MORGANTOWN — In southwest Ohio these days, Erik Martin’s name may be the hottest thing going on social media.
“Yeah, I know,” the West Virginia men’s basketball assistant coach said. “I’ve seen a lot of it, but today I’m giving Twitter a break. It can be a lot to take in.”
If Twitter was to have its say — it doesn’t, of course — then Martin is the odds-on favorite to replace John Brannen as the next head coach at Cincinnati.
Brannen was fired last week after just two seasons with the Bearcats, which advanced to the championship game of the American Athletic Conference tournament this season, but was not selected to play in the NCAA tournament.
The school is currently investigating unspecified allegations into Brannen’s handling of the program after seven players left the program within the past four months.
That is the bare situation that would await Martin, if he were awarded the job.
Cincinnati athletics director John Cunningham has yet to tip his hand on the next hire.
“I think they’re just now beginning to really narrow down the candidates,” Martin said.
The Cincinnati connection
The reasons for Martin’s popularity status in Cincinnati are obvious.
He was a power forward for the school’s 1992 Final Four team and for the 1993 Elite Eight team under Bob Huggins.
His 15 seasons as a Huggins assistant don’t hurt, either.
Martin calls Cincinnati “home,” but that word goes further than just his college days.
After his professional career overseas had finished, Martin’s first stab at coaching came at the high school level in the city.
“Honestly, while I was playing, I never thought about coaching,” he said. “When my career ended, I knew I wanted to stay connected to the game. There was a guy who told me about an opening as a JV coach, which was fine. There was just one catch: I would also have to teach to be eligible to coach.”
So, for a year, Martin’s introduction to coaching also included being a health and physical education teacher at Jacobs Center High School.
“Believe me, I learned more from being around those kids then they ever learned from me,” Martin said.
He also spent two seasons under Andre Tate at Cincinnati State, a junior college, before the opportunity came to reunite with Huggins at Kansas State.
“The support I’ve received from the Cincinnati area has been overwhelming,” Martin said. “You know, it’s been 15 years since I’ve coached there. It’s been almost 30 since I played there, so to still have so many people from there wishing me luck, I can’t really put into words what that means to me. That’s why Cincinnati is home for me.”
Why not Martin?
Officially, Martin has been interviewed twice by the school, including an in-person interview on Saturday and another one earlier on Zoom.
No matter the Bearcats’ decision, Martin feels he’s grown into a worthy coaching candidate at the Division I level.
“You’ve got a thousand assistant coaches at this level, and if you polled them all, they’d all most likely want to have an opportunity to be a head coach,” Martin said. “If I was fortunate enough to be able to be the head coach at my alma mater, that would be the cherry on top, but really all I’ve ever asked for is to have the opportunity.”
Martin is only human. In 15 years as an assistant, he admits to looking at other coaching hires and wondering to himself what he was missing?
“Sometimes you read the bios of the other guys getting hired and see they’ve only coached in a couple of NCAA tournament games, or something like that,” he said. “I’ve often asked myself: Is it me or am I doing something wrong?”
Not if you look at Martin’s track record as a WVU assistant, where he was a top recruiter on former standouts such as Devin Williams and Elijah Macon, as well as being the first WVU coach to scout current guard Sean McNeil.
In 15 years, he’s worked with the Mountaineers’ post players and developed guys like Kevin Jones, Sagaba Konate and Derek Culver.
“The great thing about being with Huggs is he lets you coach,” said Martin, who turns 50 next month. “When it’s your game to scout, you’re not just putting together a report, but you’re also picking some of the plays to run.
“We’ve had so many coaches come into our practices over the years and they are amazed at how much our assistants are involved. It’s not just the head coach taking charge. Huggs lets you get your voice in, too. I’ve always been very thankful of that.”
No hesitation
In Martin’s mind, it’s more a question of when rather than if he will be a head coach one day.
“If it’s not at Cincinnati, then it will be somewhere else,” he said. “I’ve always believed that God has a plan for everyone and sometimes that plan requires patience.
“I will be a head coach some day, but honestly, if not next year, then I get to still be a part of something special at WVU. It’s been a dream of mine to help Huggs win a championship at WVU and it would be great to go after one next season.”
If Martin does get the Cincinnati opening, he will be asked to fill a depleted roster.
That task may not end after just one or two seasons, as the transfer portal has filled up with thousands of names over recent seasons, and could continue to do so in the years to come.
The current affair of college basketball isn’t exactly about building anymore, rather than managing a roster from season to season.
The Bearcats lost seven players — six to the portal and one to seeking a pro career — but that is not Cincinnati’s lone cross to bear.
“It’s happening all over,” Martin said.
And he wants to be a head coach in that climate?
He didn’t hesitate, “Absolutely, and it becomes a matter of how well you can adjust and be willing to adapt,” Martin said. “Bob Huggins isn’t the same guy he was 30 years ago. The game isn’t the same as it was 30 years ago, but it’s still about building relationships and doing the right thing by your kids.
“It’s about doing things the right way and that’s what Huggs has done and he’s made sure I never cut any corners. I’m prepared to be a head coach. I just need that opportunity.”
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