Frank Martin never got to meet Kobe Bryant, and ‘that’s a void I’ll never recover from’
Included in South Carolina basketball’s recruiting portfolio is a semi-endorsement from Kobe Bryant.
Bryant, who died tragically in a helicopter crash Sunday, likely never knew he was part of Frank Martin’s pitch to prospective point guards. But when Bryant tweeted in February 2014 his frustrations with the Los Angeles Lakers trading Steve Blake to the Golden State Warriors, his words instantly resonated with Martin. Blake, Bryant said, was a “psycho competitor.”
“If I’m recruiting you and you’re a point guard, I’m showing you some of the point guards I’ve been fortunate to be around in my career, (and) Steve’s one of them,” Martin said. “And I use that quote by Kobe Bryant about Steve Blake.”
Blake played for Martin at Miami Senior High School in the 1990s, long before he won a championship at Maryland and had a 13-year NBA career, four of them with the Lakers. He was Martin’s main connection to Bryant, the guy who could possibly introduce USC’s coach to the five-time NBA champion, 18-time all-star and author of a notoriously tireless work ethic.
“This game has allowed me to meet so many incredible people,” Martin said Monday, “and he was the one that I actually wanted to make sure I met. That’ll be a void that I’ll never recover from.”
Bryant was one of nine people, including his daughter Gianna, on the helicopter that burst into flames above Calabasas, California. Brandon Martin, Frank’s oldest son and a sophomore forward for USC Upstate, delivered the news to his father. Frank Martin was driving.
“He called, losing his mind,” Frank Martin said. “When he was 5 years old, I bought him a Kobe Bryant jersey. So he was a huge Kobe Bryant fan. And seeing his pain, it’s unfortunate.”
Martin went on to rave about Bryant’s work with the homeless in Los Angeles, his mentorship of the game’s younger stars and how he demanded the best from teammates.
All the on-court accolades are just part of Bryant’s legacy, Martin said.
“I don’t want to be remember, whenever my time comes to get away from all this, for my wins and losses,” Martin said. “If that’s what I’m remembered for, I’ve lived a sad life. Who (Bryant) was becoming for young people, that level of competitiveness that he had to uplift people while he was playing, now he was using it for life. And that’s what it’s about, man. It’s about impacting people in a positive way to get them to inspire to do more and give them hope. And that’s what he was doing.
“As a 53-year-old man now, that’s what I kind of look forward to. And guys that do what he did, we need more of that in this world. His smile, his character, his enthusiasm to help, to compete. We don’t have enough of that. We need more. I hope who he was in his short life, I hope it permeates and we can use this moment to understand his greatness and how he impacted people.”
When someone like Bryant backed Blake, it was a proud moment for Martin.
“I know what Steve’s all about,” Martin said. “Steve doesn’t respect people who are bad teammates. Steve doesn’t respect who are non-competitive.
“So just me knowing Steve and knowing how much he respected Kobe, that said a lot to me.”
Dawn Staley reacts
USC women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley said she and her coaching staff found out the news of Bryant’s death just before the Gamecocks played Georgia on Sunday in Athens. They waited to tell their players until after the game. In a video posted by the team’s official account on Twitter, Staley spoke to a somber locker room.
“Life is incredibly short,” Staley said to her players in the video. “It’s incredibly short. So we gotta count our blessings, because we’re here and we live to see another day, and that’s not always promised to us, so take advantage of it. Be a good teammate. Be a good friend. Be a good ‘bae’. All of it. Be true to who you are and true to other people. That’s all we can do, because we never know.”
“It’s horrific,” Staley said in speaking with the media after Sunday’s 88-53 road win over Georgia. “Kobe, since he retired, he dedicated his life to his little girls, and her career and basketball. It’s unfortunate that we don’t get a chance to see him coaching, to see him impact girls’ lives, because, you know, he just talked about WNBA players being able to play in the NBA.
“We need more people like Kobe Bryant sticking up for women’s basketball. He did it at the highest level, and we’re praying for him. Godspeed to his family and all of us who had a connection to him.”
Player reaction
Frank Martin’s Gamecocks were off Sunday, meaning he didn’t have a chance to address Bryant’s passing with the team. He planned to do so Monday afternoon.
Sophomore A.J. Lawson and freshman Trae Hannibal spoke with the media Monday afternoon.
Lawson, a Toronto native, said his favorite memory of Bryant is the 81 points he dropped on his hometown Raptors. Hannibal ackowledged Bryant’s work ethic.
“I’m always been told what happens in the dark is going to come to light,” Hannibal said. “And I always liked how he played with the Mamba mentality type of style and just being aggressive. That’s how he was every time he stepped between the lines.”
Local reaction
Beyond those currently with the Gamecocks, Bryant’s passing drew heavy reaction on a variety of local levels.
Stanley Roberts, an All-American high school player at Lower Richland, played eight seasons in the NBA, including 1996-97 with the Los Angeles Clippers when Bryant was a rookie for the Lakers.
Roberts told The State he was heartbroken by the news of a “young man who was taken away from us too soon.”
“Kobe always was a determined young man, as soon as he stepped into the league,” Roberts said. “He set his goals and achieved every one of them. He worked hard. He was an inspiration to a lot of the players. He was a great family man.”
Ray Allen, who graduated from Hillcrest High School in Dalzell, now has Bryant as part of his Instagram profile photo. Allen and Bryant were in the same NBA Draft class and, as Lakers and Boston Celtics, twice faced each other in the NBA Finals.
“Thank you for showing us all what greatness looked like!” Allen posted.
Columbia’s Jermaine O’Neal, another member of that ‘96 draft class, called Bryant’s passing “unthinkable” in a heartfelt Instagram post.
P.J. Dozier, a former Gamecock and Spring Valley grad now with the Denver Nuggets, called Bryant his idol in an Instagram post.
NEXT
What: South Carolina at Arkansas
When: 8:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville
TV: SEC Network
Radio: 107.5 The Game in Columbia area
