Familiar Territory: Cuonzo Martin Returns to Old Stomping Grounds at MSU

Cuonzo Martin, rehired by Missouri State, boasts an opportunity to achieve something rare in the major-college coaching community. The Bears reeled Martin back in despite a trend where resurrected mentors failed to come anywhere close to duplicating success during previous tenure. Although eight of them posted losing marks during initial stint, Ronnie Arrow (South Alabama), Jim McCafferty (Loyola LA) and Ritchie McKay (Liberty) are the only three of the 41 mentors a total of 43 times in this "Comeback Club" category over the last 60-plus years to compile a higher winning percentage the second time around.

A couple of years ago, Xavier's Sean Miller reupped to align with Lou Carnesecca (St. John's) and Lake Kelly (Austin Peay State) as the only coaches to win NCAA playoff games in two different stints with the same school. Martin is the seventh active coach on the following alphabetical list of coaches returning to their former major-college stomping grounds if their tenures weren't interrupted solely by World War II:

NOTES: VBK also had two stints at Hofstra, but Hofstra wasn't at the major-college level his first stint there. . . . OCU de-emphasized its program to the NAIA level after Lemons returned. . . . ORU wasn't always at the Division I level for either of Trickey's stints.