**Official 2013 Basketball Season Vent Thread**

[b381l]

Originally Posted by Evilchicken2

You'd have to be one uneducated buffoon to be disappointed with this season. Were you the only goofball that failed to realize how weak Horn left this team? Give CFM a break for f//'s sake, would ya?

Exactly. We have 3 players under 6'....our tallest player that gets significant minutes is 6'7".
Trying to compete with other teams that usually have several players 6'9" or taller is just unrealistic. So we are at a big disadvantage before the game even starts.

[SECgamecock453]

F*CK BASKETBALL.

[Rebel4ever]

Martin will see this through. He doesn't strike me as the type to just quit before he has a chance to make us relevent. He can do it and will. Quite honestly, he has too. Who else would want to come here and coach unless we just shelled out major bucks to get a SUPERSTAR coach and I don't see men's BB as that much of a priority to the university to hire a coach of SUPERSTAR status. Martin is the man for the job and will get in players who care about winning and after he takes us to some Final Fours, he will be a SUPERSTAR coach.

[Rebel4ever]

Last thing I'll say about this season. Are we really surprised it turned out this way? I mean I knew and I think we all did know this was going to be a tough season and we were right. I think we had moments of "hey maybe if some things go our way it might not be that bad" but this season was exactly what we thought it would be so we really can't be too surprised. Now the next two to three years if it is still this way, then we can pretty much say basketball is just not for South Carolina anymore and we should have won a title in our 70's heyday when we had our chances. Not saying give it the heave ho but just expect that we will not be an elite program. Keep hope alive for 2013-14 cause I think we can become if not an elite program but a program that can have a shot at making a run at an NCAA title every so often. I still say that Martin can make us elite though.

[Acockolypse Now]

It was about what I expected.

I just hope Martin is able to recruit the guys he needs. I have full faith that he can get it done, we just need to see movement in the right direction next year.

[brat]

I believe in Frank, but I also think the task he has of making our program solid is a far more difficult road than SOS had in football, much more.

Yeah, I know that getting a great recruit or two can make a quicker difference than in football, but 35 years or so of mostly poor football, in a football league, next door to the ACC (which, essentially is the exact opposite of the SEC/ACC thing in football), makes it so. Add in a fanbase that has had so little to cheer about, a couple of generations have passed since our brief heyday, this isn't "changing the culture", it is a total resurrection.

[SterlingBrooks]

Im disgruntled!

[Evilchicken2]

Couple of things...

The only way Frank would leave after one season is if he had the same roster of guys for the next several seasons, didnt have support from his AD, and a much better job opened up. I think anybody in their right mind would gtfo in that case. I don't see that scenario playing out. Also, **** you Horn.

[qcgamecock]

Originally Posted by brat

I believe in Frank, but I also think the task he has of making our program solid is a far more difficult road than SOS had in football, much more.

Yeah, I know that getting a great recruit or two can make a quicker difference than in football, but 35 years or so of mostly poor football, in a football league, next door to the ACC (which, essentially is the exact opposite of the SEC/ACC thing in football), makes it so. Add in a fanbase that has had so little to cheer about, a couple of generations have passed since our brief heyday, this isn't "changing the culture", it is a total resurrection.

It only takes a few talented players and a bunch of blue collars role players to compete in basketball, Martin will have a very talented Thornwell next year with a whole mess of role players he has molded for a season. Coach Martin will have a very good chance to get some elite talent sitting in his backyard and some with Gamecock ties in the next few years, Martin can get us to the next level in the same time it took SOS to get us there, 3 years we will be very good!

[cocknblue]

Have said this before -- the mess that Frank Martin inherited didn't happen in just one or two seasons and it will take more than one or two seasons to fix it.

The Gamecock basketball program began falling apart in the late 90s when Eddie Fogler packed it in and stopped recruiting. Dave Odom was a nice guy but he didn't really do anything to establish us as a legit national program (two NIT titles don't mean squat on the national scene). And Darrin Horn....well, the record and lack of recruiting speak for themselves.

Frank Martin can reinvigorate the Gamecock basketball brand, but he's going to need at least three strong recruiting classes to do it. I only hope he and Gamecock fans are that patient.

[Cocktober Surprise]

Thank God it's over.


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[HeadCockFan]

Congrats to Lakeem Jackson who busted his tail in a thankless role and endured a coaching change that was out of his hands. Proud of his effort.

[Carolina4eva]

Big middle finger to Darin Horn

[Ace Dilcock]

I don't think that it will take two-three years to turn it around - I think we will have an NCAA tournament team next year and keep going from there.

We get everyone back except Lakeem, and - while I love the guy - that is addition by subtraction. We are basically bringing in a new team - Geathers (who would have started this year if healthy), Ringer (PF), Thornwell (SF and a legit go-to scorer, which this team lacked), McKie (SG, another good source of offense) and Tyrone Johnson (PG). I don't want to speculate on who will be leaving, but it is lilkely that we will add another good player or two. Whoever comes back will understand that they have to work hard to get better, so we should see big improvement, especially from the young guys. With Stroman already committed for 2014 and nice talent in the pipeline after him (Dozier, etc.), I see us as having a really good program - and it will start next year.

[NJGCfan]

Thornwell can ball, and maybe a core of ellington, carrera, and thornwell can win enough games next season that USC will look like more of an attractive destination for these recruits

[TwoNotch Dreams]

It's surprising that there's even a small group of people that's shocked we didn't do better. This is essentially a Darrin Horn team. Next season there will be improvement, but even then Horn's guys will make up half of the roster. I think we won't be as bad though.

Frank knew this would be a project, so why would he leave after a season? This is a 3-5 year thing to turn the ship around. Remember how long it took Spurrier to turn the football team around? Lattimore and Clowney didn't come out of thin air.

[SterlingBrooks]

I'm miffed!

[Ace Dilcock]

The good news is that basketball programs can turn around quickly. Unlike football, you only play 5 guys at a time and Freshmen can contribute right away. A few good recruits and you are an NCAA tourney team. A few more and you can win it all. And it does not take years to develop players - look at the Fab Five or any recent Kentucky team.

We can't recruit like UK, but we can get some guys just below the elite level who will stick around for more than a year and can make a difference right away. Again, the tournament is not out of the question next year with the new talent and some returnees getting with the program. We probably would have made it this year if we still had Gill, Harris and Galloway still on the roster. Heck, we might have made the NIT this year if Lashay Page stayed eligible for the second semester,