Beach Ball Notebook: USC’s Martin makes return visit with a different purpose

University of South Carolina men’s basketball coach Frank Martin made his first appearance Wednesday at the Beach Ball Classic as a coach, which includes his current five-year stint at USC and five seasons at Kansas State.

But it’s not his first appearance at the Myrtle Beach holiday tournament.

Martin played in the Beach Ball as a student at Miami Senior High School in 1982 – the second Beach Ball – and recalls losing to a W.T. Woodson (Va.) team led by star Tommy Amaker in the finals at Socastee High School.

“It was many moons ago,” Martin said. “I was a young kid from South Florida. We couldn’t believe when we got invited to this tournament. Coming up and being a part of it was an unbelievable experience.”

Martin had two signees for the 2017 class participating in games at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on Wednesday. In addition to Socastee 7-1 center Jason Cudd, Imhotep Charter School (Pa.) 6-3 senior guard David Beatty has also signed with USC.

“It’s a home run. We get to see guys we’ve signed and I get to see this great tournament and get to reminisce, unbelievable memories being here,” Martin said.

“I remember when I came back to recruit Jason Cudd, being in the Socastee High School gym where the tournament used to be when we were here was just an unbelievable moment, and it’s great to be back here now as the coach at the University of South Carolina,” he added. “The last three years I have not been able to make it and I told [tournament director] John Rhodes I was not missing this year, so I’m happy as heck to be here.”

A national audience

The Beach Ball Classic received national television coverage for the first time in 2014, and the significant television exposure has continued into the 36th edition this week.

Twenty games are being broadcast through numerous networks and outlets.

Games are being broadcast on American Sports Network (ASN), which is available in 12 million households, through Sinclair Broadcast Group, according to Lucky Dog Television Productions owner Donald Smith, whose company has the Beach Ball broadcast rights.

Locally the games are on WWMB-3 21.3, and on HTC Channel 4. The games are also being streamed live online through HTCConnect.com and BeachBallClassic.com.

The 20 games include all winner’s bracket games, the fifth-place game, third-place game and consolation championship.

The LSU-North Carolina college women’s game and CresCom Bank Holiday Invitational championship game at the convention center last week were also broadcast on ASN and locally.

American Sports Network broadcasts events of numerous collegiate conferences including the Big South Conference, American, Atlantic 10 and Conference USA.

The on-air talent calling the games this week includes play-by-play announcers Allen Smothers, Tyler Watkins, Big South Conference and ACC announcer Mike Hogewood and Layne Harris.

Analysts are former high school and college coach Tommy Gaither, Myrtle Beach High announcer Wayne Gray, Conway High’s Ashley Smith, former Coastal Carolina basketball player Colin Stevens and high school recruiting analyst Van Coleman, who will work with Smothers on the championship game.

The broadcasts also have intros and halftime shows hosted by Banana Jack Murphy, and coach interviews at halftime and post-game conducted by Caroline Springs.

A cheerful program

There was a rare case of opposing cheerleaders Wednesday at the Beach Ball Classic during Socastee’s consolation bracket game against Christ the King (N.Y.).

It’s rare because traveling participants in the tournament seldom bring cheerleaders.

Christ the King, a New York City private Catholic school, is an exception because, as nine-year cheerleader coach Leeanne DeLuca put it, “we’re strictly about family. We might be different teams but we’re all one program.

“That’s one of the reasons I’m still at Christ the King is because we’re a family-oriented school.”

Aside from Socastee’s cheerleading team, the girls from Christ the King are again on their own at the Beach Ball Classic.

“Usually we go no matter what,” said DeLuca, who is an alumnus, and whose brother is also an alumnus and coach at the school. “Usually we’re the only ones [at tournaments], and I feel terrible because I like them to get to interact with other cheerleaders because cheerleading isn’t like a competitive sport dealing with basketball, it’s more about getting all the girls together and having fun. So I wish there were other teams for them.”

The boys basketball program will assist the cheerleaders in fundraising if money is needed for them to travel to tournaments.

Teams are off Thursday for the dunk and 3-point exhibitions, so the Christ the King cheerleaders are planning to visit Ripley’s Believe it or Not, Ripley’s Aquarium and the Skywheel, and DeLuca said the president of the school is going to take them to Chuck’s Steakhouse.

Size meets size

Now, Derrick Hilton understands how the other half lives … or coaches, at least.

Blessed with a 7-footer in South Carolina signee Jason Cudd on his roster, opposing coaches find rest hard to come by in the days and hours ahead of playing Socastee. On Wednesday, however, the Braves were forced to prepare for a player with much the same qualities.

Taking on Christ the King (N.Y.), Cudd clashed with Royals center Kofi Cockburn, who as a 6-foot-11 sophomore is on the radar of a number of schools.

This clash of the titans wound up more of a stalemate, with each of them getting their share of victories when matched up against each other. For the game, Cudd finished with 9 points and three rebounds, while Cockburn had 13 points and 13 rebounds.

However, Cockburn left the ultimate prize — a 40-36 victory.

While certainly a bit strange, Hilton said he and his team welcomed the challenge.

“It was a good size matchup, and we wanted to see if we would compete and challenge, matching up with their size,” he said. “You can go out there and have someone who is playing you 1-on-1. Our guys fought hard, but in the end gave it away.”

Character guy rewarded

Not everyone’s value to the team is measured in points, rebounds or assists.

For some, it merely comes down to effort.

Myrtle Beach role player Jack Martini will rarely see the floor this season. But he likely will not forget the applause he received Monday during his team’s Beach Ball Classic opener against Scott County (Ky.).

Upon reporting to the scorer’s table, he was met with a standing ovation by Seahawks supporters. Though playing only in the game’s final minute, he was credited with a shot attempt in Myrtle Beach’s 76-50 loss.

According to Myrtle Beach boys basketball coach Craig Martin, such is a worthy reward for one of his team’s hardest workers.

“Jack is a great kid, he’s good for his team and knows his role,” he said. “He’s knows every single play, every single set. He’s a good coach on the bench for us, communication with kids and teaching kids, and that’s what it’s all about.”

This story was originally published December 28, 2016 at 10:31 PM with the headline "Beach Ball Notebook: USC’s Martin makes return visit with a different purpose."