Martin’s not going anywhere, so let’s just chill out with the “Fire Frank!” thing, okay?

It’s been well-documented here on Cocky Country that I’m not the world’s biggest basketball enthusiast, but I pay enough attention to know what’s going on.

And when I say I “pay enough attention,” I mean I’m always following things on Twitter, which is where I discovered that some members of Gamecock Nation believe that because the men’s hoops team isn’t undefeated or first in the SEC or something, Frank Martin should be fired.

Yes, after the four year period of abysmal-ness, otherwise known as Darrin Horn’s time in Columbia, there are people who think that after LESS THAN A YEAR, we should already can the new coach.

Here’s the thing, though, internet ADs: Horn didn’t exactly bring in top-notch talent, and he didn’t exactly seem to do much in the way of coaching them up, either, so it’s not like anyone should be surprised that the Gamecocks aren’t lighting it up this season. Martin’s a fiery, intense coach, but he isn’t a miracle worker. And in less than a season – mainly with guys he didn’t recruit – it’s hard to see how anyone could have expected him to completely turn things around.

I’ve also seen some people call out Martin for his strong language and an angry post-game presser or two. Did I think his comments about how if it were the NBA, almost everyone on the team would be fined and gone for their poor play were harsh? Yeah. But is it true that the team has at times played like they’d rather be sitting in a lecture on the history of graphing calculators than playing the game? I think so.

With five games remaining in the regular season and last night’s upset victory over Ole Miss, the team is 13-13 overall and 3-10 in the conference. At this time last year, they were 10-16 and 2-9. Sure, the SEC record’s still not very good, but a .500 record overall is a marked improvement.

» Continue reading “It Hasn’t Even Been A Full Season Yet, Or Why The “Fire Frank Martin!” Campaign Must Stop”

The men’s basketball team is off to a bit of a rough start in SEC play, having fallen in close games on the road against Mississippi State and at home against Auburn. Their next home game will be Saturday against Vandy, and coach Frank Martin hopes the Garnet Army will be out in full force.

The football team will also be honored at the game and commemorative posters will be available.

In other basketball-related news, Martin is also in the running to win the Infinity Coaches Charity Challenge, where college hoops coaches from around the country are competing to win funds which will be donated to a charity of their choosing. Every charity will receive $5,000, and the winner will receive $100,000. Coach Martin is competing for the SC Center for Fathers and Families. You can vote here everyday!

Happy New Year’s Eve, dear readers! I hope you’ve all been having a holly jolly holiday season and are getting excited about the Outback Bowl (p.s. IT’S TOMORROW!!!).  In honor of today being the last day of 2012, let’s take a look back at five of the biggest stories from Gamecock Nation this year:

1. Football team keeps making history: The Gamecocks reached a new milestone when they won the 2012 Capital One Bowl to lock up an 11-win season for the first time in school history. This year, behind QBs Connor Shaw and Dylan Thompson, they have the chance to secure a second straight 11-win season by beating Michigan in the Outback Bowl. Though they lost Marcus Lattimore in the middle of the season again – and he’s since decided to go pro – the Cocks have strong leaders on both sides of the ball, a potential future Heisman hopeful in Jadeveon Clowney, and a coaching staff who is more than capable of taking us to the top.

2. Yardcocks reach CWS finals for third year in a row: They were expected to be a good team, but very few people had the USC baseball team not only making it back to Omaha, but all the way back to the championship series. Though they fell to Arizona in the title games, they made us all proud to cheer for the garnet and black. Though studs like Michael Roth, Matt Price, Christian Walker, and Adam Matthews have all moved on to the pros, there looks to be a bright season ahead for some of the younger guys who made their mark in 2012, including L.B. Dantzler, Grayson Greiner, and Jordan Montgomery.

» Continue reading “Gamecocks In 2012: A Year In Review”

Hello, people of the internet. After an unplanned hiatus, I am back. I’m also done with grad school, so the posts will be rolling out with regularity from now on.

Some news and notes:

Three Michigan players will miss the Outback Bowl, it was announced today. Coach Brady Hoke said that cornerback J.T. Floyd, punter Will Hagerup, and linebacker Brandin Hawthorne showed “poor judgement” and violated team rules. They will not travel with the team. Hagerup is the team’s top punter and gained internet popularity following this little display:

The USC football team has started their bowl game preparations and the HBC announced that two guys, DL Moore and Kyle Harris, violated team rules and will not be in Tampa for the game. Both guys have also played their last game for Carolina. Moore has simply come to the end of his college career, while Harris, who redshirted and played just one game, will transfer.

The team also had their annual dinner with the kids and families from Children’s Chance tonight.

» Continue reading “I’m Baaaaaack!!! (With Some Football & Basketball Notes)”

Photo via Gamecocks Online.

Frank Martin was officially introduced as the head coach of the South Carolina’s men’s basketball team today following the Board of Trustees’ approval of his contract.

His contract is worth $12.8 million, and the first year is worth $1.9 million. The second and third years will be worth $2 million and the final three years are worth $2.3 million. If he leaves, his buyout starts at $4 million.

Almost everyone views this as a slam dunk (ha!) hire for the Gamecocks. After the last few years, which featured a program with a lot more losses than wins and a lack of interest from the fanbase, Martin will want – and need – to make an impact quickly.

Martin comes to Columbia from Kansas State, where he was from 2007 until today. He became the head coach of KSU in 2008 and his teams won 21 games or more every year. They have made three straight NCAA tournament appearances, and Martin’s record as the head coach was 117-54 overall.

He’s a hardcore guy, and he said today that his team will be the hardest working guys in America. He’s been known as an imposing and intense figure, but that’s something we could probably use. We likely won’t be a Big Dance participant next year, but we there’s plenty of reason to believe the Cocks will be making it far in the next few seasons.

Martin will be the 32nd head coach of men’s basketball at South Carolina, which enters its 105th season as a varsity sport in 2012-13.

Many fans made similar faces during Horn's tenure at USC.

By now, we’ve all heard that Darrin Horn was relieved of his coaching duties and is no longer the men’s basketball coach at the University of South Carolina.

In his four years with the Gamecocks, Horn had a 60-63 overall record and a 23-41 record in SEC play. His team finished with a winning record only once, in 2008, Horn’s first year on the job.

For whatever reason(s), he just couldn’t make things click at USC. While some big-time moments happened under Horn, like the wins over Kentucky, being the SEC East co-champs, and that buzzer beater over Florida, plenty of not-so-good things happened, too (see: this season’s record, the loss of multiple players to other schools, etc.).

Horn was also behind the start of the Garnet Army, which was a great idea for the student section (although the shirts are hideous). Unfortunately, as the team dropped more and more games, the army dropped more and more members.

Off the court, his guys stayed out of trouble and did well academically, points that shouldn’t be forgotten. While Horn couldn’t always get it done on the court, he had a team of solid character guys who were good reps for South Carolina.

Even with all of that, it was time for Horn to go. The men’s hoops program regressed during his time as coach, and many viewed him as someone unable to develop talent, adapt his system, and who just couldn’t get the job done in the SEC.

» Continue reading “Fare Thee Well, Coach Hair Gel: Horn Out At USC”

I'm pretty sure about zero people looked this pleased this season.

It’s probably a bad thing when you’re relieved that your team’s season is over, but in this case, it couldn’t have ended soon enough.

Perhaps as a birthday present to me, the Gamecocks fell to Alabama (one of the two teams they beat during the regular season) 63-57 today in the first round of the SEC Tournament. As much as I would’ve liked USC to make some sort of miracle run, this is really better. There’s no need to prolong the agony that is men’s basketball at South Carolina.

In a mainly empty arena (sound familiar?) and somewhat unsurprisingly, the Tide rolled all over Carolina and led by as many as 14 points. USC trailed at the half and never had a lead. The Cocks were ice cold for a five-minute period, too, and Alabama took advantage in any way they could.

Brenton Williams and Damien Leonard each had 13 points for the Gamecocks, the most on the team. Trevor Lacey had 15 to lead Bama. Carolina did nothing to help themselves, turning the ball over 17 times and struggling to play good basketball (as they did for the entire regular season). They also only reached the free throw line six times, and while they made five of the attempts, that clearly wasn’t enough. The Crimson Tide, on the other hand, had 29 free throw tries and missed only five.

South Carolina finishes the season with a dismal 10-21, 2-11 record and lingering questions about whether or not Darrin Horn will still be the coach next season. Though administration came out in support of Horn, most fans likely wouldn’t be heartbroken if he were to be shown the door.

Good bye and good riddance, 2011-12 basketball season. You were a disaster and a half and we won’t miss you.

Once again, sorry for the intermittent updates. Grad school is consuming almost all of my time, but the quarter’s almost over (hoooooooray Spring Break!), so updates should be back on track in the next day or so.

Anyway, two tidbits of news today:

Watley

Harris

Football: Linebacker Angelo Watley has been dismissed from the university. That’s probably not an entirely bad thing, considering his recent arrest for stealing almost $3,000 worth of stuff and prior arrest for making terroristic threats. According to his lawyer, Watley apparently wants to return if given the opportunity. Stay tuned.

Men’s Basketball: Sophomore forward Damontre Harris was named to the All-SEC Defensive Team. Considering what a disaster this year was for our men’s hoops team, it’s great to see someone earn post-season honors.

It was a busy day for Gamecock athletics, as both the men’s and women’s hoops teams were in action, as were the Yardcocks.

Neither the guys or the ladies were able to pull off a victory on the court today. The men lost to Georgia 67-55 in Athens, dropping them to 10-20 overall and 2-14 in the conference. That’s their worst SEC record ever and the first 20-loss season in 13 years. This is the third straight year the Cocks have finished the season with a losing record.

Georgia (14-16, 5-11) isn’t even very good, but the Gamecocks are just flat out sad. Malik Cooke, who has been a bright spot for the team, led Carolina with 17 points, but that wasn’t enough to overcome the Bulldogs. UGA actually started the game down 10-0, but by halftime they’d taken a 30-23 lead.

South Carolina had their own cold spell in the second half and could never catch up to the Dawgs. USC pulled within six points with about four minutes left, but, as has happened all season, things didn’t go their way and Georgia came away with the win.

Next up for the Gamecocks is the SEC Tournament in New Orleans, where they’ll be the No. 12 seed. Carolina will take on No. 5 seed Alabama next Thursday at 3:30 p.m. ET in a first round game. TV coverage will be on the SEC Network.

As for the Lady Gamecocks, their SEC Tournament run came to an end tonight at the hands of No. 13 Tennessee, who cruised to a 74-58 victory in Nashville. Making up for their loss to USC earlier in the year, the Lady Vols maximized their advatanges to beat No. 25 South Carolina.

» Continue reading “Gamecock Sports Saturday: Two Losses & A Win”

Grad school has consumed my life this week, sorry kids. Here’s a quick roundup of the latest happenings in Gamecock Nation:

• Michael Roth: still a stud. The guy pitched a seven-inning no-hitter today and was selected as a candidate for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes athletes for their work both on and off the field. 30 baseball players were selected, and that list will be narrowed down to 10 finalists midway through the season. The winner will be announced during the College World Series (you might have heard of that), it’s kind of a big deal). Roth isn’t the only Gamecock on the list – Todd Hornsby of the Jacksonville State Gamecocks was chosen as well.
• Alshon Jeffery: not fat. Jeffery’s official measurements at the NFL combine  were  6’3″, 216 pounds. That’s just a little bit off from the over 230 pounds he was rumored to be at (key word: rumored). AJ is waiting to decide whether or not he’ll run the 40 in Indy (where the combine is being held) or wait until USC’s pro day. Jeffery, who has been accused of being slow, claims that he’s faster now that he’s lighter. Some unsolicicted advice for you, Alshon: run it now, and then again in Columbia if you need to. It can’t hurt.
• Men’s basketball: does not need Bruce Pearl to be the coach. Believe it or not, there are actually some who believe Pearl coming to South Carolina would be a good thing. Seriously, people. Yes, Darrin Horn is failing spectacularly, but at least he follows the rules. I don’t care whether Pearl could put us in the win column lickety split, he is a sketchy dude, and the proof of that is in the show-clause penalty the NCAA placed on him. We have enough problems, we don’t need potential cheating, too.