Here in South Carolina it appears that the Frank Martin era is set to begin for the South Carolina Gamecocks basketball program.
News is swirling from the usual USC based fan sites that Coach Martin and USC AD Eric Hyman have agreed in principle to a coaching contract and a press conference is coming early next week.
But wait….back in the Kansas area there is a different story leaking out and they have Frank Martin saying, “I have not talked 2 anyone,” stated in a text message to The Star on Friday night. You can read the Kansas City Star report HERE.
So which is right?
If you are the betting type, then go with Martin being named USC’s coach very soon. Call it a gut feeling but in coaching hires this is how it plays out unless your name is Bobby Cremins.
If proven true, then this is great news for USC. We provided a blog post – HERE – to help you get to know him through some videos. One thing is for sure, and that is he is a solid coach.
Martin has been the head coach at K-State since 2007, his first head coaching job after stints as an assistant at Northeastern, Cincinnati and with the Wildcats. He has led the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament four times in his five seasons and has advanced in three of those, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2010.
Martin has a career record of 117-54, with 20-win seasons in each year as a head coach. He brings a lot to the table and could really energize the USC program.
Martin makes 1.55 million per season in a contract that runs thru 2015 at Kansas State and the current buyout is one million dollars.
If false, then this is simply Coach Martin playing this scenario to get more money out of KSU as he is suppose to meet with the KSU AD on April 1. Yes he is unhappy in what went down the suspending a player during March Maddness but he has a solid team at KSU that can again make a run at postseason glory in 2013.
So stay tuned to this soap opera….Generally when speculation is this high and a coach is playing coy, well don’t be surprised come Monday when a press conference is called. More on this later…
