Marist welcomes Chuck Martin to coaching family
Greg Hrinya
Issue date: 4/17/08 Section: Sports
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The Marist Red Foxes men's basketball team named Chuck Martin their head coach on Thursday, April 17, in a 2 p.m. press conference. After guiding some of the most talented players in the country, Martin will now bring his experience to the Hudson Valley.
Martin spent two seasons at Memphis and amassed a staggering 71-6 record alongside Naismith coach of the year John Calipari. This past season, Memphis traveled to the NCAA championship game only to fall short in overtime against eventual champion Kansas.
Martin agreed to a six-year deal that runs through the 2013-2014 season, and he will become the sixth Division I head coach in Red Foxes' basketball history.
For the Marist community, Martin's arrival represents a homecoming for the Bronx native. He played for St. Raymond's High School and operated as an assistant coach for both Manhattan and St. John's. Most recently, he assisted John Calipari in Memphis' consecutive runs to the NCAA tournament.
"Tim Murray and his staff made a slam dunk with the hiring of Chuck," Calipari said. "Marist has a proud basketball tradition, and I'm confident that Chuck will do his best to continue - and build on - the level of success the Marist program has enjoyed."
Martin noted the campus atmosphere and the opportunity to coach at one of the premier schools in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) as several of the reasons he chose this school.
"When I got here the first thing I told Tim [Murray] and Dr. Murray was there was a spirit on campus," Martin said. "There was a life and a pulse here, and that really excited me. If there's a life and there's a pulse on campus, then that will trickle down to the other programs here at Marist."
Before Martin's arrival at Marist, he discussed his plans with Coach Calipari and the new Marist head coach believed this job represented his best opportunity.
"I think the campus is the best campus in the league," Martin said. "I think it's the best job. I don't know if people agree with me or not, and I really don't care, but I think it's the best job, the campus, the facilities, [and] the atmosphere."
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