South Carolina basketball: Frank Martin remembers receiving a letter from Coach K

In 2017, South Carolina basketball coach Frank Martin spoke of a handwritten letter he received from Coach K.

The news broke today that Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski would be retiring following the 2021-22 basketball season. One of the sport’s most prominent figures, Krzyzewski has posted a record of 1,097-302 with the Blue Devils, winning 78% of his games, leading the program 11 Final Fours, winning five national titles, and earning ACC coach of the year honors on five occasions. He took over in Durham following the 1979 season, making a mark as one of the college basketball’s all-time greats, and a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

With the retirement announcement, we were reminded of his impact on South Carolina basketball’s Frank Martin, who reminisced about an exchange he’d had with Coach K during the 2017 Final Four run.

Martin, who began his career as a high school coach, would find himself jobless in 1998 after being let go from Miami Senior High. In an attempt to make a new start, Martin began writing letters to coaches around the country, one of whom would be the Duke head man.

When all was said and done, he’d written upwards of 150 letters, but only one coach responded with a handwritten letter of his own – Mike Krzyzewski. He explained this interaction on the Dan Patrick Show following South Carolina’s second round upset of the Blue Devils in the NCAA Tournament.

"I wrote 120, 140 letters to coaches around the country. One guy sent me a hand-written note back. It was Coach K. And I didn’t even know him back then. He knew who I was because I was part of a very successful high school team, but all that kind of all lumped into that one moment there."

Martin would end up coaching for just one more season at the high school level, before landing a gig at Northeastern as an assistant. He joined the South Carolina program in 2012, and has been one of the most successful coaches in the school’s history.

After that magical upset of second-seeded Duke, Martin would go on about the respect he has for Coach K in his postgame, and the impact he made on a Cuban immigrant that was looking to make a career out of coaching basketball.

Mike Krzyzewski will forever be a giant in the coaching world, and exchanges like this will cement his legacy as one of college basketball’s best.