From the vantage point of, well, just about everyone, the move of Kansas State men’s basketball head coach Frank Martin to the University of South Carolina makes no sense. It almost seems as if there’s something not being said or admitted at this point on one side or the other, especially given that Martin was allowed to walk without any real pursuit or counter-offer from K-State. In a short amount of time, Martin had a rumor swirling from the worst team in the SEC and suddenly he was gone.
Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports is among the incredulous wondering why the Wildcats’ Athletic Director John Currie would let the situation get to this point and why he didn’t do anything to convince Martin to stay. After all, Martin’s exemplary record of five consecutive seasons over 20 wins is hard to find in Manhattan.
Goodman writes, “I’d like to see Currie find someone who can duplicate that success. Winning isn’t easy in Manhattan, Kan. Just ask Jim Wooldridge, who was 83-90 in his six seasons at the helm from 2000-2006. He finished between seventh and 10th in the league each season. Dana Altman is a heck of a coach. He was 68-54 in his four years at K-State and went to the NCAA tournament once. Tom Asbury? He was 85-88. Lon Kruger was the last coach to have any legitimate success, and that was back in the late 1980s.”
Some candidates could begin to emerge soon enough for K-State, but for now everyone is still scratching their heads. Perhaps some more details will come forth detailing some previously unknown issue. For now, the only winner is South Carolina while everyone else scratches their head in confusion.