I hate to make another board thread surrounding the Cuonzo Martin to Georgia Tech rumors, but I personally feel like this thread is necessary. As everybody on here knows or hopefully knows, yesterday, Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Georgia Tech is targeting Cuozno Martin as their new head coach.
What most of you also know, is that Jeff Goodman of ESPN has since refuted that report, stating that Cuonzo Martin is not a candidate for the Georgia Tech job.
What we shouldn't make a mistake of is assuming that because Goodman's report came after Letourneau's, his report is more fresh or one that "clears the air". We also shouldn't make the assumption that because Goodman works for a more powerful media outlet, he is right.
What we have in reality is two reports that contradict each other. Connor Letourneau believes that Georgia Tech is after Cuonzo Martin and Jeff Goodman believes that Georgia Tech is not. Both men stand by their reports. Based on what I know, I tend to side with Connor Letourneau over Jeff Goodman. Here's why:
#1. I have my own source that has confirmed to me that Cuonzo Martin is indeed looking at other jobs. At the time, my source told me that the St. Louis job was a possible destination, but since that time, the St. Louis job has been filled. But, the bottom line is that I too know that Cuonzo Martin is looking elsewhere, so I can back up a portion of Letourneau's report. Martin doesn't have a contract with Cal yet and the longer he doesn't have one, the more likely it is he goes elsewhere.
#2. If Cuonzo Martin is going to go elsewhere, Georgia Tech is the only realistic place he'd land. The rest of the programs with openings are small mid-major programs that he wouldn't go to. He'd be more likely to sit out a season and wait for openings in the following season than he would be to take a job at say Delaware. If you assume that it is true that Cuonzo Martin is looking elsewhere, then it stands to reason he would be looking at Georgia Tech.
#3. Why wouldn't Georgia Tech look at him? If you are Georgia Tech and you are looking for a new head coach, why would Cuonzo Martin not be on your list? Why wouldn't you pursue a guy who just landed a killer recruiting class and has a strong recruiting base in the region? E.g. Jaylen Brown, Don Coleman, Ikechukwu Obiagu, Courtney Ramey, etc.
#4. As a tangental fact, Tracy Webster is linked to the UW-Milwaukee job. The fact that Tracy Webster is strongly linked to the UW-Milwaukee job could be a sign that the entire coaching staff is looking to go elsewhere. This doesn't directly have any ties to the situation with Georgia Tech, but if the associate head coach is looking at another job, it stands to reason that the head coach might be as well, backing up what my source has told me.
#5. The conclusion of my first four points is that as a collective whole, Letourneau's report makes more sense than Goodman's report. Cuonzo Martin doesn't have a contract from Cal yet and there's no indication that UC administration is going to give him a contract so long as the Yanni Hufnagel situation continues to play itself out. If they were truly confident in Cuonzo Martin and his innocence, I would have to think that by now, Cuonzo Martin would have signed a new contract.
The fact that he hasn't signed a new contract strongly indicates that he very well may not be back with Cal next season. If he isn't back with Cal next season and he doesn't want to sit out a season, Georgia Tech is the ONLY place he could land. There's no reason for why Cuonzo Martin wouldn't be looking at Georgia Tech and there's no reason for why Georgia Tech wouldn't be looking at Cuonzo Martin, hence Goodman's report makes no sense.
Now, what could very well be true is that at this point, Cuonzo Martin would prefer to stay with Cal if they give him a contract. Especially if Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb return. But there's reason to doubt he gets a new contract from Cal, hence, Georgia Tech suddenly looks like an attractive out. While it isn't the most attractive power-five conference coaching job, they are an ACC school that has produced the likes of Derrick Favors, Jarrett Jack, Matt Harping, and Chris Bosh, to name a few. Georgia Tech is a place where you can compete and Cuonzo Martin may prefer to give them a shot. Especially since it might be easier for him to recruit players from the South and Midwest to Georgia Tech.
Anyways, that's my take on all of this. I believe Connor Letourneau's report because it seems more likely based on what I know and believe. Goodman's report could just be an indication of somebody in Cuonzo's camp trying to silence things because Cuonzo may not want his name floating around in coaching rumors before he has another gig locked up.
Plus, one last thing to make note of is the fact that Connor broke the Yanni Hufnagel story. He's a serious guy. He wouldn't have put out a full story about Georgia Tech being after Cuonzo Martin without having credible sources to back everything up. He wrote a full detailed article. Goodman put out a little tweet and then moved on. Unless Jeff Goodman can expound more on what he reported and give us compelling reasons to believe that his report is correct, I'm going to side with Connor Letourneau.
Of course, you guys can all reach your conclusions. I want to be clear that me taking Connor Letourneau's side is my own opinion. I don't know that Connor's report is right and that Goodman's report is wrong. But, based on what I do know, Connor's report makes more sense to me at this time. This obviously all changes if UC administration clears Cuonzo Martin's name and signs him to a contract. But, as a of 2 AM on Thursday morning, Connor's report is what I take more stock in.
What most of you also know, is that Jeff Goodman of ESPN has since refuted that report, stating that Cuonzo Martin is not a candidate for the Georgia Tech job.
What we shouldn't make a mistake of is assuming that because Goodman's report came after Letourneau's, his report is more fresh or one that "clears the air". We also shouldn't make the assumption that because Goodman works for a more powerful media outlet, he is right.
What we have in reality is two reports that contradict each other. Connor Letourneau believes that Georgia Tech is after Cuonzo Martin and Jeff Goodman believes that Georgia Tech is not. Both men stand by their reports. Based on what I know, I tend to side with Connor Letourneau over Jeff Goodman. Here's why:
#1. I have my own source that has confirmed to me that Cuonzo Martin is indeed looking at other jobs. At the time, my source told me that the St. Louis job was a possible destination, but since that time, the St. Louis job has been filled. But, the bottom line is that I too know that Cuonzo Martin is looking elsewhere, so I can back up a portion of Letourneau's report. Martin doesn't have a contract with Cal yet and the longer he doesn't have one, the more likely it is he goes elsewhere.
#2. If Cuonzo Martin is going to go elsewhere, Georgia Tech is the only realistic place he'd land. The rest of the programs with openings are small mid-major programs that he wouldn't go to. He'd be more likely to sit out a season and wait for openings in the following season than he would be to take a job at say Delaware. If you assume that it is true that Cuonzo Martin is looking elsewhere, then it stands to reason he would be looking at Georgia Tech.
#3. Why wouldn't Georgia Tech look at him? If you are Georgia Tech and you are looking for a new head coach, why would Cuonzo Martin not be on your list? Why wouldn't you pursue a guy who just landed a killer recruiting class and has a strong recruiting base in the region? E.g. Jaylen Brown, Don Coleman, Ikechukwu Obiagu, Courtney Ramey, etc.
#4. As a tangental fact, Tracy Webster is linked to the UW-Milwaukee job. The fact that Tracy Webster is strongly linked to the UW-Milwaukee job could be a sign that the entire coaching staff is looking to go elsewhere. This doesn't directly have any ties to the situation with Georgia Tech, but if the associate head coach is looking at another job, it stands to reason that the head coach might be as well, backing up what my source has told me.
#5. The conclusion of my first four points is that as a collective whole, Letourneau's report makes more sense than Goodman's report. Cuonzo Martin doesn't have a contract from Cal yet and there's no indication that UC administration is going to give him a contract so long as the Yanni Hufnagel situation continues to play itself out. If they were truly confident in Cuonzo Martin and his innocence, I would have to think that by now, Cuonzo Martin would have signed a new contract.
The fact that he hasn't signed a new contract strongly indicates that he very well may not be back with Cal next season. If he isn't back with Cal next season and he doesn't want to sit out a season, Georgia Tech is the ONLY place he could land. There's no reason for why Cuonzo Martin wouldn't be looking at Georgia Tech and there's no reason for why Georgia Tech wouldn't be looking at Cuonzo Martin, hence Goodman's report makes no sense.
Now, what could very well be true is that at this point, Cuonzo Martin would prefer to stay with Cal if they give him a contract. Especially if Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb return. But there's reason to doubt he gets a new contract from Cal, hence, Georgia Tech suddenly looks like an attractive out. While it isn't the most attractive power-five conference coaching job, they are an ACC school that has produced the likes of Derrick Favors, Jarrett Jack, Matt Harping, and Chris Bosh, to name a few. Georgia Tech is a place where you can compete and Cuonzo Martin may prefer to give them a shot. Especially since it might be easier for him to recruit players from the South and Midwest to Georgia Tech.
Anyways, that's my take on all of this. I believe Connor Letourneau's report because it seems more likely based on what I know and believe. Goodman's report could just be an indication of somebody in Cuonzo's camp trying to silence things because Cuonzo may not want his name floating around in coaching rumors before he has another gig locked up.
Plus, one last thing to make note of is the fact that Connor broke the Yanni Hufnagel story. He's a serious guy. He wouldn't have put out a full story about Georgia Tech being after Cuonzo Martin without having credible sources to back everything up. He wrote a full detailed article. Goodman put out a little tweet and then moved on. Unless Jeff Goodman can expound more on what he reported and give us compelling reasons to believe that his report is correct, I'm going to side with Connor Letourneau.
Of course, you guys can all reach your conclusions. I want to be clear that me taking Connor Letourneau's side is my own opinion. I don't know that Connor's report is right and that Goodman's report is wrong. But, based on what I do know, Connor's report makes more sense to me at this time. This obviously all changes if UC administration clears Cuonzo Martin's name and signs him to a contract. But, as a of 2 AM on Thursday morning, Connor's report is what I take more stock in.
