Spotlight On… K-State Head Coach Frank Martin

By now everyone knows the general story of K-State head basketball coach Frank Martin. A quick rehash: former high school coach in Miami, assistant under Bob Huggins and highly criticized hire when named Kansas State head coach a few years back.

He has led the Wildcats to three trips to the NCAA Tournament in his four seasons with one Elite Eight appearance in 2010. His 95 wins in his first four seasons rank as the highest amount of wins for a K-State coach in their first four years coaching at the school.

Maybe the most impressive fact for Martin is that Kansas State has been one of only two teams in the Big 12 to finish in the Top 4 of the league standings the last four seasons and receive a bye in the Big 12 tournament. The other team to do it is obviously Kansas.

Despite his success though, Martin still has a large amount of doubters. They question his coaching style of yelling at the players and getting as angry as he does. They question the large amount of transfers either coming in or out of the program. Many now question or wonder how his recruiting will suffer without top assistant Dalonte Hill still in the fold in Manhattan.

This season though could be the most revealing to K-State fans and the rest of the conference about Martin's true ability to lead a Big 12 program for the long haul.

With the exception of Jamar Samuels, every player who either played for or was recruited under the Bob Huggins/Frank Martin era is now gone from the program. The team that K-State has on the court this season will be strictly Martin's group of players.

The early predictions don't seem to favor Martin and his squad as the Wildcats are picked to finish in the bottom half of the Big 12 this season. This is coming off last season where K-State was picked first in the preseason voting.

If the Wildcats do not gel as a team this season and finish where predicted then Martin will be put under a microscope for his building of the roster.

On the flip side if K-State can once again finish in the Top 4 of the league standings and make another NCAA Tournament then the doubters will have less ammunition to fire against Martin and his overall coaching ability.

The last thing to say about Frank Martin is no matter if you are a K-State fan or not, he makes watching a Wildcats game a fun experience.