SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL
Before the Stetson game, Frank Martin’s message was a simple one: find your personality today.
The Gamecocks were coming off a potentially season-changing win over Virginia and Martin was pleased with the preparation heading into all three games so far that December.
He didn’t get his wish with his team turning in a bipolar performance and dropping the game to Stetson at home and leaving him and the rest of the team searching for answers heading into SEC play after.
“As optimistic and excited as I was about how we’ve done the three weeks previously before that game, after the Stetson game that’s the most disappointed I’ve ever been of a basketball team I’ve been the head coach of at the high school or college level,” Martin said. “We have all week the next five days to have conversation to make sure we figure out a way to get away from that lifeless experience we had.”
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The Gamecocks put together their back to back best performance leading up to the Stetson game, beating Clemson and Virginia on the road for their two best wins of the season to date but swung the other direction against the Hatters.
A team that had been shooting well shot less than 40 percent and went a combined 16-for-43 from the free throw and three-point line. A team that held their two previous teams to under 60 points the last two games allowed 63 to Stetson, who hit 41.2 percent of its threes.
"We can’t be Jekyll and Hyde. You can’t be both. You have to have one personality. Who are we?” Martin said. “To change behavior is not a simple formula. It’s complicated. I’ve been doing it my whole life. In today’s day and age, either way to fix it is good for the coach. One way, you get fired. The other way you’re the bad guy and get fired. I guess I have to go home and pick what avenue I want to be on.”
Justin Minaya attributed some of the offensive inefficiencies offensively to the Gamecocks being passive, and Martin said it takes time to change those kinds of behaviors in young players.
The second of two options is the “rough and gruff” method of running players to change behaviors, which Martin said makes him a “meanie” and gets him fired.
The first option is changing behavior through patience, work and education, which takes more time. It’s the first option Martin’s opted to go with through the first part of non-conference play.
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“I thought we had it figured out and obviously we didn’t,” Martin said. “I have to go home and sleep really, really hard to figure out how I need to take these next six days.”
The Gamecocks (8-5) have a little bit of time to figure it out with a little more a week between the Stetson game and the start of SEC play, which begins Jan. 7 against Florida at Colonial Life Arena.
They practice later Thursday afternoon and Martin will continue to talk with players to get things right before taking on the Gators next week.
“I’m going to stay positive," he said. "That’s what I always do. I stay positive and stay in the right place. I yell and I stomp but negativity isn’t going to get us anywhere. We’ll take the next step when we reconvene here today.”
