Mizzou basketball: Martin discusses NCAA’s ‘likeness’ rule, what he’s reading and more
While Missouri Tigers men’s basketball coach Cuonzo Martin is plenty busy navigating the COVID-19 pandemic like everyone else, a looming seismic rules change could soon shake college sports.
The NCAA’s Board of Governors recently agreed to allow student-athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness starting in January 2021. The proposal must still clear a vote during the annual NCAA Convention in January.
If ratified, we’d see a major change in the current collegiate landscape. Student-athletes would suddenly be allowed to appear on billboards and in TV advertisements endorsing products. They’ll also be able to sell their own autographs, among other perks.
“I’m just curious to see how they go about it,” Martin said on an episode of The Star’s daily SportsBeat KC podcast. “I want to see that, as well. You always want to see people get what they’re worth or what they deserve. I’m interested to see how it operates and how it proceeds.”
Martin said he was recently on a conference call with other SEC coaches and conference commissioner Greg Sankey to talk about the likely changes.
Martin envisions the potential easing of name, image and likeness rules becoming part of MU’s recruiting pitch. Mizzou is the lone in-state power conference program, which offers a certain level of exposure — and could mean extra cash for some Tigers prospects.
“The unknown is how the NCAA moves forward,” Martin said. “What you want to do more than anything, you want every state to be governed the same way. You don’t want every state to do different things. That’s where the problems could possibly occur.”
June 1 is a nearer target for Martin and his Tigers. The NCAA is voting to decide whether student-athletes can return to campus; then, SEC chancellors and presidents will meet to do the same. If everything goes according to plan — no guarantee amid the uncertainty — student-athletes would then be able return to Columbia for workouts.
While basketball season is even further away than football’s start in August, summer workouts are a crucial time for hoops programs. Athletes use this time not only to get in shape, but also to develop camaraderie and chemistry, which is important for a Mizzou team that’s adding two transfers.
“For athletes, you like to be in your environment around other athletes,” Martin said. “Iron sharpens iron. Sometimes you feel like an adult, but you need it.”
In the meantime, Martin meets with his team twice a week via Zoom calls. They discuss a number of topics. Self-improvement was the focus of one recent call; Martin said his two point guards, Dru Smith and Xavier Pinson, assumed the lead on that one. He said they took “ownership” of the presentation.
“That’s what makes a team grow and get better: when you give guys ownership of the team,” Martin said. “Those are the things I pray about as a coach. Guys having ownership. I thought ‘X’ and Dru did a great job presenting on self-improvement.”
Nonconference schedule
Mizzou’s 2020-21 nonconference schedule isn’t completely finished yet, but it’s shaping up to be another tough gauntlet.
The Tigers already have rivalry games at neutral sites against Kansas (at KC’s Sprint Center) and Illinois (at St. Louis’ Enterprise Center). Their Thanksgiving tournament is the Myrtle Beach Invitational, which features a competitive slate. They’re also finalizing road games against Missouri State and Wichita State and a home game vs. Utah.
Martin said that’s how it is in this day and age — teams need to play competitive schedules. In the past, Martin said, power-conference teams could get to 10-12 wins easily by scheduling easy. But that’s no longer doable if a team aims to make the NCAA Tournament.
“You have to put yourself in a position to be an NCAA Tournament team,” Martin said. “Your resume has to show that. We spend a lot of time really doing that. We’re not done with our schedule — plenty of work to get done. We’re trying to get quality home games and quality road games, and hopefully we can get this thing completed.”
What Martin’s reading
Martin said he tries to get some reading done during the season, and if the book is especially good, he’ll finish it in three or four weeks. But with all this downtime because of the pandemic, he’s been doing more offseason reading.
Martin said he’ll sometimes read two books at a time, but noted that he shies away from sports books unless they’re about leadership or triumph.
“This time has been the best for me because I’ve probably read more books in the last eight weeks than I’ve read in the last eight to 10 years,” Martin said. “Which is crazy.”
Martin shared these recommendations:
- Never Split the Difference: Negotiate As If Your Life Depended On It, by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz
- The Wealth Choice: Success Secrets of Black Millionaires, by Dennis Kimbro
- Soar: Build Your Vision From the Ground Up, by T.D. Jakes
This story was originally published May 19, 2020 at 5:00 AM.