaching at Purdue.

It appears likely that Missouri State talked to Weber on at least a few occasions, in order to get Weber's opinion on Martin. Bruce Weber is highly respected in coaching circles and among Athletic Directors at NCAA institutions. Missouri State probably relied on him as a reference for Cuonzo Martin.

Bruce Weber to Missouri State?

Coachingnewsonline.com is circulating the rumor that Illinois' Bruce Weber has been in talks with Missouri State about that school's head coaching job.

According to said website:

"Weber may only have 1 season to right the ship at Illinois before being let go, so he may be looking at other options now."

Missouri State already has a very good coach in Barry Hinson. The Bears' program has been quite successful during Hinson's reign. But despite having made Missouri State into a consistent contender in the Missouri Valley Conference, Hinson has never taken the Bears to the NCAA Tournament. And with a new arena about to open next year, the school is, apparently, looking to go in a new direction.

But the hot rumor has been that Missouri State is targeting Bob Knight to be its next coach. The Bruce Weber rumor really comes as a surprise.

And the same website is reporting that Kelvin Sampson may be back in coaching as soon as next year. Allegedly:

"Detroit has been in close contact with former Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson. The recently resigned Sampson is facing major recruiting violations from Indiana, yet the Detroit Administration is apparently willing to overlook those to hit a home run for their next coach."

Also, according to the website, LSU has targeted USC head coach Tim Floyd to fill its coaching vacancy.

Edit:

Missouri State hired former Purdue Associate Coach Cuonzo Martin as its new men's basketball head coach.

Drive and Dish discussed Martin's hiring here.

As we said in the linked post, it's likely that Missouri State did talk to Illinos' Bruce Weber about the open men's head basketball coaching position. Weber coached Martin for all of his four at Purdue when Weber was an assistant to Gene Keady. Missouri State probably used Bruce Weber as a reference when they were researching Cuonzo Martin.