Frank Martin talks about South Carolina, Jamar Samuels on CBS
Kansas State basketball coach Frank Martin touched on two very interesting topics less than a minute into his time as a studio analyst for CBS today. Here is a full transcript of what Martin had to say on his potential interest in South Carolina and his thoughts on Jamar Samuels missing his final game because of a reported $200 wire transfer from his former AAU coach.
Everyone is talking about you heading to South Carolina. Would you like to put that to rest right now?
In the age of social media that we live in right now, it’s crazy. I was scheduled to be at a press conference today in South Carolina and I was sitting watching a show in New York City last night. And obviously I’m sitting here with you guys today, so it’s … The stuff that gets out these days, I look at it as a compliment that we’re doing our job the right way at Kansas State that these sort of things get out.
Where are you going after the show today?
That’s my wife’s decision.
Sticking with the controversial theme here, let’s talk about Jamar Samuels and the suspension he served against Syracuse.
What’s happened is, you guys know having played college basketball, that rule book started about this big and it’s about this big right now. There are so many things our there. There are a lot of rules that don’t understand the culture of these kids and where they come from. Jamar walked into an unfortunate situation, because like I’ve told everybody, he didn’t ask an agent for money. He didn’t ask a booster for money. He didn’t take advantage of being a student-athlete, because he asked someone he met after he got into an NCAA institution for money. He asked a person who has been a father figure in his life since he was about 12 years of age. What is he supposed to do? I understand there are rules and you’ve got to protect institutions and you’ve got to keep amateur athletes amateur, I get all that and I’m all for doing things the right way. That’s why after the game I said he didn’t do anything wrong. When they put me in my grave that’s still going to be my opinion.
Not knowing all the ramifications I thought it was too severe a penalty … but suspending him was a school decision was it not?
It has to start with your school, once it gets on our school’s plate our administrators have to take action. You can’t act as if you don’t know. That becomes a problem. Our school did what it had to do. If I can add something here, I coached 16 years in the same inner city in Miami that I grew up in. Do you know how much money I sent to kids that played for me in high school when they were in college because I knew where they came from? I knew they didn’t have a father figure? I’m not going to tell you who they were, but I sent them a lot of money over the years to make sure they could take their girlfriend out to the movies, make sure they could wash their clothes and do all the things that scholarship money don’t cover. They don’t have an option. It’s not like they can work while they’re in college. They can’t find ways to make money. When there is no money at home, who is going to help these guys?
