Marty Simmons

Marty Simmons Biography

Marty Simmons is a former basketball player from Lawrenceville, Illinois that played for the Hoosiers between 1983 and 1985. Simmons played under coach Bob Knight and transferred after his sophomore season to the University of Evansville. After a brief period in the professional ranks, Simmons came back to become a graduate assistant at the University of Evansville, which kicked off his career coaching. He has had head coaching positions at Wartburg, SIU Edwardsville, and the his alma mater at the University of Evansville.

Name: Martin “Marty” Ray Simmons
Position: Forward
Nationality: USA
Age: 59 years old
Birthday: February 21, 1965
Hometown: Lawrenceville, Illinois
High School: Lawrenceville High School (Lawrenceville, Illinois)
Height: 6’5″ (196 cm)
Weight: 226 lb (88 kg)
Seasons: 2 (1983-1984, 1984-1985)
Jersey: #50

Awards and Accolades

As Player

1983 Illinois Mr. Basketball
IBCA Hall of Fame (Inducted 1994)
University of Evansville Hall of Fame (Inducted 1997)

As Coach

CIT Champions (2015)
GLVC Champions (2006)

Marty Simmons Recruiting Profile

Growing up in Lawrenceville, Illinois, Marty Simmons played for Lawrenceville High School. The high school star was one of the most prolific players in the state of Illinois. Upon his graduation in 1983, Simmons finished with a career total of 2,986 points. He finished third among all scorers in Illinois high school basketball history. At the time of writing, Simmons currently ranks sixth in career points.

In high school, he was given the nickname of “Mule” because he would often put the team on his back and carry them.

During high school, Simmons played under head coach Ron Felling, who eventually became an assistant coach at Indiana University. Marty followed him along to Indiana and he was recruited by Indiana head coach Bob Knight.

Marty Simmons Seasons with the Hoosiers

1983-1984 Indiana Basketball Season

Bob Knight (13th Season)
22-9 (13-5 Big Ten)

🥉 3rd Place Big Ten
🏅 NCAA Elite Eight

1984-1985 Indiana Basketball Season

Bob Knight (14th Season)
19-14 (7-11 Big Ten)

7th Place Big Ten
🥈 NIT Runner Up

Marty Simmons Indiana University Statistics

Season	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1983-1984	31	26	899	107	225	0.476	76	115	0.661	19	82	22	2	53	69	290
1984-1985	23	9	276	36	68	0.529	13	22	0.591	38	25	11	2	25	36	85
Career	54	35	1175	143	293	0.488	89	137	0.650	57	107	33	4	78	105	375

Marty Simmons Career at Indiana University

Simmons played two seasons at Indiana University under head coach Bob Knight. During his freshman year, he was a part of Indiana’s Elite Eight run in the 1984 NCAA Tournament. Simmons started 26 games as a freshman and shot 47.6% for the season. He finished that season with 290 points.

Simmons did see the same success in the 1984-1985 season. The Hoosiers finished with a 7-11 conference record and only received an invitation to the NIT. Indiana eventually made it to the NIT Championships in 1985, but lost to UCLA in Madison Square Garden.

Marty Simmons Career at University of Evansville

In order play for coach Jim Crews, Marty Simmons transferred to the University of Evansville after his sophomore year with the Hoosiers. Despite needing to sit out for a season, Simmons was named captain of the Purple Aces right away.

Simmons was truly a difference maker for the University of Evansville. As soon as he was able to play in the 1986-1987 season, Simmons did what he did best, score. He averaged over 22 points per game and led Evansville to a first place tie in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now called the Horizon League).

IndianaHQ Shop - Indiana Tshirts, IU Hoosiers Apparel

During his senior year, Simmons finished in the top ten of the national ballot for college basketball player of the year. His 25.9 points per game average was enough to let him finish sixth in the nation in scoring. In just two seasons at Evansville, Simmons already got into the top 25 of all players in the Purple Aces program.

Marty Simmons Coaching Career

Simmons spent one season in the Continental Basketball Association, where he played for the La Cross Catbirds. The following year, he returned home to play for the Illinois Express. After just two years of playing professionally, Simmons decided to try his luck in coaching and returned to Evansville to become a part-time assistant.

Simmons was a part time assistant at Evansville between 1990 and 1996 before he took a role as the head coach of the D-III program Wartburg College. There, he amassed a 10-14 record in just one season before he returned back to Evansville to become a full time assistant coach.

For the next five years, Simmons stayed as an assistant coach of the Purple Aces before becoming the head coach of a D-II program SIU Edwardsville, who have since been promoted to Division I. Simmons coached in Edwardsville for five seasons where he finished 23-9 and 25-8 in his third and fourth years with the program. The Cougars advanced to the NCAA Division II First Round in 2004-2005 and advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in 2005-2006. With the Cougars, Simmons accumulated a record of 88-59 (0.599).

And for his third return to the Evansville Purple Aces, he would come back as the head coach of the program in 2007. Simmons remain in Evansville for 11 seasons where he had three CIT postseason appearances (including a championship in 2014-2015) and two CBI appearances. His 2015-2016 season finished with a final record of 25-9, good for second in the Missouri Valley Conference.

After two seasons with losing records in the MVAC, Simmons was fired from his position at the end of the 2018 season. He finished with a final record of 184-175 (0.513) at Evansville. Later in July 2018, Simmons accepted an assistant coach role with the Clemson Tigers due to his relationship with head coach Brad Brownell.