Martin, South Carolina struggling in 1st year

[FlorenceCock]

Martin, South Carolina struggling in 1st year

PETE IACOBELLI, AP Sports Writer COLUMBIA, S.C. — Frank Martin hasn't gone through a season like his first one at South Carolina in a long time.
Martin, 46, went back to his time as a 20-something junior varsity coach in South Florida to recall such an awful, distressing stretch as the Gamecocks have endured during the Southeastern Conference season.
South Carolina (12-11) has won two of 10 conference games and is tied for last in the league with Mississippi State. The Gamecocks are on a four-game league losing streak with LSU (13-8, 4-6) headed to campus Thursday night.
Martin appears headed toward his first non-20 win season in his six years as a college head coach. How's he handling things?
"Patience," he says.
That's been difficult for the ultra-competitive Martin, in the first season at South Carolina. After Sunday's 66-61 loss to Tennessee, he said the Gamecocks offense wouldn't match up with some of the high school JV teams he's coached.
During one stretch, Martin's was about the only voice heard at the Colonial Life Arena, shouting "Pass the ball" to his players.
"It's not a comfortable place to be in when you're going through what we're going through right now," he said. "But I didn't show up here to run a 50-yard dash and then go home. It's a long race."
And getting longer with each defeat.

http://www.scnow.com/sports/colleges...f6e4f24b82c5ba

[kick_ball]

i just hope that he sticks through the rebuilding process ...he doesnt seem like the guy to run away from a challenge but i really hope he gets us to the level where we can compete... i was skeptical of the hire at first but ive grown to really appreciate coach martin and really hope all his hard work pays off

[sandstorm2001]

Are we better than we were last year? Yes. I don't really know how much more anyone was expecting.

[BrownBearCock]

Originally Posted by sandstorm2001

Are we better than we were last year? Yes. I don't really know how much more anyone was expecting.

This is the biggest thing. Talent level is = or worse than it was last year and we are a better team. Given a new system and coach we are basically playing with a team full of freshman. As long as we improve next year we will be on the path to a Tourney team, which is really all any of us want at this point.

[GamecockSHEP]

Spurrier didn't accomplish a whole lot of anything early on here. Why any one would believe Martin could come in an accomplish great success early on is beyond me. I know basketball and football are different. But the grand scheme of things is getting your players in to run your system. Eventually Martin will have us where we need to be.

[Slacker USC]

No one who actually follows the program expected any more than the results this year so far. Most were merely hoping for an improvement over last year (check) and MAYBE to win a couple more games.

I'd say that honestly we are ahead of schedule as far as expectations.

[sc455]

Originally Posted by GamecockSHEP

Spurrier didn't accomplish a whole lot of anything early on here. Why any one would believe Martin could come in an accomplish great success early on is beyond me. I know basketball and football are different. But the grand scheme of things is getting your players in to run your system. Eventually Martin will have us where we need to be.

Spurrier did much more than we expected in year one. If i remember we won 7 games and beat UT, which was a big win at the time.

[gotrice?]

I would have had different expectations for this season if we had kept Gill and Harris as well as Page not getting in academic trouble but all those things happened. With all 3 of them I would have thought win 15-18 games. Without them it sucks but I'm happy with how this team is progressing.

[b381l]

Losing 2 starters from last year transferring out and Page not making the grades really hurt. As someone already said, I don't see how we could expect much more from this group.

[sc455]

It is just hard watching it unfold. Allthough, it does make the wins sweeter.

[Spur20001]

Two things Martin can be fairly judged on in his 1st season:

1. Has the team gotten better as the season progressed? We have the same players, minus Page. Have these players gotten better?

2. Are all of Martin's 1st three recruits SEC Caliber? If not, why were they recruited?

[CockTail]

Basketball recruiting is the hardest of all the sports because of the limited scholorships available. We turned over basically the entire roster, and had to scramble last minute to bring in players. This is similar to what Horn did in his first year. This team is better than last years, it is more competitive and will serve as a foundation for the future.

My only regret is that there aren't more fans at the games.

[MillerTime843]

Just wait for Thornwell!

[Cockhornleghorn]

I'm not concerned; I don't know how anyone could have expected anything else this season.

[Travelin]

Originally Posted by Spur20001

Two things Martin can be fairly judged on in his 1st season:

1. Has the team gotten better as the season progressed? We have the same players, minus Page. Have these players gotten better?

2. Are all of Martin's 1st three recruits SEC Caliber? If not, why were they recruited?

This is what pains me. There's no doubt in my mind that Martin can get the job done here, but recruiting has to be above par and consistently so.

1. I don't see that much improvement from our players. Looks like the same old shit each game with one or two guys giving it their all and trying to carry the team. I see a lot of standing around on offense and not enough scrambling for loose balls. All of the recruits Horn brought in seem to have reached their ceiling as for as ability to compete on this level goes. For one reason or another, none of them can put together a stretch of good play from one game to the next. This tells me that FM's best chance of righting the ship is to practically clean house at the conclusion of the season.

2. Carerra is definitely a keeper, and I think Kacinas and L-Chat will become good players at USC. However, they need better talent around them in order to become the best SEC caliber players possible.

[I Bleed Garnet]

Originally Posted by sc455

Spurrier did much more than we expected in year one. If i remember we won 7 games and beat UT, which was a big win at the time.

We beat UF too

[Makindough]

cant compare football to bball, i have faith in Coach Martin but it will take longer in bball because of the schedule...way more games and less prep time between them

[ucan'tlickourcocks]

Originally Posted by gotrice?

I would have had different expectations for this season if we had kept Gill and Harris as well as Page not getting in academic trouble but all those things happened. With all 3 of them I would have thought win 15-18 games. Without them it sucks but I'm happy with how this team is progressing.

Fair assessment! Throw in a Ramone Galloway, and I believe we had enough talent with good coaching to make it to the BIG dance!

Frank will get us there, but Patience is necessary..... no way you can do much better with the mess that Horne left.......

I am still hoping against hope for a good run to end the season........

[markymark550]

Originally Posted by Spur20001

Two things Martin can be fairly judged on in his 1st season:

1. Has the team gotten better as the season progressed? We have the same players, minus Page. Have these players gotten better?

2. Are all of Martin's 1st three recruits SEC Caliber? If not, why were they recruited?

Your first point is really two separate issues. Team improvement and individual improvement. I don't see a whole lot of individual development of the guys that returned. Seems like the same skill sets and no great leaps in development. However, they are playing better as a team than they did last year. They are playing with a purpose and seem to actually have a game plan, although the results haven't really shown it yet. Hopefully recruiting better caliber players will solve both of these problems.

As for Martin's first 3 recruits, I think they will all develop into SEC caliber players. Carerra is already there and I think Kacinas and LChat just need more practice and playing time to get there. They may not have been SEC ready from day 1, but we were limited with what was available when Martin was hired.

[Evilchicken2]

Once again I believe it's worth mentioning that if you didn't anticipate this lousy year then you ought to stop following sports in general. This horrible season was expected, and should have been expected by Martin. Unless he's a blind deaf mute he knows what he was getting into when he signed that fat contract. The cupboards were left bone dry empty when Horn (ick) left and we NEED a serious upgrade in talent. Nuff said. EVEN HAVING SAID THAT, we are 12-11. It's not like we're 0-23. Perspective.