Meet the Gamecocks' New Basketball Coach Frank Martin

Frank Martin speaks with the media members following the press conference

By Cameron Widerman

The Gamecocks new head basketball coach Frank Martin has been called "intense," "passionate," and "crazy."

His on-court antics earned him national fame.  But most people don't know the story of Frank Martin

"As you great folks get to know me and my family," Martin says, "what you see in six seconds on ESPN is nothing like I really am."

"Frank is not that person.  Not with me, not with anyone who gets to know him," Martin's wife Anya says, "He's the sweetest, kindest, individual you will pretty much almost ever meet in your lifetime.  He'll bend over backwards for you."

Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star covered Martin for three years at Kansas State. He agrees that off-the-court, Martin is not a crazy person.  He does say that on the court he is absolutely the crazy man portrayed on TV.

"The idea that you know…that the stuff on the sideline isn't who he really is just nonsense," Mellinger says, "I mean that's absolutely part of who he is, how he coaches during games during practices.  It's not the whole story but it's definitely part of it."

Martin's story starts when he was nine years old.  His father left the family and never provided financial support.

Bill Reiter of Fox Sports says Martin started working at a Miami Dairy Queen when he was only 12.  The restaurant was a target for robbers, but Reiter says Martin never gave up any money.

Thayer Evans of the New York Times says Martin can't remember all the different jobs he had growing up.  He almost became a bodyguard for a foreign king.  As a bouncer at a Miami nightclub, he kicked out a group of men that came back and shot at the club.

Through tough times, basketball was always there. But Martin incredibly never saw the court in high school.  Never played a single minute. 

Martin came back to help with the junior varsity team a few years later.  He worked his way up the coaching later.

The big, tough kid from Little Havana in Miami became an SEC head basketball coach with an $11.9 million dollar contract.

"Not having his father for the longest when we first met did eat away at him throughout the years," Anya Martin says, "but he's come to terms with it and family means a lot to him."

Family means so much that as his kids grow, he's looking to set a better example for them.

"I came home (after a game) and my four-year old said, ‘Daddy you said a bad word.'" Martin says, "I told myself, ‘Frank, there's other kids back there too. That has to stop.'"

Coach Martin may tone it down on the sidelines, but says his team will still play with the fire and passion he's shown over the years.