When the South Carolina men’s basketball team trained on Monday afternoon, the head coach Frank Martin was on the court with his players. It was Martin Gamecocks’ first running practice since he tested positive for COVID-19 on January 7.
Together with the technical assistant Chuck Martin, Frank Martin was arrested in Columbia for the 85-80 defeat on the Saturday night road against LSU. The Gamecocks coach, with nine years of experience, will be on the bench, taking the assistant coach’s chair back. Bruce Shingler, for Tuesday night’s road competition against Missouri. Chuck Martin has not yet been released to return to the facility. Shingler dealt with the availability of the media after Monday’s training and said it was good to see his boss back in action.
“Your voice, your leadership, your command (it was there),” said Shingler. “When you’re used to something throughout your basketball career and you’re used to being coached in a certain way, when it comes back, it brings that spirit. Your attention to detail, Frank sees everything. These guys were looking forward to having you back. “
Shingler served for the first time as a head coach since high school and as an AAU coach almost a decade ago. The conversation with Martin about the LSU result was brief before the two shifted their focus to the next competition.
“I didn’t take it to get a grade,” said Shingler. “I took it because we were in those circumstances and my job was to help put our group on the ground with a chance of winning. We definitely had a chance to win. We led for more than 33 minutes of that game. When I talked to Frank, we talked briefly about some of the adjustments we could have made and things we did right and wrong in the game. Your thought process is to move on and we need to find out how to beat Missouri.
“Frank looked like he was back in burst and full-go mode. Frank is back and it is my job to help him as much as possible. I learned that it is very difficult (being a head coach). I take my hat off to him because it’s a lot. For the two days I had the responsibility, it felt like a year. It was a good experience, but it’s time to move on and get back to Gamecock basketball. “
The Gamecocks (3-3, 1-1) were without just two stock market players in Baton Rouge due to the health and safety protocols of COVID-19; junior advanced Alanzo Frink and second year forward Jalyn McCreary. Shingler was in no position to say whether the two would be available for Tuesday’s game, the team’s second in a four-day period.
“Yesterday we came back after a long trip, we came back at two in the morning and did ambitious tests in the morning,” said Shingler. “It was like a mini NBA schedule with a quick turnaround. There was not much we could do in practice with combat and collision, but more attention to detail, taking some pictures and watching the film. Today, in practice, we accelerate to prepare for (Missouri). This is one of those trips, at LSU and then in Missouri, two of the most geographically distant trips. It’s a quick turnaround. We have a few more of these as the season continues. It’s all about moving LSU fast. We buried it, left it behind and concentrated our energy on Missouri. “