Frank Martin wore his 2017 Final Four shirt during a game for first time. Here’s why
It was billed as a Legends Weekend.
As part of Saturday’s 77-75 South Carolina men’s basketball win over visiting LSU, the Gamecocks brought back members of the 1971 ACC champion Gamecocks and the 1997 SEC champion Gamecocks and honored them at halftime.
But head coach Frank Martin wanted to make sure some more recent Gamecocks legends were honored, too.
Knowing that the Colonial Life Arena stands would be packed and that Gamecocks past and present would be in attendance, Martin broke out a garnet-colored 2017 Final Four pullover and wore it as he coached the game.
“I didn’t wear that by mistake today,” Martin said. “And I didn’t wear it for an individual. I wore it because I knew we were gonna have a good crowd here. I knew we had a lot of former players here. I wore it on purpose. A lot of people want to talk about last year, last year, last year, so I wore it on purpose to remind everybody we’ve been pretty good.
“I’ve never worn this for a game. I keep this one in my closet, as a personal thing for me.”
The 2017 Final Four run has been the pinnacle of Martin’s 10-year tenure at USC, as well as the pinnacle for the South Carolina program as a whole. But after last year’s 6-15 pandemic-ravaged season, rumblings emerged about a possible head coaching change — Martin eventually signed a two-year extension.
Saturday’s game was important for USC on multiple levels. At 16-10 (7-7 SEC) on the season, the Gamecocks are fighting to work into the postseason picture. The win over LSU — the No. 16 team in NET rankings — gave USC a seismic Quadrant I win. But the game was also important for the future of the program with Ridge View High School’s G.G. Jackson, the No. 1 2023 basketball recruit, taking an official visit.
Jackson was treated to a thriller of a game and a lesson in South Carolina basketball history — and Martin made sure the team’s 2017 Final Four run was included in that. Two members of that year’s team, P.J. Dozier and Chris Silva, were in attendance Saturday. And Martin pointed to them as examples of the strength of his program.
“That’s what happens when people who are playing your program that are good players actually enjoy the experience and are thankful for the university and thankful for the program,” Martin said. “And that’s what we’ve had here.”
This story was originally published February 19, 2022 at 8:21 PM with the headline "Frank Martin wore his 2017 Final Four shirt during a game for first time. Here’s why."
