Martin resigns on heels of 0-30

By Joe Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.com

Youngstown

Following the two worst seasons in Youngstown State history, including an 0-30 campaign this winter, Penguins women’s basketball coach Cindy Martin resigned Monday with two years remaining on her contract.

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Former YSU women basketball coach Cindy Martin

“I feel in my heart it’s what’s best for the program,” Martin said in a statement released by the university.

Martin, who went 3-57 in two seasons, told YSU administrators she felt the team’s poor record made recruiting too difficult and felt the team would be better off with a fresh start.

“Let’s be quite honest, this is very unselfish on her behalf,” said athletic director Ron Strollo, who signed Martin to a four-year contract two years ago out of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. “There were two more years on her contract, and we were ready to fully support those years.

“The challenge that she was trying to overcome in her mind was her ability to recruit.”

Martin endured a difficult 2009-10 season in which the Penguins had a maximum of eight players in uniform, playing some games with only seven eligible players due to injuries and academic issues. Martin spoke to Strollo on Friday — four days after a season-ending loss in the Horizon League tournament — and, after spending the weekend mulling the decision, announced the move to her team and assistant coaches on Monday morning.

When asked if he was surprised, Strollo said, “Yeah, very much surprised.

“We really felt that she was getting things headed in the right direction and [that sounds] odd, when you look at her record, but some of the circumstances that were around this program and the reasons why kids were unable to play [were out of her control]. We felt like she was doing things the right way, doing things the way we had talked to her about when recruiting her.”

Boardman senior Monica Touvelle, one of Martin’s recruits, said she talked to Martin on Monday morning.

“I know everything wasn’t going well, but I was really surprised,” said Touvelle. “I thought she’d be around for at least another year.

“She sounded a little upset and said when she told the team they were crying and upset, but that this was the best thing she could do.”

Touvelle said she’s not sure whether she’ll still attend YSU.

“She did sell me on going there and I really did want to play for her,” said Touvelle, who could ask to be released from her commitment. “I’m not going to make any decision until I meet the new coach.”

For all of Martin’s struggles, few players in her two recruiting classes got a chance to play. Three incoming players had season-ending injuries and three did not meet academic requirements. Newcomers Brandi Brown (the runner-up for Horizon Newcomer of the Year) and Bojana Dimitrov were the team’s top scorers.

Strollo said he’s already started a national search, putting out feelers through his contacts in the coaching community. He said the school will consider Division II head coaches (like Martin) and Division I assistants (as her predecessor, Tisha Hill, was).

The team’s recent struggles — YSU hasn’t had a winning record in women’s basketball since 1999-2000 — may hurt his ability to attract a top name but said he plans on emphasizing the school’s tradition, its facilities, its competitive budget and salary and the deep recruiting base of northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania.

“I think we’re in a league where we can be competitive,” he said. “As candidates look at this program and this conference, the road from the bottom to the top isn’t as long as some other conferences.”

With YSU men’s basketball coach Jerry Slocum also struggling, Strollo was asked if he feels extra pressure with this hire.

“I think you feel pressure on all of [the hires],” said Strollo, who also hired Slocum. “As a graduate here and someone who has lived in this community all his life, I feel like this athletic department is very important.

“Every hire, whether it’s an equipment manager or the head women’s basketball coach or the football coach, I’m going to take very seriously and do the very best job we can.”