Frank Martin ‘proud’ of SEC for canceling tournament in name of safety
South Carolina men’s basketball coach Frank Martin knew when he saw the news Wednesday night that Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert had contracted the coronavirus, which led to the NBA suspending its season.
At that point he knew his team wouldn’t be playing its scheduled Thursday night SEC tournament game against Arkansas. The call came around 8:30 on Thursday morning, and the news broke officially hours later.
Martin spoke to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, and Martin described the commissioner as being a little embarrassed he had to make the decisions that ended the dreams of a lot of players.
“Having to make that decision was really hard for him because he’s all in about the student-athletes and their journey,” Martin said. “But it was the right decision to make, and I let him know that I was really proud that he took his position of leadership and was willing to make this decision.”
Martin said if his team was invited to a postseason tournament, NCAA or NIT, they’d play if asked, but he sounded like a man without much faith those events would happen. Hours later, the NCAA canceled all remaining spring and winter events.
“What we have to figure out now is, if somebody wants us to play their event,” Martin said. “Anyone gives us the opportunity, we’ll play, but that’s assuming, once those decisions are made, then we have to make decisions as to if we want to expose our athletes and our school personnel.”
The coach said his philosophy is to stay better safe than sorry. He had not even had time to meet with the team before it left Nashville and planned to talk to everyone back on campus.
He noted this is a lesson to players of the frailty of the game and what means more than wins, losses and final scores.
“Kids, they think the world revolves around basketball, their stats and making the NBA,” Martin said. “Keep them humble to understand that moments like this should make you understand that the score of a game is irrelevant when real life hits you in the face and we’re in a difficult moment right now.”
Martin said he spoke to Ray Tanner and he did not yet have clarity on some next steps on campus. He said he assumed players could go home to their families as the school is on an extended spring break.
The novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, has brought the sports world to a halt, suspending the NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS seasons and canceling nearly every college conference tournament.
He also said he hurt for his players, especially seniors, and floated the idea of them getting an extra season if games cannot be made up. He also said he wouldn’t mind playing later if it was possible, but shied away from what he called “ultimatums” and hard deadlines.
A member of the NABC executive committee, he supported the indefinite suspension of recruiting that came down. He pointed out coaches need to take care of their own, and between their travel on the AAU circuit, crowded gyms and players and families traveling, the situation was not ideal.
“It’s just unknown,” Martin said. “It’s not an earthquake, it’s not a hurricane, it’s not a tornado. It’s unknown.”
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 3:32 PM.
