Bad loss aside, USC basketball understands it ‘can win any game left on the schedule’
A break in Frank Martin’s routine alerted Maik Kotsar that this was different.
South Carolina had just shockingly lost to Stetson and, instead of individual player meetings, USC’s coach just came out and announced himself to all of the Gamecocks.
“Frank in practice, sometimes he’ll come up to you individually and says that you need to be better in some aspects or do something differently,” said Kotsar, a four-year starter. “But the message to the team as a whole was pretty much the same: We got to be more mature, we gotta be better, gotta be ready for the game.”
Carolina (8-5) hosts Florida (9-4, 1-0 SEC) on Tuesday night in its conference opener. What happens is anyone’s guess. The Gamecocks could channel their effort from that upset of No. 9 Virginia on Dec. 22 and compete against a league favorite — or they could be flat again, as seen on Dec. 30 against Hatters, and continue uninspired play since Christmas.
Avoiding the latter is what Martin tried to hammer home over the last week. Game No. 248 in Martin’s South Carolina career left the coach as down as he’s ever been.
“If you guys hit rewind and go to my first press conference here ever, where Eric Hyman and Harris Pastides introduced me as a coach, I said the one thing that I’ll guarantee is that my teams will always play hard,” Martin said Monday, “that they will care about that uniform and leave the court and make everyone proud.
“We didn’t do that. That might have been the first time since I’ve been here that my team hasn’t done that. ... I was embarrassed and disturbed by how we took the court that day.”
Martin admitted Monday that he purposely “got really negative” on the bench as the result was unfolding against Stetson — the Hatters led for 36:18 of the game — to teach a lesson.
Upon further review, no player — in Martin’s mind — “got out of bed on that Monday morning and was excited to line up and play. Not one.”
“I got no respect for guys that don’t line up,” Martin said. “I tell guys all the time, ‘If you’re on a team in college basketball, since this is what I do, you got 30 or 31 guaranteed games. After that, you’re done. If you can’t be excited to be a real good teammate and to do the job that you’re asked to do, whether it’s playing 10 minutes or 35 minutes in that game, you’re going to fail in life. If you’re not going to be a good teammate 31 times a year, how are you going to be a good teammate, which is being in a family, being an employee, being a good boss, where you got to do that 365 times a year for the rest of your life?’
“So I beat them up pretty good during that game.”
The message since hasn’t been as aggressive, but the point’s been made. There’s a locker room belief these Gamecocks can contend in the SEC — they, after all, beat UVa — but they’re being pushed to show it every night.
Starting Tuesday.
“Obviously it’s frustrating,” Kotsar said of the team’s up-and-down nature. “But every game is a new game. We made our corrections from Stetson. We can’t be down about the loss. We have to just tackle Florida now.”
Added sophomore guard A.J. Lawson: “It’s frustrating, but we’re working every day to get better. With our team, I feel confident with our team that the next game we’ll always move forward.”
Recent history suggests the Gators are the ideal opponent for Carolina’s intriguing situation. USC rallied to beat Florida — thanks to a last-second dunk from Chris Silva — in Gainesville last January, kicking off its 11-win SEC season.
“That win boosted our self-esteem,” Lawson said.
“This team understands that they can win any game left on the schedule,” Martin said. “Last year’s team was trying to find that. This year’s team understands that. It’s a matter of staying mentally connected so we can go out and perform to the best of our abilities and then hope the ball goes in the basket a little bit more than the other team.”
NEXT
What: Florida (9-4, 1-0) at South Carolina (8-5)
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Colonial Life Arena in Columbia
TV: ESPNU
Radio: 107.5 The Game in Columbia area
