Gamecocks coach Frank Martin ‘wouldn’t be against’ SEC skipping conference tournament
South Carolina men’s basketball coach Frank Martin “wouldn’t be against” skipping conference tournaments this spring due to COVID-19 concerns.
Martin’s comments came were made in an article published Thursday by CBS national sportswriter Matt Norlander, who wrote that one of every four coaches among 41 surveyed don’t think conference tournaments should be held.
“I’ve never understood conference tournaments,” Martin told Norlander. “After beating the living you-know-what out of each other for two and a half months? I get why it’s done. Money. I wouldn’t be against taking a deep breath this year and saying, ‘You know what, let’s utilize that time to try and make up games for the ones we missed and let’s just crown a regular-season champion.”
Few teams have been hit as hard by COVID-19 as the Gamecocks have this season. Martin just rejoined the team after his own second bout with the virus. USC has paused three separate times this season and postponed or canceled seven games, as well as one exhibition. The Gamecocks (3-4, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) have only played seven games and just two games in Columbia.
The SEC tournament is currently scheduled for March 10-14 in Nashville. The NCAA tournament is scheduled to take place entirely in the state of Indiana this season, from March 18 to April 5.
“I think the biggest mistake we’ve made is we’re trying to have a normal basketball season in an abnormal year,” Martin told Norlander. “We should have never just had regular home-and-homes and travel to play single games. We should have never done any of that stuff.
“I’m sure television and TV contracts and whatever other stuff had a lot to do with that, but I think we across the board — and I’m including myself because I could have been a lot more outspoken about this. I sit on the board of the NABC, I’m involved in all kinds of meetings and I was too passive because of so much being unknown. It’s easy to reflect, but now that we’re in it, it’s my opinion that trying to play a normal season just doesn’t make sense.”
This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 1:58 PM with the headline "Gamecocks coach Frank Martin ‘wouldn’t be against’ SEC skipping conference tournament."
