New USC coach’s biggest challenge: Do what no one since Frank McGuire could do

The search, more than two generations in the making, resumes.

Once more, the University of South Carolina is seeking a men’s basketball coach who can bring the program out of Frank McGuire’s shadow.

McGuire demonstrated that the Gamecocks could compete at the highest levels. Seven successors, not counting Bobby Cremins’ three-day tenure, have failed to recapture the magic of those golden years.

Goodness knows, administrators have explored every avenue. Nothing worked, at least in the long term. The giddy moments of triumph — the 1997 Southeastern Conference title and the 2017 march to the Final Four in the NCAA championship — quickly waned.

They hired established coaches, one coming to Carolina on the heels of a trip to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament. Another arrived in Columbia with the ink still wet on his national coach of the year certificates. Yet another owned a nine-game winning streak over Duke and Mike Krzyzewski.

They tried a couple of mid-major success stories that flamed out in the SEC. They even took a trip down memory lane and lured one of McGuire’s most noted proteges in Cremins, who said “yes” and almost immediately “no.” They brought in a former McGuire player from the assistant ranks who compiled the best percentage of all.

The Gamecocks had McGuire’s replacement, Bill Foster, lined up before the previous season ended. They took forever — what was it, 57 days? — to decide on Steve Newton.

In looking for a successor to Frank Martin, who failed to capitalized on the Gamecocks’ stunning run to the 2017 Final Four, director of athletics Ray Tanner said he will search for a coach who can meet the school’s expectations: to compete for Southeastern Conference and national championships.

That can be done in the football-crazy SEC, whose members forever sought to overtake Kentucky. Florida won national titles not that long ago, and Auburn, Tennessee and perhaps Arkansas are flexing their basketball muscles these days.

To get into the conversation with those teams, the Gamecocks’ new coach will have to stir the memories of McGuire’s best years — 205-65 over one 10-season stretch.

They thought Foster would be “the one.” He came from Duke after building strong programs at Rutgers and Utah and restoring the Blue Devils to prominence. Yet, his six Carolina teams that at first played an independent schedule (and later in the Metro conference) managed one NIT appearance.

An aside: Hiring Foster opened the door for Duke to name a guy named Krzyzewski to head its program.

George Felton, the former McGuire player, followed and his five-year record — two 19-win seasons, a 20-win campaign, one NCAA appearance and another NIT trip — did not satisfy administrators.

The clown show to secure his replacement, Steve Newton, remains a dark moment in Carolina basketball history. The new coach lasted two seasons.

In came Cremins — for three days. Mike McGee, then heading the athletic department, brought in Eddie Fogler. The Gamecocks won the SEC and made a pair of NCAAs, but they failed to capitalize on the momentum. Dave Odom, Krzyzewski’s kryptonite at Wake Forest, followed. Darrin Horn took his shot before another high-profile hire, Martin, arrived 10 years ago.

Fogler and Odom almost always had their teams superbly prepared, no matter the talent level, but fans never really warmed up to either one. Fogler guided the 1997 SEC title team and made both the NCAAs and NIT twice. Odom’s teams made one NCAA and three NITs — two championships and one runner-up — in seven seasons.

And, through the years, a common manta emerged: He (name the coach) is not a fit for Carolina.

“Fits” come through winning, and Fogler once noted that teams usually get what they deserve in terms of wins and losses.

Like Tanner’s current statement, McGee believed that competing for the SEC title and making the NCAA tournament should be annual expectations. Fogler thought otherwise, saying those targets should be goals and not expectations, and he stepped away after eight seasons.

Martin always will have the Final Four for a treasured memory, but inconsistency became a hallmark of his program. Losses to inferior teams created daggers of doubt, and his constant roster turnover — nine new players this past season — raised questions. Those leaving USC did not fall into the one-and-done category and head into the NBA draft.

So, the Gamecocks have tried a little bit of everything, and eventually expectations became disappointments. Marvelous moments like the triumphs over Kentucky became forgotten with the next sad-sack loss. Apathy by fans had a way for becoming the sixth man.

Times change, styles are difference and competition might be more challenging, but high expectations remain constant — especially for those who have taken a drink from the cup of excellence.

“Success is counted sweetest by those who ne’er succeed,” Emily Dickinson once wrote, and Carolina fans found McGuire’s victories the sweetest pastry on the dessert bar.

All these years later, they thirst for more, and thus, the search that began four decades ago resumes.

This story was originally published March 18, 2022 at 9:28 AM with the headline "New USC coach’s biggest challenge: Do what no one since Frank McGuire could do."