Seth Davis: Cuonzo Martin hire the smartest of the offseason

Too many athletic directors make bad hires because they are trying to "win the press conference." Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton, who hasn't made a ton of great decisions over the last couple of years, went the opposite route. The Tennessee fans who are wailing that Hamilton didn't land a "big" name are living in an alternate universe. No big name is going to take a job at a program that is about to be hammered by the NCAA.

Martin has a proven track record. He spent eight years as an assistant at Purdue, and in just three years as the head coach at Missouri State he took the Bears from a middling Missouri Valley team to one that won the regular season championship. He has excellent playing credentials from his decorated career at Purdue and his brief stint in the NBA, which will go over well on the recruiting trail. Finally, he is a man of high character, which was revealed through his successful battle with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. If Tennessee fans give Martin the support he deserves instead of the derision he doesn't, he will reward them with a winner.

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