Frank Martin has spent a lot of this season reflecting.
In a season ravaged by COVID and issues on the court with the Gamecocks losers of their last five games, Martin can’t help but think and try to find solutions for what he’s admitted is the one toughest years for him coaching.
But, throughout his thought process, he hasn’t thought about any tweaking lineups. He has bigger fish to fry.
“I change lineups with I’m unhappy with an individual or when somebody deserves to be in a starting lineup because they’re impacting the game at a high, high level and someone who’s in the starting lineup maybe can do a better job coming off the bench. That’s when I start tinkering with lineups. I’m trying to figure this out right now,” Martin said.
“I’m not in a place right now where the lineup is a problem right now or who’s starting or who’s off the bench.”
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The issue for the Gamecocks comes in the disconnect on the floor, especially on the defensive end of the floor.
South Carolina, a program predicated on defensive intensity, currently sits at 11th in the SEC in adjusted defensive efficiency and has allowed over 80 points in all four of their most recent losses.
The Gamecocks have allowed 90 points in two non-overtime games for the first time under Frank Martin: 109 against Auburn and 93 against Vanderbilt.
“We have to start playing for each other and put all individual goals to the side. It’s time to lock in for the team and play for the guy next to us rather than play for yourself, which I feel like we’ve been doing,” Seventh Woods said. “We just have to make that adjustment here and now.”
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That disconnect has permeated and is causing those defensive issues, something Martin tried to fix before the Georgia game. It looked like he did—the Gamecocks turned in their second-best defensive performance in SEC play—but it fell off against Vanderbilt.
It’s no doubt been frustrating for Martin and the rest of the team, which was billed as the most talented since the Gamecocks’ Final Four year.
The talent seeps through at times, but it’s about playing better defense as an entire unit if South Carolina wants to get back on the right track.
“You see the talent of this team in the way we score when we lose,” Martin said. “Defense makes you be connected because it’s impossible to win one-on-one battles in the game of basketball… You learn to trust and believe in everyone doing their job defensively. It gives you a chance to neutralize offense. We’re not there right now. When I say we’re not a connected team, that’s what I mean.”
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The hard part for South Carolina is some of these issues could have been addressed in early December—when those usually are—but the Gamecocks went on a nearly month-long COVID pause.
Jumping back into the flow of the season with two SEC games weekly makes it hard to build that connection, but like Martin says it’s part of the journey.
Things don’t get any easier with the Gamecocks taking on No. 22 Florida and the second-best offense in terms of efficiency in the SEC and 15th-best nationally.
“Just buying in really. It’s not hard to do if someone wants to do it. Just buy in,” Woods said. “It’s February now and it’s coming to an end. Just lock in for these last couple weeks. Just buy in for one another. I don’t think trusting each other will be hard at all.”
