Written by Matt Norlander at CBSSports.com
Too often, we attach Cinderella sports stories to teams, not people. Ironic, given the origin story of the metaphor at hand.
Francisco Jose Martin, a child of Cuban exiles, now a man at 51 years of age and having accomplished the implausible by bringing the University of South Carolina to its first Final Four, is a tale never before seen in college basketball. A coach mostly known for his scowl and howl has a story miles deeper than the outward persona that overtakes him every time he steps onto the sideline.
“We all have our paths, there is no A B to C, but Frank’s story is a pretty fascinating one,” Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. “He wasn’t a great athlete, didn’t have a ready-made path or a family member or whatever in the profession. His path was one of grinding and working.”
Martin’s seventh-seeded Gamecocks overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to win by seven points, 77-70, against No. 4 Florida on Sunday afternoon in the East Regional final at Madison Square Garden. After the comeback was complete and the clock dropped to all-zeroes, Martin turned to his ferociously loyal assistants, then opened his arms almost as wide as he dropped his jaw. The big man was mauled with love. He’d just pulled off the biggest coaching Cinderella story in history.
“I’m thinking of my high school coach that took a chance on a guy that wasn’t worth a crap as a player and for whatever reason believed in me,” Martin said afterward. “And became a father figure in my life. I’m thinking of Huggs (Bob Huggins), fighting to give me a chance. Just every guy I’ve coached over 32, 33 years. I’m the luckiest human being in the world. I just continue to have incredible people put in my life. And a lot of people have believed in me and not given up on me when they should have, to be honest with you.”
Truth is, plenty of people did pass on or give up on Martin. He has no kingmaker. Guys like Frank Martin don’t get jobs in power conferences. He is an exception to the rest of the business, a one-of-a-kind success story: former JV high school coach who took his first job at 12 years old at a Dairy Queen because his father ran out on his mother and he wanted to provide.
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