Frank Martin makes USC basketball fun again

Frank Martin has never shied away from expressing his pride. Whether it’s over his heritage, his journey to major college coach or his players, the man is the most passionate, I-got-your-back individual I have ever met.

It’s past time to say how proud everyone associated with South Carolina basketball is of him. Martin took over a program that was going nowhere and in five years transformed it into a Final Four team.

It wasn’t anything close to easy and Martin will tell you that. He’ll also tell you that he always believed it could happen, even with recruits and fans figuring he’d be like every other coach since Frank the First retired – maybe a decent season or two, but the odor of the program’s place in the major basketball world would eventually overcome.

All that’s done. It was done as soon as the buzzer sounded at the end of the Elite Eight win over Florida. By the numbers, Martin posted the most wins in a single season in program history and advanced USC to its first Final Four.

From the sidelines, he completed something that was darned near impossible over the past 50 years – he made South Carolina basketball fun again.

It’s been building over the past three years, as attendance swelled more than the win total. That’s all Martin – unlike some of his predecessors, he reached out to the community, spoke at every event he could and told people it was all right to believe in the Gamecocks. He knew a lot of folks around town would hear that skeptically at best – that’s the result of wishing so hard year after year and almost always being disappointed.

But he never quit doing it, getting his team out into the community as well, letting everybody know they’d be good citizens as well as good players. The same pride he brought to building USC basketball was given back to the people, and they responded with caring about his program.

Now that USC reached the sport’s final weekend, that won’t ever go away. The malaise of so many years vanished in one amazing season.

What’s next? The hardest part of success is sustaining it. The Gamecocks lose three seniors – Justin McKie, Duane Notice and the deified Sindarius Thornwell – and I’m not sure if you could ever replace three four-year players.

Yet the success of this season will open the door to more recruits, ones that Martin won’t have to explain what USC is to. Everyone watches the NCAA Tournament, and everyone saw the Gamecocks become this year’s darling.

This is only the beginning. USC is here now. Martin won’t let it go anywhere but up.

He’s too proud to let the Gamecocks slip, and the legions of supporters he’s gained will proudly let everyone know that USC basketball, and its dedicated coach, is here to stay.

This story was originally published April 2, 2017 at 11:28 PM with the headline "Frank Martin makes USC basketball fun again."