Although I have only had the privilege of meeting him on a few brief occasions, I can definitively say that University of South Carolina’s men’s basketball coach, Frank Martin, is a man worthy of respect. Two years ago, I had the opportunity to travel with the team on a road trip to their coach’s alma mater, Florida International University, and it was truly an eye-opening experience. Frank Martin has perhaps the most unique and inspiring background of any NCAA Division I basketball coach. Though he was born in Miami, Frank’s parents—both of whom immigrated to the States from Cuba after Castro came into power—spoke virtually no English.  Frank learned English as a second language only after he started school, but that was only one of many obstacles he faced as a boy. At the early age of 12, he began working at Dairy Queen and had a multitude of odd jobs over the years. He ultimately decided to pursue a full-time career as a basketball coach in 1992, after being shot at during his shift as a nightclub bouncer. He was studying physical education at FIU and coaching a JV team at the time, and he went on to accept a high school varsity coaching job after graduating in 1993.

Frank climbed the ranks and began coaching college basketball in 2000, and he’s made history from there. While head coach at Kansas State, he was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year, and he was the 2017 recipient of the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award in 2017 after leading the Gamecocks to the Final Four. Frank has taken our men’s basketball team to new heights and has been a blessing to both USC and the men he has coached. He brings so much more to the lives of his players than wins and losses, and I guarantee just about every person who’s played for Frank Martin over the years would move mountains for him. Although he’s known to be vociferous and hard on his players, his tough love builds discipline and character—and a great basketball team. So far, the Gamecocks are having a winning season; they secured a big victory against UMass this week and we’re hoping for another against Houston on Sunday!