Former USC assistant brought ‘Frank Martin mentality’ to new job, and he’s thriving
Matt Figger was pondering exactly what it took.
The former South Carolina assistant men’s basketball coach had taken the step many do. He’d moved up, getting to lead his own program, a bit of a fixer-upper in Austin Peay, a team that has seen success under previous coach David Loos but also did not have a winning record in the previous six seasons.
Talking to The State not long after his third season was finished, he fell back on a few lessons he took from his former boss at two different stops.
“I just think I kind of brought in the Frank Martin mentality to instill who you are and be the same person every day,” Figger said. “We use the motto, ‘We’re everyday dudes.’ Seven days a week. Not just on game days. The kids have bought in. The style of play has helped us.”
The public sees the game-day Frank Martin, a particular sort of personality. But Figger saw the day-to-day side at South Carolina for four years and Kansas State the six before that. Those lessons helped in his first go as a head coach, a fraught situation for many.
Figger’s first Governers team won 19 games, the most for the program since 2011. The past two won 22 and 21 games, respectively, going 27-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
It’s a bit of a tough neighborhood with Belmont, established as a league power across Rick Byrd’s long tenure, and the perennial strength of Murray State, notably with two NCAA tournament trips led by recently anointed NBA rookie of the year Ja Morant.
Austin Peay finished third behind those two teams twice in Figger’s tenure, and each of his seasons ended with a loss to one or the other in the conference semifinals.
“We’ve got to figure out how to take the next step,” Figger said.
The style Figger brought in was built on an opportunistic defense and efficient offense. Each squad was in the top 40 nationally in offensive points per possession, hitting 3s at a high rate and hammering the glass. His defense functions much like Martin’s aggressive approach, albeit without high-end rim protection. All of his teams have forced turnovers on 20 percent of more of their opponents’ possessions.
And a quirk in the schedule has made those stylistic differences even more effective.
“In the OVC, you play Thursday and Saturdays,” Figger said. “So the team that you play on Saturday night only has one day to prepare for you.
“We play fast on offense and pressure on defense.”
This past season, Figger also got to bring in a familiar face to Gamecocks fans in Evan Hinson.
The former Gamecocks football player had moonlighted every season for Martin’s squad, He was usually an energy player, a swingman who provided some aggressiveness on offense.
Hinson had to deal with a heart issue late last summer before ultimately leaving the Gamecocks football team, and Figger got a different sort of player.
“It was the first time for him to be fully dedicated to basketball,” Figger said. “When he first got here, he was still kind of in football-player mode as far as his body. He came in weighing 255 pounds at 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5.”
He pointed to a three-point win against Murray State as a moment for Hinson, when he poured in 12 points on seven shots in 30 minutes. Figger also lamented missing the chance to work with Hinson for another year as just a basketball player.
The past basketball season ultimately ended without a certain measure of closure. After the OVC tournament wrapped, Figger sent his players home for spring break. They didn’t return as the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out college basketball.
But not long after that, Figger found himself reflecting on how far he’d come in a few years.
It wasn’t so long ago he was grinding it out with Martin, playing a role on the greatest postseason run in Gamecocks history.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Figger said. “It just seemed like the other day we were celebrating the Final Four. Time, as you get older, man, goes by so fast. I wake up and I finished my third year here at Austin Peay. It seems like just yesterday I was at the University of South Carolina. It’s been good, man.”
