How South Carolina’s Frank Martin is filling his time away from his team
South Carolina men’s basketball coach Frank Martin is trying to fill the time as he’s separated from his team because of the coronavirus outbreak.
His wife had a few ideas.
“It’s not what I’m used to,” Martin said in an interview Tuesday with 107.5 The Game. “All of a sudden, it’s like the season ends and I’m at home, doing all the stuff that my wife has been beating me about for the last five years that I hadn’t done. It’s kind of a weird feeling.”
Last week, Martin saw his team’s season come to a sudden halt as the SEC tournament was canceled about 10 hours before the Gamecocks were set to play. He was still in position to talk about a potential postseason spot hours later, just before the rest of the college basketball season was shuttered for good.
He was asked Tuesday about how Kentucky had one final pickup game to wrap up the season, and he said the questions of COVID-19 had been on his mind as his team went to Nashville. Since then, the game has been far from his mind.
But he has had a little time to reflect, looking back at the big moments and tribulations his team overcame.
“When you’re out back working on your yard and cleaning the deck and cleaning your garage, you’re by yourself and have a lot of time to think while you’re doing all those things,” Martin said.
For now he can only wait. Martin said he’s been texting with players, but the next steps of a basketball offseason will be delayed.
Martin did lament losing some valuable individual workout time, namely working with North Carolina transfer Seventh Woods to translate his voice into a leadership role when he’s able to play next season.
The spring recruiting season will almost assuredly be wiped away, and it will likely be a while before he can even have the end-of-season meetings that wrap things with current players.
“These are meetings that I like to have in person,” Martin said, “not on the phone. As of right now, the earliest that anyone is coming on campus is April 15.
“Then recruiting is going to be unique. It’s going to be like it was back in the day, where there’s no April recruiting. Everything is going to be on the phone and things of that nature. Let’s be happy that we’re in a place that from a recruiting standpoint, we’re full and we’re not scrambling.”
Thinking of mom
Before his team left Nashville, Martin mentioned thinking about family, players’ families, staff’s families in these challenging times. That included his mother, who lives alone in an apartment in Miami.
Older individuals are at much higher risk from coronavirus. Martin said he worried for assistant Chuck Martin’s mom, who lives alone in New York, and explained how he’s been in contact with his own mother as of late.
“My sister and I tell her every day not to go anywhere,” Martin said. “Just stay inside. You don’t need to go anywhere. I’ve got three guys that I grew up with that are like as close to brothers as you can have. They love my mom as if she were their mom. They’ve been on call. If she needs groceries, those guys will go get it for her. If she needs medicine, those guys will go get it for her.
“For right now, it’s just stay indoors. Got outside and walk, but you don’t need to go into Publix or Walgreens or any of that stuff. ... I’m still nervous.”
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 7:41 PM.
