Frank Martin explains how Bruce Shingler, Kory Holden joined USC

If familiarity was the only factor, Frank Martin would have hired Bruce Shingler to be one of his assistants three years ago for the spot Perry Clark eventually filled.

It wasn’t, but a year earlier it motivated Martin to call Towson coach Pat Skerry.

“Four years ago, I called Pat. I said, ‘Pat, Bruce is going to be a star and you really need to consider him.’” Martin said Tuesday at a Gamecock Club meeting. “And he did. And here we are, three years later, and Bruce has been just tremendous at his job.”

Shingler, who spent a season as an administrative assistant for Martin at Kansas State, was officially named a member of South Carolina’s staff Tuesday. He replaces Lamont Evans, who joined Oklahoma State’s staff with coach Brad Underwood.

Shingler was a high school and AAU coach in Maryland, and spent that lone season in Manhattan, Kan. He spent a year at Morgan State, and in 2012 landed at Towson, a program in the midst of a massive turnaround (1-31 the year before he arrived to 18-13).

With a background in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, working with the likes of Michael Beasley (Kansas State/Minnesota Timberwolves), Wally Judge (Rutgers), Quinn Cook (Duke) as an AAU coach, he has connections to an area Martin’s staff recruits. Martin said he’s always worked the I-95 corridor of Florida, Washington D.C, Baltimore, New Jersey and New York.

Along the way, the coach also gained perspectives of the area.

“When I hired him at K-State, he was in that pocket,” Martin said. “Now having gone back to Towson and spending the last four years recruiting that area, not only does he have some lifelong relationships because that’s his home, but now he also has some experience as a Division I assistant coach recruiting the area, which are two different animals.”

Second chance pays off with Holden

Martin had his eye on Kory Holden when the 6-foot-2 guard was playing high school ball in Salisbury, Md. But the sense was Holden wanted to stay close to home, and Martin’s staff never went after him too hard.

He didn’t miss a second chance.

“This time around, I did,” Martin said, a week after Holden signed with the Gamecocks as a transfer from Delaware. “I took a chance. He loved hearing from us. Loved the opportunity. Absolutely loved his visit. I’m excited.”

The coach added a guard he called “multi-talented,” one who can shoot, pass and has a feel for the game.

Holden spent the past two years as the centerpiece of struggling Delaware teams. He averaged 17.7 points and 4.2 assists as a sophomore.

He’ll have to sit out the upcoming season, but it might be just as well since the Gamecocks are heavy on experienced guards.

“The CAA has great guard play,” Martin said of Holden’s former conference. “The biggest change for guards coming into the SEC is size. All of a sudden everyone’s bigger. The centers are bigger, the guards are bigger. But I think he’ll make the adjustment. He’s a high-level player.”

This story was originally published May 3, 2016 at 9:16 PM with the headline "Frank Martin explains how Bruce Shingler, Kory Holden joined USC."