Martin faced no-win situation

Five thoughts on YSU women’s basketball coach Cindy Martin resigning:

I don’t know if Martin is a good Division I basketball coach, but I also don’t think Tennessee coach Pat Summitt could have squeezed more than five wins out of this year’s team.

Due to injuries and academic issues, Martin only had seven or eight players available all season, which is an impossible situation. The Penguins had to log too many minutes in games and too few in practices.

It’s easy to look at the 3-57 record and wonder whether Martin got pressure from above to resign, but I’ve been assured by several sources that wasn’t the case.

The YSU brass felt she deserved at least one more year to show what she could do and they were optimistic next season would be better.

This was Martin’s call and it surprised everyone. And, with two more years on her deal at around $100,000 per year, it was a pretty unselfish one.

Regardless of what you think of Martin’s coaching abilities, it was hard not to be impressed by her attitude.

She was relentlessly positive in press conferences and after games, and her team did well in the classroom, earning a combined 3.29 grade point average while doing 30 community service projects.

Problem was, Martin’s predecessor, Tisha Hill, was the same way. A YSU employee once told me the school loved everything about Hill between game days.

The bottom line, of course, is winning, and neither Hill nor Martin did enough of it.

Hill, who went 42-97 in five years, didn’t exactly leave Martin with a full cupboard. And the most disappointing part of Hill’s tenure was her inability to recruit locally.

Obviously, local players such as Ursuline’s Tyra Grant (who went to Penn State) or Boardman’s Courtney Schiffauer (Michigan State) weren’t going to come to YSU, but Hill missed out on a lot of mid-major players such as Howland’s Ellie Shields (Kent State) and Alexa Williams (Lehigh) and East’s Brittany Taylor (Providence). And wouldn’t it have been great to see her somehow snag Boardman’s Amber Bland, who transferred from Penn State after her freshman year to North Carolina A&T?

There are other examples I could give and I don’t know if any/all of those players would have come to YSU or would have been effective. (Taylor, for instance, didn’t stay with the team.)

But wouldn’t it have been fun to find out?

This is going to be a crucial hire for YSU athletic director Ron Strollo, whose track record with basketball coaches isn’t great.

He’s already tried an up-and-coming Division I assistant (Hill) and an up-and-coming Division II head coach (Martin) and neither worked out.

One more miss and this job is going to be about as attractive as playing quarterback for the Browns.

Despite the losses, there’s some talent on next year’s roster, assuming the Penguins can stay healthy and eligible.

It’s on Strollo to find the right person to lead them.

scalzo@vindy.com