My Two Cents: For Marty Simmons, Coming Home to Assembly Hall Has Been a Long Time Coming

Marty Simmons played at Indiana for two years in the 1980s, and he's coming home on Sunday to take on the Hoosiers as the coach of Eastern Illinois. He talked with me about his basketball life.

Former Indiana player Marty Simmons also played and coached at Evansville for 25 years. He's at Eastern Illinois now, and plays at Indiana on Sunday. He played for IU for two years from 1984 to 1986. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Marty Simmons poured a lot of blood, sweat and tears on the Assembly Hall floor when he played at Indiana in the mid-1980s. So it means a lot to him that he's coming home on Sunday, bringing his Eastern Illinois team in to play the Hoosiers in a Noon ET game.

“Once you’re a former Indiana guy, you’re always an Indiana guy,'' Simmons told me.  "My time there really meant a lot to me, and it still does. I took my Evansville team there once to Bloomington, and that was special. It means a lot.''

Simmons was a highly-touted recruit out of small-town Illinois, where he won back-to-back state champioships at Lawrenceville High School. They went undefeated two years in a row, and Simmons was a prep legend, scoring 2,986 points. Signing with Indiana was a big deal.

He was in the same recruiting class as Steve Alford and Daryl Thomas, and played a big role on the 1984 team that reached the Elite Eight. He playing time diminished in 1985 though, and when Indiana assistant Jim Crews was hired to be the head coach at Evansville, Simmons chose to go with him.

“When things ended at Indiana, it was hard. Indiana is a really special place as a college basketball player, top of the line,'' Simmons said. "But it came down to where I wasn’t playing as well, and Coach Crews had just gotten hired at Evansville, and he was the guy who primarily recruited me to Indiana. It ended up being really good, probably the best decision I ever made. Coach Crews is special. He knew that I knew how he wanted things done, and we got it done.

“It 1000 percent made it easier transferring, because of Coach Crews and it still being Indiana and the comfort level with him. I wanted to play, and he certainly gave me that chance.’’

After redshirting, he was an all-conference player for two years at Evansville, scoring 1,265 points.

He watched from afar when Indiana won the national championship in 1987, and loved every minute of it.

''Well, 1987 was still special for me. I was still close with all those guys and I was so happy that that won that national championship,'' Simmons sad. "They were super guys and they deserved it. I still keep in touch with a lot of them, and man, I miss Daryl.’’

Simmons got into coaching after a few years of pro ball, spending a year at Wartburg and then five years at SIU-Edwardsville, where he went to the NCAA Division II tournament twice. He was hired in Evansville in 2007 and spent and spent 11 years coaching at his alma mater.

"It was hard getting fired at Evansville for a lot of reasons,'' he said. "I was there 25 years as a player and a coach. I was part of all those traditions, like the sleeves, and I always embraced all of that. But at the end of the day, it’s part of a business. Injuries are part of it, and it factors in, but sometimes you just can’t do anything about it. We had a good core, but one of the main things is keeping it all together.’’

Simmons spend three years working with Brad Brownell at Clemson before getting hired at Eastern Illinois in 2021.

“My time at Clemson was off the charts,'' Simmons said. "Brad is a great coach, and everything about Clemson is terrific. It might have been the best three years of my life. And competing in the ACC was fun, going up against Coach K and Roy Williams and those guys. I really liked it there. It’s a small college town — not like Charleston — but the enthusiasm and atmosphere was something else.

“When I was at Indiana, you never really paid attention the tailgating and the atmosphere. That was special at Clemson, because they were really good all the time I was there. It was a lot of fun. I wouldn’t be here (at Eastern Illinois) if it wasn’t for Brad. I learned a lot from him. Preparing for all those different styles in the ACC was a great learning experience. Tony Bennett (Virginia) was play the pack, Roy Williams (North Carolina) did unique things, Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) did things that you had to be ready. It was eye-opening.’’  

Eastern Illinois is just an hour and change from his hometown, so Simmons enjoys being back.

“I took a lot of pride in coming here and putting together a staff. We want to help these kids just like everyone did for me when I was a player,'' Simmons said. "This is a place that’s an hour and change from my hometown, and I played here in high school. My brother graduated from Eastern Illinois, and so did a lot of people in my hometown. When it opened, I certainly thought I’d have a shot, especially with all my ties to the area. It’s a nice, natural fit. This feels like coming home, and what does that is the people here. The people here in Charleston are friendly, and they value what Eastern Illinois does in the community.’’

His ties to Bob Knight and Jim Crews run strong, so being back in Bloomington on Sunday is a big things.

“Yeah, I consider myself to be part of that Bob Knight coaching tree. I really probably do things more like Coach Crews, because I played with him for three years and then coached with them too. I play for Coach Felling in high school, and I learned from him that I still used. And working in Utah for Coach (Jerry) Sloan was terrific. Brian and I were roommates and good friends. You take a little bit of something from everyone.’’

“I still talk to Coach Crews a lot. He was a great teacher of the game. That’s where I really learned the relationship piece between a player and a coach. He would always sit me down, and just talk about how things were going in my day.''

Simmons hasn't had a lot of success yet at Eastern, going 5-26 his first year with a depleted roster. He was 9-22 and 14-18 since, with things getting better each year. He was given a two-year contract extension in April.

They are 1-1 so far this year, with a win at home against Earlham and a loss at Illinois.