South Carolina basketball: Is Frank Martin to blame for the team’s struggles?
By Jacob Elsey
The case against Frank Martin
The Gamecocks are in their ninth season under coach Martin, having made just two postseason appearances – the NCAA tournament run and an NIT. Last year’s team was more than likely primed for at least an NIT spot before the NCAA shut down its postseason activities, so we can bump the total to three.
Martin took over a program in the middle of a huge rebuild. Darrin Horn, the head coach prior to Martin, was fired after a 10-21 season, and proceeded to run off the entire starting roster in the process. He gets a pass for the first two or three seasons, as he had little depth or experience to work with, but folks are frustrated that he’s been unable to capitalize on the back-to-back 25 win seasons and Final Four appearance.
He’s been unable to pull a four-star recruit over the last four classes, while having struck out with instate phenoms like Josiah-Jordan James, Zion Williamson and Ja Morant. In fact, the Gamecocks haven’t landed the state’s top player since 2015, when PJ Dozier signed with South Carolina. Seeing so much talent go elsewhere despite having seen a state program reach the pinnacle of the sport is head scratching.
Martin has also seen his share of defects, with South Carolina seemingly having to rebuild the roster due to transfer issues year after year. Fans expected more after the Final Four run, and the slow start to a fourth consecutive season may be the tipping point for Martin supporters.
And that’s what makes this year all the more frustrating. The team finally had experience and talent in all the key areas, but the production on the court is lacking. After being talked up as a tournament team all offseason, the continuous struggles are hard to watch. Although athletic, the Gamecocks can’t seem to find a pure jump shooter, as they go through extended scoring droughts and consistently leave points at the free throw line (last in the SEC in FT %). Some of that blame has to fall on coaching.