Mizzou basketball’s Cuonzo Martin Zooming his way through pandemic-prompted challenges
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Missouri men’s basketball coach Cuonzo Martin has found himself relying on an everyday social-madia tool: FaceTime.
Before the pandemic, Martin said he usually spoke to his family members through the app. But with these current social-distancing guidelines in place, and in an attempt to keep up with veteran players and recruits alike, Martin said he’s utilizing such technology much more often.
He shared a story from a recent interaction with a recruit. He was FaceTiming the similarly isolated player while wearing $10 sunglasses. For whatever reason, the recruit seemed to like them. Martin theorized it was because they looked cheap.
“He got a kick out of it,” said Martin, who’s prohibited from talking about specific recruits and thus kept the young man’s name anonymous. “But it was a different side. … Players can get a different feel for it. For me, I’m different when you see me outside of my element.”
It’s been about a month since the Tigers’ 2019-20 season abruptly ended at the SEC Tournament in Nashville. Hours before they were to take the court at Bridgestone Arena, the tourney was canceled because of the developing pandemic.
On Tuesday, Martin spoke with reporters for roughly 30 minutes via a Zoom video call. His program faces the same uncertainty confronting Eliah Drinkwitz’s MU football team, which is scheduled to kick off its season on Sept. 5. While basketball doesn’t begin its season until a couple of months after that, there’s no known timeline for how long the pandemic will last.
In the short term, Martin said he’s unsure whether his players will be able to convene for the program’s annual summer workouts. How they’ll stay in shape, especially if they don’t have their own basketball hoop or set of weights, is a cocnern.
“One thing about players, though we don’t like to admit it, we all crave the discipline and the structure of the day-to-day workouts and the regimen,” Martin said. “So now you’re talking about the accountability among themselves to do that on an everyday basis, which is a hard thing to do.”
Martin said that he and his assistant coaches keep tabs on his players through virtual means — usually Zoom. Each of his staff members is assigned two players to keep track of academically. Mizzou has moved to online courses for the rest of the semester, and Martin said he wants his players to finish the year strong.
Aside from talking about basketball and school, Martin said he’s told his players to stay safe during the pandemic. Working out on their own lessens the risk that they’ll contract COVID-19; he warns them to stay away from any group activities.
“Our guys need to understand the importance of, ‘This is real life,’” Martin said. “It’s one thing to work on your own or work with your trainer, but you have to be very careful. (They’re experiencing) a lot of learning lessons, but hopefully not painful lessons.”
With the NCAA mandating a dead period through May 31 — barring on- and off-campus recruiting — all coaches must get creative when it comes to selling their program. That usually means a virtual visit of sorts, showcasing facilities and what the program offers.
Martin said he was the only one at Mizzou Arena Tuesday, taking videos of what the Tigers have to offer prospective recruits.
“It’ll be different,” Martin said, “but I’m looking forward to it.”
Transfers out
Mizzou has seen its second departure from its 2019 recruiting class: Forward Tray Jackson has entered the NCAA transfer portal. Martin said he wished him the best and understood why the Detroit native made the move.
Jackson’s playing time was inconsistent this past season. Martin said it’s the nature of the game today: Players are seeking the perfect fit, the most minutes they can find.
“We didn’t want Tray to leave, without a doubt,” Martin said. “Tray did what was best for him. I think what happens it that every guy wants to play, and you have to respect that as a coach.”
Transfers in
The Tigers had two guaranteed scholarship spots open up after Jackson and fellow freshman Mario McKinney Jr. entered the transfer portal. Mizzou has been linked to a few names on the transfer market, namely Justin Turner from Bowling Green.
After a subpar 15-16 season, Martin’s looking for upgrades to MU’s roster, especially potential graduate transfers who’d be immediately eligible to play.
“I like it a lot,” Martin said of the construct that allows immediate contributions from grad transfers. “They’re battle-tested. They’ve been through whatever, the ups and downs, the highs and lows. They’ve seen it all.”