Menacing Man: Much More to Kansas State Basketball Than Frank Martin
Kansas State fans and some national basketball pundits are about to discern that no coach is indispensable. Life didn't begin with Frank Martin and didn't end upon him taking his stare, bulging veins and AAU ties to try to pump some life into South Carolina's moribund program. But if you're already in remorse missing his passion in the Midlands, you should be able to shake off the doldrums by returning to reality reading the following history lesson:
Kansas State had all four of its seniors selected in the 1951 NBA draft after finishing runner-up to Kentucky in the NCAA playoffs. Was Frank Martin the coach?
In 1951-52, K-State snapped Arizona's 81-game homecourt winning streak. Was Frank Martin the coach?
Kansas State was ranked #1 in the country during the 1957-58 campaign when the Wildcats defeated two teams featuring basketball icons - Kansas (Wilt Chamberlain) and Cincinnati (Oscar Robertson). Was Frank Martin the coach?
K-State was the seventh-winningest school in the 1950s, closing out the decade with a school-record 21-game winning streak en route to an undefeated league record. Was Frank Martin the coach?
Kansas State, defeating Missouri, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State at least 14 times in a row apiece, placed first or second in the Big Seven/Big Eight Conference standings nine consecutive seasons through 1963-64. K-State finished in a wire-service final Top 20 poll eight straight years and 12 times since the inception of national rankings in 1948-49. Kentucky (13) was the only school at that point to have more final Top 20 rankings than the KSU-Wildcats. Was Frank Martin the coach?
K-State captured 11 Big Eight Conference regular-season titles in an 18-year span from 1956 through 1973. Was Frank Martin the coach?
Kansas State compiled a sterling 24-9 record in games decided by fewer than six points while reaching three regional finals over a four-year span through 1974-75. Was Frank Martin the coach?
K-State upset second-ranked Oregon State in the 1981 NCAA playoffs. Was Frank Martin the coach?
In 1987-88, Kansas State ended rival Kansas' Big Eight Conference-record 55-game homecourt winning streak. Was Frank Martin the coach?
K-State had a coach depart in 1994 after only four seasons despite compiling a glittering 20-6 mark in games decided by fewer than five points. No, it wasn't Frank Martin.
K-State was ranked third in the preseason but finished out of the final national rankings in 2010-11. Yes, the coach was Frank Martin.
Seven different coaches, four of them in a 15-year span, guided Kansas State to the NCAA playoffs before Martin had the job dumped in his lap when Bob Huggins abandoned ship after only one "rehab" season to return to his alma mater (West Virginia). Manhattan wasn't leveled when the latest tornado passed through town.
No individual is bigger than the program. Essentially, all that really happened was Martin moved closer to his Southern roots (Miami) and joined the following list of 70 different active coaches who had at least three years remaining on their contracts when they departed for greener pastures:
- Steve Alford (3 years remaining on contract) - left Southwest Missouri State (after 1998-99 season)/hired by Iowa
- Steve Alford (4) - Iowa/New Mexico
- Dana Altman (2) - Marshall/Kansas State
- Tommy Amaker (3) - Seton Hall/Michigan
- Mike Anderson (4) - UAB/Missouri
- Mike Anderson (5) - Missouri/Arkansas
- Ronnie Arrow (2) - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi/South Alabama
- Tony Barbee (4) - Texas-El Paso/Auburn
- Rick Barnes (3) - George Mason/Providence
- Rick Barnes (6) - Clemson/Texas
- John Beilien (6) - Richmond/West Virginia
- John Beilien (5) - West Virginia/Michigan
- Tony Bennett (6) - Washington State/Virginia
- Ken Bone (4) - Portland State/Washington State
- Tad Boyle (2) - Northern Colorado/Colorado
- Ben Braun (3) - Eastern Michigan/California
- Mike Brey (7) - Delaware/Notre Dame
- Milan Brown (3) - Mount St. Mary's/Holy Cross
- Brad Brownell (1) - UNC Wilmington/Wright State
- Brad Brownell (4) - Wright State/Clemson
- Jeff Bzdelik (4) - Air Force/Colorado
- Jeff Bzdelik (2) - Colorado/Wake Forest
- John Calipari (10) - Massachusetts/New Jersey Nets
- John Calipari (4) - Memphis/Kentucky
- Patrick Chambers (5) - Boston University/Penn State
- Jim Christian (5) - Kent State/Texas Christian
- Ed Conroy (5) - The Citadel/Tulane
- Ed Cooley (5) - Fairfield/Providence
- Tom Crean (9) - Marquette/Indiana
- Mick Cronin (1) - Murray State/Cincinnati
- Ed DeChellis (2) - East Tennessee State/Penn State
- Ed DeChellis (3) - Penn State/Navy
- Billy Donovan (2) - Marshall/Florida
- Andy Enfield (3) - Florida Gulf Coast/Southern California
- Larry Eustachy (6) - Utah State/Iowa State
- Tim Floyd (6) - New Orleans/Iowa State
- Tim Floyd (8) - Iowa State/Chicago Bulls
- Geno Ford (4) - Kent State/Bradley
- Travis Ford (7) - Massachusetts/Oklahoma State
- Mark Fox (5) - Nevada/Georgia
- Billy Gillispie (3) - Texas-El Paso/Texas A&M
- Billy Gillispie (8) - Texas A&M/Kentucky
- Mark Gottfried (4) - Murray State/Alabama
- Anthony Grant (5) -F Virginia Commonwealth/Alabama
- Seth Greenberg (2) - South Florida/Virginia Tech
- Brian Gregory (7) - Dayton/Georgia Tech
- Frank Haith (2) - Miami FL/Missouri
- Leonard Hamilton (7) - Miami (Fla.)/Washington Wizards
- Stan Heath (4) - Kent State/Arkansas
- Paul Hewitt (3) - Siena/Georgia Tech
- Ben Howland (1) - Northern Arizona/Pittsburgh
- Ben Howland (6) - Pittsburgh/UCLA
- Bob Huggins (4) - Kansas State/West Virginia
- Ron Hunter (5) - IUPUI/Georgia State
- Mike Jarvis (2) - Boston University/George Washington
- Trent Johnson (5) - Nevada/Stanford
- Trent Johnson (1) - Stanford/Louisiana State
- Donnie Jones (4) - Marshall/Central Florida
- Billy Kennedy (4) - Murray State/Texas A&M
- Lon Kruger (4) - Kansas State/Florida
- Lon Kruger (5) - Florida/Illinois
- Lon Kruger (4) - Illinois/Atlanta Hawks
- Lon Kruger (2) - UNLV/Oklahoma
- Jim Larranaga (5) - George Mason/Miami FL
- Jeff Lebo (2) - Tennessee Tech/Chattanooga
- Jeff Lebo (8) - Chattanooga/Auburn
- Mike Longergan (1) - Vermont/George Washington
- Rick Majerus (2) - Ball State/Utah
- Gregg Marshall (8) - Winthrop/Wichita State
- Cuonzo Martin (4) - Missouri State/Tennessee
- Frank Martin (3) - Kansas State/South Carolina
- Thad Matta (9) - Xavier/Ohio State
- Fran McCaffery (7) - Siena/Iowa
- Ray McCallum (1) - Ball State/Houston
- Jim McDermott (5) - Northern Iowa/Iowa State
- Jim McDermott (5) - Iowa State/Creighton
- Tim Miles (4) - Colorado State/Nebraska
- Sean Miller (9) - Xavier/Arizona
- Jim Molinari (2) - Northern Illinois/Bradley
- Dan Monson (10) - Gonzaga/Minnesota
- Mike Montgomery (4) - Stanford/Golden State Warriors
- Stew Morrill (3) - Colorado State/Utah State
- Porter Moser (5) - UALR/Illinois State
- Kevin O'Neill (3) - Marquette/Tennessee
- Kevin O'Neill (4) - Tennessee/Northwestern
- Kevin O'Neill (2) - Northwestern/New York Knicks (assistant)
- Louis Orr (4) - Siena/Seton Hall
- Matt Painter (3) - Southern Illinois/Purdue
- Eddie Payne (3) - East Carolina/Oregon State
- Tom Pecora (4) - Hofstra/Fordham
- Buzz Peterson (9) - Appalachian State/Tulsa
- Buzz Peterson (4) - Tulsa/Tennessee
- Buzz Peterson (2) - Coastal Carolina/Charlotte Bobcats (director of player personnel)
- Buzz Peterson (4) - Appalachian State/UNC Wilmington
- Rick Pitino (5) - Providence/New York Knicks
- Rick Pitino (3) - Kentucky/Boston Celtics
- Oliver Purnell (2) - Dayton/Clemson
- Oliver Purnell (6) - Clemson/DePaul
- Mike Rice Jr. (7) - Robert Morris/Rutgers
- Lorenzo Romar (4) - Saint Louis/Washington
- Joe Scott (4) - Air Force/Princeton
- Bill Self (2) - Oral Roberts/Tulsa
- Bill Self (5) - Tulsa/Illinois
- Bill Self (5) - Illinois/Kansas
- Herb Sendek (1) - Miami (Ohio)/North Carolina State
- Herb Sendek (4) - North Carolina State/Arizona State
- Larry Shyatt (4) - Wyoming/Clemson
- Tubby Smith (3) - Tulsa/Georgia
- Tubby Smith (6) - Georgia/Kentucky
- Tubby Smith (4) - Kentucky/Minnesota
- Mark Turgeon (2) - Jacksonville State/Wichita State
- Mark Turgeon (9) - Wichita State/Texas A&M
- Mark Turgeon (4) - Texas A&M/Maryland
- Rex Walters (2) - Florida Atlantic/San Francisco
- Gary Waters (5) - Kent State/Rutgers
- Roy Williams (5) - Kansas/North Carolina
NOTE: Altman (Oregon), Amaker (Harvard), Braun (Rice), Eustachy (Southern Mississippi), Jarvis (Florida Atlantic), Majerus (Saint Louis), McCallum (Detroit), Molinari (Western Illinois), Montgomery (California), Moser (Loyola Chicago), Payne (USC Upstate), Scott (Denver), Shyatt (returned to Wyoming) and Waters (Cleveland State) subsequently changed jobs and are now coaching other DI schools.