Frank Martin gone

[kingofnerf]

I have mixed feelings. I like Frank, but, he's had 10 years and made 1 final NCAA appearance. Many coaches have been fired for less. And, new president may have had a say. Question is, how well can Tanner hire?

It's undoubtedly hard on him right now for obvious reasons, but Frank is going to make a cool $3M in six months to not coach our team anymore, just like Will made $13.2M in less time than that not to coach our FB team anymore.

Will was happy after he got to UGA and Frank will be happy at his next job, too.

Happy and very wealthy just like Will.

All things must pass.

 

[Longhaul]

Frank's players are loyal to him like Will's were to him and I thought he had a really good FR class this year and some of the wins didn't come because of the FRs.

I am worried we will lose most of the team to the portal and possibly transferring to wherever Frank gets hired next.

Somebody WILL hire him after the NCAAT.

We lose most of our players after just about every season it feels so this should not be much different.

 

[kingofnerf]

We lose most of our players after just about every season it feels so this should not be much different.

That's also true and high turnover was one of the reasons the wins didn't come like they should have, but I thought this year's team was different in that respect.

 

[Longhaul]

That's also true and high turnover was one of the reasons the wins didn't come like they should have, but I thought this year's team was different in that respect.

It did have a little different feel to me as well, but the turnover was a big issue. I heard Thornwell saying the reason the final 4 run did not lead us anywhere was in part because PJ left early. I think that one year Frank was able to capitalize on having Thornwell and getting Dozier, largely in part due to his family ties to USC otherwise I don't PJ ever comes to USC. Him leaving early really set things back. Then the Felder issue kind of destroyed momentum as well. I think if Felder could have stayed in school we would have been able to claw our way back. After that it really felt like a constant rotisserie of players. No telling who would have stayed this year. I see a lot of GG Jackson stuff as well, but we have no true idea if he would have come. Everything has a season. I wish Frank all the best and am excited to see who we can hire next.

 

[kingofnerf]

Sin weighs in on some things:

“The number one thing was P.J.,” Thornwell said. “I think P.J. leaving the same year I left hurt the program. (I’m) not saying P.J. hurt us, this or that, but guys were like, ‘Who am I gonna come here and play with now?’ Like PJ was — I’m not gonna say he was supposed (to) — but he was supposed to, when we left, to carry the throne for another year or two, so that he could get those other guys to come and play.”

Thornwell said he had spoken with in-state talent Jalek Felton (Gray Collegiate in West Columbia) and Zion Williamson (Spartanburg Day in Spartanburg) during their college searches, and both expressed concerns about having to shoulder the load at USC without more experience around them. Felton went to North Carolina, while Williamson went to Duke.

“I talked to Zion, and Zion would say, ‘Sin, if I would have come to South Carolina, who was I gonna play with?’ ” Thornwell said. “Jalek was like ‘When y’all left ... I felt like it was gonna all be on me.’ P.J. was supposed to be that, who I was for him. You look at all these programs that consistently win, that’s what they have. They have that sophomore, junior guy that’s always still lingering around, who guys want to go play with.

“Once P.J. decided to leave, all those top recruits, like Jalek Felton, the Zions, they’re looking it at like, ‘If I go to South Carolina, how the hell are we gonna win? Like, who are we gonna play with?’ ”

https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/university-of-south-carolina/usc-mens-basketball/article259400339.html

Y'all will remember Sin tweeted a while back saying he wanted to say something, but didn't want to out of respect for some people. Some people assumed he was talking about Frank, but I don't think he was.

 

[Longhaul]

Thanks for finding that. I did not feel like PJ really bought into the program. He would have benefited staying another year and that probably would have given us the continuity to continue to build. It felt like he really just wanted to get out and I am not sure why. I wonder if the transfer portal was what it is today if PJ would have done somewhere else or if he was just that anxious to get into the NBA.

 

[kingofnerf]

The high player turnover was too much for Frank to sustain much success here in the long run.

 

[doublea1971]

The high player turnover was too much for Frank to sustain much success here in the long run.

And that was a big part of his ultimate undoing this year. The lack of consistency with players from year to year bit him. ESPECIALLY with his big man play this season. I think the world of the man… I truly do. I personally know several players from his K-State days as well as a number from his time here who won’t say a bad thing about the man. He’s a good dude and will land on his feet somewhere very soon (as long as his wife doesn’t decide she wants to stay in Columbia for their kids).

 

[kingofnerf]

And that was a big part of his ultimate undoing this year. The lack of consistency with players from year to year bit him. ESPECIALLY with his big man play this season. I think the world of the man… I truly do. I personally know several players from his K-State days as well as a number from his time here who won’t say a bad thing about the man. He’s a good dude and will land on his feet somewhere very soon (as long as his wife doesn’t decide she wants to stay in Columbia for their kids).

I think his biggest issue is not being able to manage the players that stopped doing what they were asked to do.

Frank is a diamond-in-the-rough that will flourish with the right AD who's not a damned bumpkin that doesn't live up to his paycheck and help a coach who is struggling with personnel management issues.