Cuonzo Martin looks like good fit as new coach for Tennessee men's basketball

Cuonzo Martin was officially announced as new men's basketball coach at Tennessee today, and I like what I see. I know there has been some hand-wringing by some of the Big Orange faithful, but we need to give him a chance.

His resume looks good to me. He was 61-41 at Missouri State, including a 26-9 record this year. His team won the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) regular season title. The team would have gone to the NCAA tourney but was upset in the finals of the conference tournament by Indiana State. He was also named MVC Coach of the Year this season.

I know some fans are disappointed that the Vols did not land a coach with a bigger name or more experience. I can see their point. However, Tennessee's options are hampered by the impending penalties from the NCAA. Even though the Tennessee job is a good one, not many coaches want to walk into a program going on probation. Give Martin credit for that.

The bottom line is we got a good coach. Not many Tennessee people had heard of Bruce Pearl before he came here. Like I wrote in the first paragraph, let's give Martin a chance. He is our coach and deserves our support.