Va. Tech coach: ‘I’m the biggest Frank Martin fan in the world’

Frank Martin’s teams have faced off against Buzz Williams’ teams for years in “secret” preseason scrimmages.

This year’s matchup between South Carolina and Virginia Tech will be open to the public and will support hurricane relief efforts in Texas, South Florida and Puerto Rico.

The “Hoops 4 Hurricane Relief” exhibition was announced this week and will be played Nov. 5 at 2 p.m. at Colonial Life Arena.

Williams spoke about how the game came about during ACC Media Day on Wednesday in Charlotte.

“This will be Frank and I’s ninth year playing against one another, and we just alternate home and away, regardless of where we’re employed, and it’s just been that way. Obviously I’ve known coach a long time,” Williams said. “I just love the game for what it’s going to do for the families that have been impacted by the hurricane. That’s why we’re doing it.”

Williams and Martin tried to add more excitement to the game, but their idea was shot down by the NCAA.

Still, they are excited to be able to aid hurricane relief efforts and are working on ways to raise more money.

“We tried really hard, the NCAA blocked it, we tried really hard to get an ESPN network to broadcast it and let Frank and I do the commentating, just in hopes to sell tickets,” Williams said. “We’re not doing it for competitive reasons. We’re doing it to try to help the families. We’re also going to try to do something that Saturday night to raise some more money. We’re still trying to figure out what that is, but yea, I’m the biggest Frank Martin fan in the world.”

This story was originally published October 26, 2017 at 4:57 PM.