With yet another regular season game scheduled before playing as a double-digit seed in the SEC tournament next week, South Carolina men’s basketball is 6-13 overall and 4-11 at the 2020-21 conference.
It’s been a roller coaster season for Gamecocks, with deeper drops than smooth riding. Head coach Frank Martin and associate head coach Chuck Martin each tested positive for COVID-19 midseason. Best player on the attacking court Alanzo Frink he played only the first three games and was paralyzed during the season due to an undisclosed medical condition. Seven games were canceled or postponed due to three separate breaks in team activity due to health and safety protocols related to the pandemic.
South Carolina athletics director Ray Tanner was asked about his opinion on the men’s basketball season on Wednesday, while on The Halftime Show at 107.5 The Game in Columbia.
“To repeat the way Coach Martin feels at times, you are perplexed,” said Tanner. “I don’t think lack of effort is always the case. I think the guys are playing hard. I know that when things are not going well, it seems like a topic. It was a very unusual year. Many teams have had good years, but many other teams have had the kind of disruptions that we have had.
“We played four games outside the conference and then spent about a month when we didn’t play from December to January, a time when you’re trying to prepare for the conference season and trying to find out different things about your people. We lost (that time). Coach Martin personally went through a situation where he was out. It’s difficult. I don’t think you ignore that. “
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When asked how he measures success in all sports as an athletics director, Tanner focused on the postseason game, but did not believe that using a broad brush is the way to measure the success of a program year by year.
“For all of our coaches, you look at what they’ve all been through and men’s basketball has been just as difficult as any other,” said Tanner.
“I’m not trying to be defensive for them. I am just stating the facts that it has been a difficult journey. If you’re going to simplify, it’s about post-season play. You play in a conference that is extremely difficult, but at the end of the year you continue to play or not. … You have to look under the hood (when evaluating a season). It can’t just be (a spot in the NCAA Tournament) happened or didn’t happen. You have to look under the hood. “
Many speculated what the future holds for Martin, who still has a two-year contract. As he does when each season ends, regardless of the sport on campus, Tanner will meet Martin shortly thereafter to discuss the season and the future.
“It’s not like we meet the next day, but we usually meet a few days after the end of the season to sit down and talk about the expectations we all had or where we ended up,” said Tanner.
After the 101-73 loss on Tuesday night to No. 12 Arkansas, Martin has an overall record of 153-131 and 55-50 SEC in his nine years in South Carolina. He has a NCAA Tournament appearance. , a race for the Final Four in 2017 and a participation in the NIT. This season would be a streak of six consecutive seasons with no defeats. Martin is expected to earn $ 3.2 million in 2021-22 and $ 3.3 million in 2022-23.