Spin doctors needed

Since this version is the brief one that many “average” sports fans will see, how will the KSU administration and their fans explain this hiring?

[QUOTE][B]Kansas State introduces Martin as coach
[I]By Doug Tucker, AP Sports Writer[/I][/B]

MANHATTAN, Kan. - Frank Martin was introduced as the successor to Bob Huggins on Monday, a move that Kansas State hopes will bring [B][COLOR=Indigo]a quick end to an embarrassing situation.[/COLOR][/B]

Athletic director Tim Weiser referred to the past few days as “very challenging” and said the departure of Huggins had almost been a “perfect storm.”

Huggins left abruptly last week after only one season to take the head coaching job at his alma mater, West Virginia.

Martin, 41, spent the past season as Huggins’ top assistant and recruiting coordinator, helping turn around a program that had been dismal for years. The Wildcats went 23-12, reached the NIT and had their best conference finish since the start of the Big 12.

[B][COLOR=indigo]But Martin has never been a Division I head coach and his only other experience leading a program came to an embarrassing end at Miami (Fla.) Senior High, where he was fired and the school was stripped of a state championship because of recruiting violations.[/COLOR][/B]

He went on to become an assistant at Northeastern from 2000-04 before joining Huggins at Cincinnati. When Huggins was forced out by university president Nancy Zimpher in 2005, Martin stayed on as an assistant to new coach Andy Kennedy.[/QUOTE]

They may of just been trutful and said they hired him to help keep recruits, not because he can coach.

So he will pick up where Huggins left off…

[COLOR=black][COLOR=black]"As you know we here at <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” /><st1:stockticker w:st=“on”>KSU</st1:stockticker> have languished in basketball mediocrity for decades. In order to remedy that, last year we hired Bob Huggins. While Bob is a known drunk, liar and backstabber who not only would sell is his mother for a prized recruit, he’d send her COD, we felt this was our best chance to get at least a few sports commentators talking about us.[/COLOR][/COLOR]

[COLOR=black][COLOR=black]<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /><o:p></o:p>[/COLOR][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][COLOR=black]Last week, as we all saw, Bob showed us that he still is, what he’s always been, by catching the first crop duster out of this hick town and over to a better school in a better conference. While this was no shock to us, we had to act like it was strictly in an effort to keep ourselves in the news as long as possible.[/COLOR][COLOR=black]<o:p></o:p>[/COLOR][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]
[COLOR=black]Since selling out our program, and our souls, for basketball success worked so well with Bob, we’ve decided to stick to that proven strategy and hire Frank Martin as our new head coach. Now we realize that Frank’s only head coaching job was at a high school in <st1:State w:st=“on”><st1:place w:st=“on”>Florida</st1:place></st1:State> where during his tenure he racked up major recruiting violations that ultimately got him fired. However, we’ve chose to overlook this because we believe hiring Frank gives us the best chance of keeping a few of the prized recruits we sold our soul for originally in the first place.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]<o:p></o:p>[/COLOR][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][COLOR=black]<o:p></o:p>[/COLOR][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][COLOR=black]We’ve also promoted Dalonte Hill and agreed to pay him 200 times what he’s worth on the open market in order to keep Michael Beasley. It is important that we as an institution of higher learning reinforce at every opportunity that it’s not hard work and drive that make you a success, it’s who you know and who you can deliver. Hiring Hill does just that. While we understand that, after one year, when Beasley leaves for the NBA Hill will go along to help him spend his money, we think this one year will be well worth it.<o:p></o:p>[/COLOR][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][COLOR=black]<o:p></o:p>[/COLOR][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][COLOR=black]As always remember we are committed to the success of our athletic teams, no matter what the costs. Who cares if this stop gap measure trashes our program for years to come? After all, we’ve sucked every year leading up to it, so sucking afterwards really isn’t that bad. We’re used to it.<o:p></o:p>[/COLOR][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][COLOR=black]<o:p></o:p>[/COLOR][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][COLOR=black]Go Cats!"[/COLOR][/COLOR]

Well, if Kentucky and West Virginia can both hire guys with past DWIs, then I guess K-State can hire a guy who got “caught” changing a player’s address. :rolleyes:

HP, this from the Manhattan Mercury:

Like Huggins, Martin has a checkered past for recruiting violations in the prep ranks. His 1998 Miami Senior High team was stripped of its state title because several of his players had transferred in and were living with a school employee and a member of the coaching staff.

Martin, who had a three-year record of 102-10 at the school, later was cleared of wrongdoing, but the Florida High School Activities Association did not give back the school’s title.

Of that history, Martin said, “If I felt like I had to run away from that problem, I wouldn’t have stayed in this profession. I’ve got nothing to hide.”

Martin added that three months after his dismissal, rival Miami school Booker T. Washington hired him.

Link to entire article: TheMercury.com - New boss in town

Frank Martin was introduced as the successor to Bob Huggins on Monday, a move that Kansas State hopes will bring a quick end to an embarrassing situation.

I have a sneaky feeling I’m not the only one thinking they’ll have some more embarrasing moments in the not too distant future.

On Sporting News Radio this afternoon, they quoted the Florida HS Athletic Association director as saying Martin had committed the most flagrant violations of recruiting he’d ever seen for high school.

He may have been cleared but there certainly must have been some truth to it.

HP, quite a bizarre story. I’m trying to figure out how Martin was allowed to take a head coaching job at another Miami high school after losing the one for alledged recruiting violations.

Anyway, from the Kansas City Star and the Wichita Eagle

KansasCity.com: Martin OK, but kids in control

Kansas.com: K-State’s Martin vows to succeed

We can watched archived videos of the press conferences over the past week [URL=http://www.kstatesports.com/mediaPlayer/video.dbml?ATCLID=&DB_MENU_ID=&SPSID=&SPID=&DB_OEM_ID=400&CLIP_ID=62481&CLIP_FILE_ID=67297&CONTENT_TYPE=ONDEMAND][B][U]here[/U][/B][/URL]. :popcorn:

SOME (but not all) of the posters on the KSU boards are stating:

  1. Martin and Hill are the MOST QUALIFIED to do the job.
  2. Those 2 have actually been doing the coaching instead of Huggins.
  3. Martin was really INNOCENT of any wrongdoing in Florida.

Some of them are jubilantly bragging that they’ll get 45 wins in the next 3 years like it’s a great accomplishment. Ummmmm… I believe that comes to 15 wins a year.

:rolleyes:

[QUOTE=Over40NINER;230845]SOME (but not all) of the posters on the KSU boards are stating:

  1. Martin and Hill are the MOST QUALIFIED to do the job.
  2. Those 2 have actually been doing the coaching instead of Huggins.
  3. Martin was really INNOCENT of any wrongdoing in Florida.

Some of them are jubilantly bragging that they’ll get 45 wins in the next 3 years like it’s a great accomplishment. Ummmmm… I believe that comes to 15 wins a year.

:rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

They know they are the laughing stock of the college basketball world. They were played and now have the inmates running the asylum. It’s got to be embarrasing. Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt.

[QUOTE=Over40NINER;230845]Some of them are jubilantly bragging that they’ll get 45 wins in the next 3 years like it’s a great accomplishment. Ummmmm… I believe that comes to 15 wins a year.[/QUOTE]
Remember who we are talking about… They don’t know that standards have risen since their last trip to the touney in 1996. :smirk:

This from the Topeka ABC-affiliate points out that it just wasn’t the boys basketball program at Miami H.S. that got in trouble…

According to reports from the Miami Herald, Martin was fired from his position as head coach of the Miami High boy's basketball team on August 18th, 1998. Reasons for the dismissal include recruiting and address changing violations within the Miami High athletic department. [b]The school was forced to pay a number of fines and forfeit more than 80 wins in boys basketball, baseball, and soccer.[/b] However, it must be noted that Martin was never accused of any specific wrongdoing by the Florida High School Activities Association.
49ABCNews.com: [b][url=http://www.49abcnews.com/news/2007/apr/07/shaky_past_new_ksu_coach_frank_martin/]Shaky past for new KSU coach Frank Martin?[/url][/b]

Boy…Dalonte Hill sure isnt wasting any time setting the expectations for next year through the roof!!!

"We're geared up for a national championship run," Hill said. "If we can add a big-time shooter, someone like (Florida's Lee) Humphrey, someone who can change the game.... If we find someone like that, we'll be tough."

http://www.kansas.com/248/story/41511.html

Doesnt coach speak usually go the other way? Something like…

“we’re real young and unproven.” “we have a long way to go.” “We hope to get better as the year moves along.”

Dalonte said eff all of that…I’m gonna go ahead and predict a NC run next year!!! And also…if we can get someone like Humphrey…or maybe Durant… or Jordan even…we will be REAL good!

Boy…ksu is in for a world of hurt!