Palmetto Proving Grounds

We have two clear choices that we either feel are 1A or 1B. Frank Martin or Gregg Marshall.

Martin is the hot commodity right now. Has never won less than 20 games in 5 seasons as a head coach in the Big-12. Known as a disciplinarian and comes with high expectations for his teams to execute. He is close to his players and gets emotional when he talks about them. He may be looking to leave and come east closer to family. Love it or hate it, his pedigree is Bob Huggins a legendary coach who has won everywhere he has been.

Could he be looking around because his top assistant (the highest paid assistant coach in college basketball, Delonte Hill, is leaving for Maryland)? And he can soften a blow by moving to a rebuilding project where he can say “it was a lot tougher than I thought” or can he build us up?

In 14 season Gregg Marshall has only had 3 seasons with 17 wins or less and only 5 season with less than 20 wins. He has polarized the fan base because there is a large contingent that won’t stop talking about him and another that has heard enough to not want to hear anymore. He has only coached at the mid-major level but knows how to build programs, which is needed at our University. His pedigree is under the legendary John Kresse at Col of Charleston. The con is that he hasn’t done it in a major conference and quite frankly that he has built a “legendary white buffalo” status among a faction of the Gamecock fan base.

My vote for 1A is Marshall. So what if all his success came at the BCS level. He has done it by himself without heavy hitting assistants. It may not be at the BCS level but he goes to the tournament or post season more times than not and at a mid major, that may be tougher. Also he wants to be HERE at the University of South Carolina. He could tell you where to eat in Columbia, where to go on campus, where to go eat in Charleston, Rock Hill and Greenville without needing a map. I almost think he would be a Frank McGuire like hire. We all have been wanting a coach that was one of our own. A Gamecock fan. Any one of us would love to play or coach for our school. Here is one of our own, who has won and I think earned the right to give it a try over the Horn’s, Fogler’s and Odom’s etc.