It sounded like he was chewing on some kind of hard candy as he ripped his team apart. You might remember the press conference if you read or heard the words. One line stood out: “I’ve been doing this for 28 years — nine of which was a junior varsity high school coach. That means I dealt with 14-year olds. I’ve never been more embarrassed to call myself a basketball coach than I am today.” That was South Carolina coach Frank Martin on Valentine’s Day in 2013 after a humiliating 64-46 home loss to LSU, a fifth consecutive defeat that dropped his first team of Gamecocks to .500 overall (12-12) and an embarrassing 2-9 in the SEC. Fast forward almost three years to today, and you might find a kinder, happier Martin. At least a little bit. South Carolina is one of five unbeatens left in Division 1 college basketball, as they head into the final week of 2015 at 11-0 after a 75-61 pre-Christmas win over St. John’s in Uncasville, CT. So how did we get from there to here in just two and a half years? And can these Gamecocks survive the rigors of conference play?
South Carolina finished Martin’s first season 14-18 and 4-14 in the SEC. It was almost exactly the same the second season; the 2013-2014 Gamecocks won the exact same number of games overall (14) and just one more in SEC play (five). But last season, while the SEC win total again only went up by one, South Carolina finished 17-16; its first record over .500 since 2009 and only its second in nine years. Last year’s team also finally won games against quality opposition, beating Oklahoma State and Iowa State in the non-conference and sweeping Georgia (an NCAA Tournament team) in league play. This year’s team should be 12-0 (D-3 Francis Marion is the Gamecocks’ only remaining 2015 opponent) when Memphis comes to town on Jan. 2. Back in that angry 2013 press conference, Martin most notably called out his team’s effort and toughness. He said they weren’t working hard enough to make shots (that 2013-2014 team finished 248th in 3-point percentage and 244th in 2-point percentage) and even compared everyone except Bruce Ellington to zombies. In short, he was extremely frustrated that they weren’t playing like a Frank Martin basketball team.
His current group is playing like a Frank Martin basketball team. They are defending, and they are rebounding. Martin teams have classically been great on the offensive glass; in fact, last year’s South Carolina team was the first Martin has ever coached in Division 1 to finish lower than 14th in the nation in offensive rebound percentage (this year’s is 16th). His past Gamecock teams have also been poor at collecting rebounds off their own backboard; the two 14-win teams finished 220th and 284th in defensive rebound percentage, while last year’s team improved only marginally (198th best nationally). So far this year, however, South Carolina has allowed offenses to grab only 26 percent of their misses, 49th best in the country. It’s also finally starting to defend the interior like Martin’s teams did at Kansas State. Each of Martin’s five teams in Manhattan finished 70th or better in the nation in two-point percentage defense, but his first two in the Palmetto State were a paltry 272nd and then 200th in the category. There was improvement last year (25th in the country at 43.2 percent) and the Gamecocks have been even better so far this season, allowing just 41.3 percent on two-pointers, 20th best in the land.
One of the main reasons for the Gamecocks’ turnaround is Sindarius Thornwell, who is excelling on both ends of the court. (Getty)
As important as those Martin trademarks are, the real key to the turnaround may be offense. Through 11 games, this South Carolina team is running offense far more efficiently than it has at any point during Martin’s tenure, with Sindarius Thornwell and Duane Notice leading the way. In large part due to that duo, South Carolina is 17th in the country in three-point percentage, connecting on a whopping 40.9 percent of three-point attempts. That’s a big part of why the Gamecocks are inside the top 75 nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency (53rd) like each of Martin’s Wildcat teams and unlike any of his first three USC teams (national ranks of 196, 136, 158 in those years). Martin has also pushed the button on the Gamecocks’ transition attack, as they rank 37th nationally in adjusted tempo. The pace of play is a far cry from the slowdown of the last three seasons in Columbia, where the fastest-playing Gamecock team was still only 148th quickest nationally.
Thornwell and Notice have led the way, but this is a balanced South Carolina team. Five guys score in double figures. Six grab four rebounds or more per game. Seven average between one and four assists per game. “We’ve been together so long; we know each other so well,” Michael Carrera said after the Nov. 30 win over Western Carolina. “We know where we’re going to be in certain spots. We’re getting great shots and making them right now. We play for each other. We don’t play for the individual. We love each other so much.” Carrera and the Lithuanian duo of Laimons Chatkevicius and Mindaugas Kacinas are seniors. The backcourt of Thornwell and Notice are juniors. This is an experienced bunch.
Now the question becomes whether or not the Gamecocks can keep the pace. Some are comparing USC to last year’s TCU team, who started 13-0 before going 4-14 in Big 12 play. Yes, South Carolina’s best win thus far is over an 8-4 Tulsa team, but it does own two other KenPom top 100 victories (Clemson, Hofstra). Only one of TCU’s 13 victims (#50 Ole Miss) fit that criteria. What’s more, almost half of South Carolina’s wins have come away from Colonial Life Arena; three were in the Virgin Islands, one was at Clemson and the most recent victory over St. John’s came in Connecticut. Only three of TCU’s first 13 wins came away from home and two of those were still inside the state of Texas. South Carolina may not have anything resembling a signature victory yet, and their first chance at one won’t come until Jan. 9 (vs. Vanderbilt) but it also hasn’t beaten up on the dregs of D1 (and almost exclusively on its home court) as last year’s TCU team did. It would be selling South Carolina and its current body of work far short to expect a TCU-like downturn in conference play.
The Gamecocks have a core group that has grown up together and progressed together, slowly, under a coach who finally has them playing his brand of basketball. That brand produced five 20-win seasons and four NCAA Tournament appearances in five years at Kansas State. Could Frank Martin be on the verge of embarking on a similar run at South Carolina?
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USC has crossed every hurdle so far. And they are capable of playing better than they have in most games up to now. I'm excited about the possibilities. Go Gamecocks!