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Frank Martin (basketball)

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Frank Martin
Martin in 2011
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamUMass
ConferenceAtlantic 10
Record40–35 (.533)
Biographical details
Born (1966-03-23) March 23, 1966 (age 58)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Alma materFIU, B.S. (1993)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1985–1993Miami HS (FL) (assistant)
1993–1995North Miami HS (FL)
1995–1998Miami HS (FL)
1999–2000Booker T. Washington HS (FL)
2000–2004Northeastern (assistant)
2004–2006Cincinnati (assistant)
2006–2007Kansas State (assistant)
2007–2012Kansas State
2012–2022South Carolina
2022–presentUMass
Head coaching record
Overall328–236 (.582) (college)
Tournaments10–5 (NCAA Division I)
2–2 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
NCAA Regional — Final Four (2017)
Awards
Big 12 Coach of the Year (2010)
AP Big 12 Coach of the Year (2010)
Jim Phelan Award (2017)
USBWA District VI Coach of the Year (2010)
NABC District 8 Coach of the Year (2010)

Francisco José Martin (born March 23, 1966)[1] is an American basketball coach serving as the head coach for the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team. Martin was previously the head coach of the University of South Carolina men's basketball team for ten seasons. Prior to that, he was the head coach of Kansas State University for five seasons.

Martin has led his teams to a total of five NCAA tournaments and 1 Final Four appearance as a head coach. He was named the Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year in 2010. He won the Jim Phelan Award in 2017.

Early life and career

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Martin, who grew up in Miami, Florida, is the son of Cuban political exiles and the first American-born member of his family.[2][3] He graduated with a bachelor's degree in physical education from Florida International University in 1993.[4] One of the two jobs he held while attending FIU was that of a bouncer at a local nightclub. He decided to become a full-time basketball coach in 1992 as a result of an incident in which he was subjected to gunfire, while on duty, from a group of men whom he had ejected for fighting.[3]

At the same time, he had begun his career in basketball as the head coach of the boys' junior varsity squad at Miami High School in 1985. He served in that position for eight years until he was appointed to his first varsity coaching job at North Miami High School after he completed his studies at FIU in 1993. He returned to Miami Senior two years later to head its varsity team.[4] Under his watch, the Stingarees won three consecutive state championships from 1996 to 1998 with teams featuring future NBA players Udonis Haslem and Steve Blake. The last of those titles was later vacated due to recruiting violations involving school employees and boosters who gave housing assistance to the players.[3] Although he was never personally accused of any wrongdoing, Martin was dismissed in 1999.[5] He next served as head coach at Booker T. Washington High School for one year.[4]

College coaching career

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Martin joined the college ranks as an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Northeastern University from 2000 to 2004. He moved to the University of Cincinnati, serving one season each under Bob Huggins and Andy Kennedy. Martin followed Huggins to Kansas State, joining his staff on April 5, 2006.[4] On April 6, 2007, almost a year to the day after his arrival in Manhattan, Martin was named head coach of the Wildcats in the wake of Huggins' resignation.

Kansas State

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Martin's first season as head coach at Kansas State was marked by a number of noteworthy events. The 2007–2008 Wildcats, featuring star freshman Michael Beasley, were included in the preseason Top 25 for the first time since 1972. On January 19, 2008, Martin's Wildcats defeated then-No. 10 Texas A&M, giving the team its first win over a ranked team in nearly a year, and its first victory over a Top 10 team since beating Texas in March 2004. On January 30, 2008, Martin led Kansas State to an 84–75 victory over then-No. 2 Kansas, marking the Wildcats' first home win over their in-state rival since 1983. Ultimately, Martin led Kansas State to its first berth in the NCAA tournament since 1996.

Martin was awarded the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year by the conference on March 7, 2010.[6] Later that month, he led the Wildcats to the Elite 8, their best tournament performance since 1988.

He was given a contract extension through the 2014–2015 season. His salary increased to $1.2 million, plus incentives, for 2010–11. The salary would increase by $100,000 a year for each subsequent year of the contract, topping out at $1.6 million in 2014–15.[7]

After Frank Haith left Miami to take the Missouri head coaching job in the spring of 2011, there were rumors that Martin, born and raised in Miami, might leave Kansas State to take the job. These rumors ended when it was announced that Jim Larranaga took the job at Miami.[8]

South Carolina

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Martin in 2020

On March 26, 2012, in a text message to ESPN, Martin confirmed he had accepted the head coach position at South Carolina.[9] On March 27, 2012, Martin was introduced as South Carolina's head coach, replacing Darrin Horn.

Martin posted losing records in each of his first two seasons at South Carolina, including a combined conference mark of 9–27. His team's most notable victory in those two seasons was a 72–67 home win against #17 Kentucky on March 1, 2014. During the 2013–14 season, Martin issued a public apology to fans and players on January 21, 2014, after a verbal tirade during the team's loss to Ole Miss. On March 6, 2014, USC Athletic Director Ray Tanner suspended Martin for the final game of the regular season for further "inappropriate verbal communication" with players.

In Martin's third season at South Carolina, he recorded his first winning season at South Carolina with a 17–16 (6–12) record. The team posted a 9–3 record in its non-conference season, concluding with a win over #9 Iowa State at the Brooklyn Hoops Showcase, and followed this by finishing its SEC regular season with a 6–12 record, then posting a 2–1 mark in the SEC Tournament.

The 2015–16 season continued the upward trend as his Gamecocks won 24 regular season games, including a 13–0 mark in non-conference games. The 11–7 mark in conference was good enough to tie for third in the SEC, but after losing to Georgia in the SEC tournament, South Carolina accepted an NIT bid.

The 2016–17 team finally broke through and earned a bid as a #7 seed to the 2017 NCAA tournament, where they earned their first win in the event since 1973 with a 20-point victory over the #10 seed Marquette Golden Eagles, followed by a win over #2 seed Duke, advancing to the program's first Sweet 16 in school history. The Gamecocks then beat Baylor to advance to the Elite 8 for the first time in school history. On Sunday, March 26, 2017, South Carolina defeated Florida in the East Regional Final to reach the school's first-ever Final Four. They played Gonzaga on April 1, 2017, and lost 77–73, ending their road to the national championship.

Following the run to the Final Four, the Gamecocks failed to reach postseason play in Martin's remaining tenure. Martin was dismissed as the head coach of South Carolina on March 14, 2022.[10] At the time of his dismissal, he was the third winningest coach at South Carolina with a 171–147 (79–99 SEC) record.

Massachusetts

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On March 25, 2022, it was announced that Martin had agreed to a deal to become the next head coach at the University of Massachusetts.[11] The team performed well at the outset of Martin's inaugural campaign, winning eight of its first nine contests, before struggling down the stretch and finishing 15-16.[1]. After a loss to St. Joseph's, Martin used his postgame press conference to criticize members of the UMass fan base for what he described as their attacks on social media.[2]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Kansas State Wildcats (Big 12 Conference) (2007–2012)
2007–08 Kansas State 21–12 10–6 3rd NCAA Division I Round of 32
2008–09 Kansas State 22–12 9–7 T–4th NIT Second Round
2009–10 Kansas State 29–8 11–5 T–2nd NCAA Division I Elite Eight
2010–11 Kansas State 23–11 10–6 T–3rd NCAA Division I Round of 32
2011–12 Kansas State 22–11 10–8 5th NCAA Division I Round of 32
Kansas State: 117–54 (.684) 50–32 (.610)
South Carolina Gamecocks (Southeastern Conference) (2012–2022)
2012–13 South Carolina 14–18 4–14 T–12th
2013–14 South Carolina 14–20 5–13 13th
2014–15 South Carolina 17–16 6–12 T–11th
2015–16 South Carolina 25–9 11–7 T–3rd NIT Second Round
2016–17 South Carolina 26–11 12–6 T–3rd NCAA Division I Final Four
2017–18 South Carolina 17–16 7–11 T–11th
2018–19 South Carolina 16–16 11–7 T–4th
2019–20 South Carolina 18–13 10–8 T–6th
2020–21 South Carolina 6–15 4–12 12th
2021–22 South Carolina 18–13 9–9 T–5th
South Carolina: 171–147 (.538) 79–99 (.444)
Massachusetts Minutemen (Atlantic 10 Conference) (2022–present)
2022–23 Massachusetts 15–16 6–12 13th
2023–24 Massachusetts 20–11 11–7 4th
2024–25 Massachusetts 5–8 0–0
Massachusetts: 40–35 (.533) 17–19 (.472)
Total: 328–236 (.582)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Personal life

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Martin is married to Anya Forrest, a former star athlete and alumna of the University of Massachusetts. They have two children, Amalia and Christian; and Martin has an elder son Brandon, whose mother Kimberly Hicks played college basketball at FAU and professional basketball in Venezuela, Israel and Germany.[12][13] Brandon played for his father at both South Carolina and Massachusetts.

References

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  1. ^ Cloninger, David (December 13, 2013). "10 Things You Didn't Know: Frank Martin". The State. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  2. ^ O'Neil, Dana (October 1, 2009). "Hispanic interest in college hoops grows". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c "Evans, Thayer. "Ex-Bouncer With a Death Stare Has Led Kansas State's Resurgence". The New York Times. March 25, 2010. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d Frank Martin (biography) – Kansas State University Athletics. Archived April 1, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Kansas State introduces Martin as men's basketball coach". CBS Sports. April 9, 2007.
  6. ^ Corcoran, Tully (March 7, 2010). "Hawks, Cats named All-Big 12". The Topeka Capital-Journal. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  7. ^ Robinett, Kellis (March 7, 2010). "K-State extends Martin's contract". Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on March 9, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  8. ^ ?Robinett, Kellis (April 6, 2011). "Frank Martin's agent says no contact with Miami". The Wichita Eagle. Archived from the original on August 31, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
  9. ^ Katz, Andy (March 26, 2012). "Frank Martin Leaves Kansas State Wildcats to become South Carolina Gamecocks Coach". ESPN. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  10. ^ "Frank Martin dismissed as South Carolina's basketball coach". Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  11. ^ "Frank Martin Named Massachusetts Men's Basketball Coach".
  12. ^ "Frank Martin – Men's Basketball Coach". Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  13. ^ "Brandon Martin – University of South Carolina Athletics". Archived from the original on April 17, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
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