Frank Martin Hired As New South Carolina Coach

Frank Martin, K-State AD John Currie Deny Rift

Frank Martin, introduced Tuesday as South Carolina's new head coach, denies speculation that an alleged rift with Kansas State athletic director John Currie hastened his departure from the program. From the Associated Press:

"John has been great," Martin said during a conference call shortly after being introduced as the new coach at South Carolina. "It's unfortunate that I make a difficult decision and everyone's got to figure out a way to blame someone for the decision. That's not fair to anybody."

Currie also disputed the notion, telling reporters he tried several times to restructure Martin's contract during the season and made a last-ditch offer to Martin on Monday when the coach informed Currie of his decision to leave for South Carolina.

Speculation of tension between the coach and athletic director escalated when Currie made the decision to suspend senior Jamar Samuels during the NCAA Tournament after discovering the player had received $200 from his former AAU coach -- and longtime family friend -- so that his mother could buy food. Martin stood by his player, but Currie was forced into making a quick decision. Even so, Martin denies leaving because of that incident.

"I don't make decisions based on one experience," he said. "Jamar might have played and we might have won and I still might have made this decision. The decisions I make and everything I do does not have a single thing to do with the decision that anybody else makes.

"In life you go through things and sometimes for no reason whatsoever, a new opportunity, a new challenge gets put in front of you, you make a choice," he said. "That doesn't mean one choice is better than the other, one place is better than the other."

In six years as head coach at Kansas State, Martin led the Wildcats to a 117-54 record, going 6-4 in the NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks, meanwhile, have posted three losing seasons in a row, going 39-53 in that span and 10-21 in 2011-12.

Frank Martin's South Carolina Contract Makes Him SEC's 4th Highest-Paid Coach

South Carolina managed to lure Frank Martin away from Kansas State with the promise of big money, and now they're delivering on that promise.

Frank Martin To Be Named South Carolina Basketball Coach, According To Reports

Frank Martin is expected to leave Kanas State to become the next head basketball coach at South Carolina.

Frank Martin A Candidate For South Carolina Job, According To Report

Contrary to the rampant speculation on Friday, Frank Martin has not taken the South Carolina head coaching job. In fact, Martin was adamant he hasn't even talked to anyone yet.

From Kellis Robinett:

Text from Frank Martin: "I have not talked 2 anyone."

— Kellis Robinett (@KellisRobinett) March 23, 2012

And while it may be true that Martin has yet to talk to South Carolina or any other school in the market for a new head coach, that doesn't mean he won't in the future. The Gamecocks appear to be targeting Martin, and have reportedly reached out to Kansas State for permission to contact him.

South Carolina reaches out to K-State, asks permission to speak with Frank Martin about USC vacancy. Details coming on Sportingnews.com.

— Michael DeCourcy (@tsnmike) March 23, 2012

Martin is, and has been, a hot commodity in the coaching world, so none of this should be a surprise. Now, if he does take the South Carolina job -- if things even progress that far -- it would be a bit of an eye-opener.

South Carolina Basketball Looking At Tommy Amaker To Fill Coaching Vacancy

South Carolina is looking at Harvard’s Tommy Amaker to be its next head basketball coach, according to CBS Sports’ Seth Davis.

I’m hearing that South Carolina has potential interest in hiring Harvard coach Tommy Amaker to fill it’s coaching vacancy.

— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 19, 2012

Amaker, who previously served as the head coach at Seton Hall and Michigan, is coming off of a season where he guided Harvard to its first Ivy League title and first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1946. The Crimson fell to Vanderbilt in the second round on Thursday. Amaker has a career record of 268-193.

Tuesday, South Carolina fired Darrin Horn after four seasons with the program. The Gamecocks finished the 2011-12 season with an overall record of 10-21 after dropping 11 of their last 12 games.

For more on this story, be sure to check out Garnet and Black Attack, SB Nation’s South Carolina blog.

Darrin Horn Fired At South Carolina

After a disappointing four-year run in Columbia, South Carolina has fired head basketball coach Darrin Horn.