Frank Martin (basketball)

Francisco José Martin (born March 23, 1966)[1] is an American basketball coach and the current head coach for the University of South Carolina men's basketball team. Martin was previously head coach at Kansas State University for five seasons. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach at the collegiate level and head basketball coach at three high schools in Miami.

Frank Martin
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamSouth Carolina
ConferenceSEC
Record152-123 (.554)
Biographical details
Born (1966-03-23) March 23, 1966
Miami, Florida
Alma materFIU, B.S. (1993)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1985–1993Miami HS (assistant)
1993–1995North Miami HS
1995–1998Miami HS
1999–2000Booker T. Washington HS
2000–2004Northeastern (assistant)
2004–2006Cincinnati (assistant)
2006–2007Kansas State (assistant)
2007–2012Kansas State
2012–presentSouth Carolina
Head coaching record
Overall267-175 (.604) (college)
Tournaments10–5 (NCAA Division I)
2–2 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
NCAA Regional—Final Four (2017)
Awards
Big 12 Coach of the Year (2010)
Jim Phelan Award (2017)
USBWA District VI Coach of the Year (2010)
NABC District 8 Coach of the Year (2010)

Martin has led his teams to a total of five NCAA Tournaments and 1 Final Four appearance as a head coach. He was named the Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year in 2010. He won the Jim Phelan Award in 2017.

Early career

Martin, who grew up in Miami, Florida, is the son of Cuban political exiles and the first American-born member of his family.[2][3] He graduated with a bachelor's degree in physical education from Florida International University in 1993.[4] One of the two jobs he held while attending FIU was that of a bouncer at a local nightclub. He decided to become a full-time basketball coach in 1992 as a result of an incident in which he was subjected to gunfire, while on duty, from a group of men whom he had ejected for fighting.[3]

At the same time, he had begun his career in basketball as the head coach of the boys' junior varsity squad at Miami High School in 1985. He served in that position for eight years until he was appointed to his first varsity coaching job at North Miami High School after he completed his studies at FIU in 1993. He returned to Miami Senior two years later to head its varsity team.[4] Under his watch, the Stingarees won three consecutive state championships from 1996 to 1998 with teams featuring future NBA players Udonis Haslem and Steve Blake. The last of those titles was later vacated due to recruiting violations involving school employees and boosters who gave housing assistance to the players.[3] Although he was never personally accused of any wrongdoing, Martin was dismissed in 1999.[5] He next served as head coach at Booker T. Washington High School for one year.[4]

College coaching career

Martin joined the college ranks as an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Northeastern University from 2000 to 2004. He moved to the University of Cincinnati, serving one season each under Bob Huggins and Andy Kennedy. Martin followed Huggins to Kansas State, joining his staff on April 5, 2006.[4] On April 6, 2007, almost a year to the day after his arrival in Manhattan, Martin was named head coach of the Wildcats in the wake of Huggins' resignation.

Kansas State University

Martin's first season as head coach at Kansas State was marked by a number of noteworthy events. The 2007–2008 Wildcats, featuring star freshman Michael Beasley, were included in the preseason Top 25 for the first time since 1972. On January 19, 2008, Martin's Wildcats defeated then-No. 10 Texas A&M, giving the team its first win over a ranked team in nearly a year, and its first victory over a Top 10 team since beating Texas in March 2004. On January 30, 2008, Martin led Kansas State to an 84–75 victory over then-No. 2 Kansas, marking the Wildcats' first home win over their in-state rival since 1983. Ultimately, Martin led Kansas State to its first berth in the NCAA Tournament since 1996.

Martin was awarded the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year by the conference on March 7, 2010.[6] Later that month, he led the Wildcats to the Elite 8, their best tournament performance since 1988.

He was given a contract extension through the 2014–2015 season. His salary increased to $1.2 million, plus incentives, for 2010–11. The salary would increase by $100,000 a year for each subsequent year of the contract, topping out at $1.6 million in 2014–15.[7]

After Frank Haith left Miami to take the Missouri head coaching job in the spring of 2011, there were rumors that Martin, born and raised in Miami, might leave Kansas State to take the job. These rumors ended when it was announced that Jim Larranaga took the job at Miami.[8]

University of South Carolina
Martin in 2020

On March 26, 2012, in a text message to ESPN, Martin confirmed he had accepted the head coach position at South Carolina.[9] On March 27, 2012, Martin was introduced as South Carolina's head coach, replacing Darrin Horn.

Martin posted losing records in each of his first two seasons at South Carolina, including a combined conference mark of 9–27. His team's most notable victory in those two seasons was a 72–67 home win against #17 Kentucky on March 1, 2014. During the 2013–14 season, Martin issued a public apology to fans and players on January 21, 2014, after a verbal tirade during the team's loss to Ole Miss. On March 6, 2014, USC Athletic Director Ray Tanner suspended Martin for the final game of the regular season for further "inappropriate verbal communication" with players.

In Martin's third season at South Carolina, he recorded his first winning season at South Carolina with a 17–16 (6–12) record. The team posted a 9–3 record in its non-conference season, concluding with a win over #9 Iowa State at the Brooklyn Hoops Showcase, and followed this by finishing its SEC conference regular season with a 6–12 record, then posting a 2–1 mark in the SEC Tournament.

The 2015–16 season continued the upward trend as his Gamecocks won 24 regular season games, including a 13–0 mark in non-conference games. The 11–7 mark in conference was good enough to tie for third in the SEC, but after losing to Georgia in the SEC Tournament, South Carolina accepted an NIT bid.

The 2016–17 team finally broke through and earned a bid as a #7 seed to the 2017 NCAA Tournament, where they earned their first win in the event since 1973 with a 20-point victory over the #10 seed Marquette Golden Eagles, followed by a win over #2 seed Duke, advancing to the program's first Sweet 16 in school history. The Gamecocks then beat Baylor to advance to the Elite 8 for the first time in school history. On Sunday, March 26, 2017, South Carolina defeated Florida in the East Regional Final to reach the school's first-ever Final Four. They played Gonzaga on April 1, 2017, and lost 77–73, ending their road to the national championship.

Following the run to the Final Four, the Gamecocks failed to reach postseason play in the following two seasons, posting middling records of 17–16 (7–11) in 2017–18, and 16–16 (11–7) in 2018–19.

The 2019–20 team was an improvement over the previous two seasons, finishing 18-13 (10-8), with wins over #9 Virginia and #10 Kentucky. Despite having 2 top-10 wins, the Gamecocks suffered upset losses to Stetson and Boston University. The Gamecocks finished 6th in the SEC, and were set to face 11th seed Arkansas before the tournament, as well as all postseason activities, were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Professional players coached
Player Years Coached NBA Draft Current/Last Pro Team Highest Level Played
Kansas State
Henry Walker 1, Left Early 47th, Washington Wizards, 2008 NBA Draft Galatasaray S.K. NBA
Michael Beasley 1, Left Early 2nd, Miami Heat, 2008 NBA Draft Brooklyn Nets NBA
Denis Clemente 2, Graduated Undrafted, 2010 Fuerza Regia NBA Summer
Luis Colon 3, Graduated Undrafted, 2010 Vaqueros de Bayamón International
Jacob Pullen 4, Graduated Undrafted, 2011 Afyonkarahisar Belediyespor NBA
Curtis Kelly 2, Graduated Undrafted, 2011 Magnolia Hotshots International
Jamar Samuels 4, Graduated Undrafted, 2012 SCM Craiova International
Dominique Sutton 3, Transferred Undrafted, 2012 Aquila Basket Trento NBA G League
Ron Anderson 2, Transferred Undrafted, 2012 Saint-Chamond Basket NBA G League
Jordan Henriquez 3, Coach Change Undrafted, 2013 Westchester Knicks NBA G League
Martavious Irving 3, Coach Change Undrafted, 2013 Pelita Jaya Energi Mega Persada International
Rodney McGruder 3, Coach Change Undrafted, 2013 Miami Heat NBA
Freddy Asprilla 1, Transferred Undrafted, 2013 Caciques de Humacao International
Juevol Myles 1, Transferred Undrafted, 2013 Nitra (Slovakia) International
Wally Judge 2, Transferred Undrafted, 2014 Tampereen Pyrintö (basketball) International
Nick Russell 2, Transferred Undrafted, 2014 BCM U Pitești International
Shane Southwell 2, Coach Change Undrafted, 2014 Winterthur International
Thomas Gipson 1, Coach Change Undrafted, 2015 Merkezefendi Belediyesi Denizli Basket International
Nino Williams 2, Coach Change Undrafted, 2015 KK Škofja Loka International
Ángel Rodríguez 1, Coach Change Undrafted, 2016 Austin Spurs NBA G-League
Adrian Diaz 1, Coach Change Undrafted, 2016 CSS Bega Timișoara International
South Carolina
Lakeem Jackson 1, Graduated Undrafted, 2013 Busan KT Sonicboom International
RJ Slawson 1, Transferred Undrafted, 2014 FC Schalke International
Tyrone Johnson 2, Graduated Undrafted, 2015 KK Borac Čačak NBA G League
Michael Carrera 4, Graduated Undrafted, 2016 Oklahoma City Blue NBA G League
Laimonas Chatkevicius 4, Graduated Undrafted, 2016 BC Neptūnas International
Mindaugas Kačinas 4, Graduated Undrafted, 2016 Palencia Baloncesto International
Sindarius Thornwell 4, Graduated 48th, Milwaukee Bucks, 2017 NBA Draft New Orleans Pelicans NBA
P. J. Dozier 2, Left early Undrafted, 2017 Denver Nuggets NBA
Duane Notice 4, Graduated Undrafted, 2017 Raptors 905 NBA G League
Frank Booker Jr. 1, Graduated Undrafted, 2018 Valur International
Chris Silva 4, Graduated Undrafted, 2019 Miami Heat NBA
Maik Kotsar 4, Graduated Undrafted, 2020 Hamburg Towers Basketball Bundesliga

Head coaching record

College
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Kansas State Wildcats (Big 12 Conference) (2007–2012)
2007–08 Kansas State 21–1210–63rdNCAA Division I Round of 32
2008–09 Kansas State 22–129–7T–4thNIT Second Round
2009–10 Kansas State 29–811–5T–2ndNCAA Division I Elite Eight
2010–11 Kansas State 23–1110–6T–3rdNCAA Division I Round of 32
2011–12 Kansas State 22–1110–85thNCAA Division I Round of 32
Kansas State: 117–54 (.684)50–32 (.610)
South Carolina Gamecocks (Southeastern Conference) (2012–present)
2012–13 South Carolina 14–184–14T–12th
2013–14 South Carolina 14–205–1313th
2014–15 South Carolina 17–166–12T–11th
2015–16 South Carolina 25–911–7T–3rdNIT Second Round
2016–17 South Carolina 26–1112–6T–3rdNCAA Division I Final Four
2017–18 South Carolina 17–167–11T–11th
2018–19 South Carolina 16–1611–7T–4th
2019–20 South Carolina 18–1310–8T–6th
2020–21 South Carolina 5–7[lower-alpha 1]3–5
South Carolina: 152–123 (.553)69–79 (.466)
Total:269–177 (.603)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

  1. Martin did not coach the game against LSU due to COVID-19 protocols. Bruce Shingler was acting head coach.

Personal life

Martin is married to the former Anya Forrest. They have three children, Brandon, Amalia, and Christian.[10] Christian is currently a member of the USC Upstate Spartans men's basketball team.[11]

See also

References
  1. Cloninger, David (December 13, 2013). "10 Things You Didn't Know: Frank Martin". The State. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  2. O'Neil, Dana (October 1, 2009). "Hispanic interest in college hoops grows". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
  3. "Evans, Thayer. "Ex-Bouncer With a Death Stare Has Led Kansas State's Resurgence". The New York Times. March 25, 2010. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
  4. Frank Martin (biography) – Kansas State University Athletics. Archived April 1, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Kansas State introduces Martin as men's basketball coach". CBS Sports. April 9, 2007.
  6. Corcoran, Tully (March 7, 2010). "Hawks, Cats named All-Big 12". The Topeka Capital-Journal. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  7. Robinett, Kellis (March 7, 2010). "K-State extends Martin's contract". Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on March 9, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  8. ?Robinett, Kellis (April 6, 2011). "Frank Martin's agent says no contact with Miami". The Wichita Eagle. Archived from the original on August 31, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
  9. Katz, Andy (March 26, 2012). "Frank Martin Leaves Kansas State Wildcats to become South Carolina Gamecocks Coach". ESPN. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  10. "Frank Martin - Men's Basketball Coach". Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  11. "Brandon Martin - 2020-21 - Men's Basketball". Retrieved January 25, 2021.
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