frank martin

Cougars open CBI by beating Pittsburgh

PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State’s D.J. Shelton blocked a last-second shot by Tray Woodall and the Cougars hung on to beat Pittsburgh 67-66 Monday night in Game 1 of the best-of-three CBI Finals.

Abe Lodwick led Washington State (19-16) with 16 points.

Woodall, who led Pitt (20-17) with 16 points, took an inbounds pass with 3.5 seconds left and ran the length of the floor before attempting an out-of-control layup attempt that Shelton swatted out of bounds. Pitt inbounded again and Lamar Patterson’s long jumper missed as time expired.

Washington State played without leading scorer Brock Motum, who hurt his right ankle in the semifinal victory over Oregon State last week.

The second game of the series is Wednesday at Pittsburgh. if needed, the third game is Friday in Pittsburgh.

Martin now a Gamecock

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Frank Martin has agreed to become South Carolina’s next men’s basketball coach, said people familiar with the decision.

The university’s board of trustees is scheduled to meet this morning to discuss a contract matter.

Martin will replace Darrin Horn, who was fired two weeks ago after going 60-63 over four seasons. The Gamecocks finished last in the Southeastern Conference last year.

Martin is leaving Kansas State, which he led to the NCAA Tournament four of the last five seasons. The Wildcats reached the regional finals in 2010. his overall record as a head coach is 117-54 and he is 6-4 in the NCAA tourney.

Duke’s Rivers going pro

DURHAM, N.C. — Austin Rivers is leaving Duke after one season for the NBA draft.

The freshman guard announced his decision and plans to hire an agent on Monday after team officials said he spent the weekend discussing his future plans with his family at their home outside Orlando, Fla.

“Duke has prepared me for the challenges that are ahead both on and off the court,” Rivers said in a statement issued by the school. “I have learned so much from the coaching staff and my teammates that will help me succeed at the next level.”

The son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers averaged a team-leading 15.5 points and was a unanimous selection as the Atlantic Coast Conference’s rookie of the year.

Pac-12 preps for the NIT

NEW YORK — After flying all the way across the country for the second time this season, Washington wants to make this trip to Madison Square Garden much more successful than the first one.

The only no. 1 seed left in the 75th edition of the NIT, Washington faces coach Tubby Smith and his rejuvenated Minnesota team Tuesday night in the second game of a semifinal doubleheader. Stanford plays Massachusetts, driven by Brooklyn-bred point guard Chaz Williams, in the Final four opener.

Washington (24-10) spent a week in new York during December, taking in two Broadway musicals and taking it on the chin against Marquette and Duke.

“It’s a lot more of a business trip. We’re out here playing for a championship. We’re out here on a mission, so it is less fun and more work,” said sophomore guard Terrence Ross, averaging 26.3 points in the NIT.

How To Publish on Amazon

Amazon’s Kindle ebook reading device has taken the world by storm. there are millions of these devices in use and sales of electronic Kindle books are now outselling traditional paperbacks. All of this means that more and more people are thinking about publishing their new masterpieces on Amazon.

Obviously you need to have your potential best seller written before you can get it published. The good news on this front is that a lot of Kindle books aren’t anywhere near as long as their printed counterparts. A lot of novels are close to what would have been called short stories or novelettes in days gone by. they are designed to be read in one sitting, often during a commute to or from work or in a lunch break. A short spell of fantasy to break up the day.

The same relatively short format goes for a lot of how to style books. People don’t have the time for long winded introductions and general waffle. They’d prefer to pay a lower price (often $2.99 or less) just to get the meat of the idea.

So don’t let writing your new ebook hold you back. If you’re a fast writer, there’s a good chance you could tap out your next book in a weekend.

Once your manuscript is written, you need to proof read it for obvious errors and typos.

Then you will need to format it for the Kindle. One of the things that catches people out on this is that Kindles don’t understand the concept of page numbers. because there are a variety of screen sizes and users can control the font sizes as well as the way the device is held (portrait or landscape) you shouldn’t include page numbers in your book as they are meaningless.

Things like tabs and bullet points don’t translate well to the Kindle format either so you need to keep your formatting plain and simple. If you’re not sure, there’s plenty of advice on the web or people on sites like Fiverr who will convert the book for you.

Your new ebook will also need a cover. even though this will only ever be seen digitally, we still buy with our eyes and your book’s cover (along with the title) are your main sales tool.

If you haven’t already got a Kindle publisher account, just follow the signup procedure at Amazon. It’s much like any other web signup form and there are prompts along the way.

Then you need to upload your book in the Amazon system. It’s here that you’ll set your title, upload your cover and the main book itself.

You’ll also need to write your own description for your new book. You’re allowed up to 4,000 characters (which is quite a lot of words) and you should use these to your benefit. Talk about what the book is about and make your copy compelling. Look at other people’s descriptions if you need inspiration but don’t just copy them verbatim.

Finally you need to set your pricing. most Kindle books seem to be priced fairly cheaply but to get the highest royalty rate from Amazon it’s best to keep them between $2.99 and $9.99. Prices for other Amazon sites can be set automatically by ticking a box so you don’t need to worry about exchange rates.

After that, it’s a matter of waiting for up to a day before your new Kindle book gets published. Congratulations

Frank Martin and South Carolina

Quite a buzz was created Friday night as various news outlets – some credible, most not – stirred with news that Frank Martin was either: A) going to coach at South Carolina; B) Interested in talking to South Carolina; C) Unaware of anything happening at South Carolina; or D) Captured by aliens and whisked away to another planet.

We really don’t know what’s happening with Martin, Kansas State’s basketball coach, other that there’s a strong likelihood he’s not on another planet.

Unless, of course, you consider South Carolina to be one. and in coaching circles, that might be the case.

Late Friday, “The Sporting News,” a credible source, reported that South Carolina had sought permission to talk to Martin, who earlier sent a mass text to the media that he had not talked to anyone.

So the best guess, after all the dust has settled, is that Martin will visit with the Gamecocks soon, perhaps as soon as Monday. but that could change in an instant and it will be interesting to watch Martin provide studio commentary on CBS’ coverage of the NCAA Tournament this weekend.

On the surface, it makes no sense for Martin to leave Kansas State, where he could have a team in the hunt for a big 12 championship next season, for South Carolina, which hasn’t won a conference championship since 1997 and hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 1973, the year I supposedly graduated from high school though I have no documented proof.

Martin makes good money – about $1.5 million – and could be in line for a raise if he is still around when his contract talks with K-State athletic director John Currie are scheduled to take place on April 1. He has helped make basketball relevant again in Manhattan, which had only football and women’s basketball to cheer on for many seasons while the men’s basketball program languished under Tom Asbury and Jim Wooldridge.

Plus, K-Staters like Martin, although I’m guessing they’re growing weary of his flirtations with other schools. Last year, both UNLV and Miami (Fla.) were thought to be in the Martin hunt, but neither made an offer.

South Carolina fired Darrin Horn last week after four seasons, during which he was 60-63. South Carolina was just 10-21 this season and home attendance dropped to an average of 8,868 in an 18,000-seat arena.

I was surprised to learn that despite years of struggles and apathy, South Carolina has had only six coaches since Frank McGuire stepped down after the 1979-80 season after 16 seasons and a 283-142 record. McGuire guided the Gamecocks to three consecutive Sweet 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament from 1971-73, but South Carolina has had only scarce success since under bill Foster (1981-86), George Felton (1997-91), Steve Newton (1992-93), Eddie Fogler (1994-2001), Dave Odom (2002-08) and Horn, who won just 23 of 68 SEC games.

There is belief that a cool relationship between Martin and Currie could lead to the coach finding other employment. That relationship soured even more, sources have said, because of Currie’s decision last week to hold senior forward Jamar Samuels out of an NCAA Tournament third-round game against Syracuse because of a $200 payment made to Samuels by his former AAU coach.

Not many other details of that situation have come out. Given that, I understand Currie’s decision but can also empathize with Martin, who was heartbroken that an important player was denied an opportunity to play in his final college game because of $200.

Martin has not responded to interview requests to talk about the decision to hold Samuels out of the Syracuse game while Currie issued a statement on Kansas State’s athletic website explaining some of the reasons for his decision.

Do I think South Carolina is a serious player for Martin?

Strangely, I do. I would have never thought Martin would be in play for the Gamecocks, given their lack of success over decades. and don’t tell me back-to-back NIT championships in 2005-06 amounted to much.

But South Carolina is desperate now. Athletic director Eric Hyman will probably have upwards of $2 million to spend. The Gamecocks’ basketball fan base, which has remained surprisingly strong considering the plight of the team, wants a winner.

Martin is a winner. and he’s a winner who seems unhappy in his current job. this will be an interesting few days.

Kansas State coach Frank Martin headed to South Carolina

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Kansas State basketball coach Frank Martin will be introduced as the new coach at South Carolina on Tuesday, according to a source close to Martin.

South Carolina administrators have scheduled a trustees meeting to discuss “a contractual matter” Tuesday morning in the Gamecocks’ basketball arena. as long as the trustees approve his contract, which a South Carolina source said will pay Martin a base salary of close to $2 million per year, Martin is expected to make his public debut with the school at a 9:30 a.m. news conference.

K-State athletic director John Currie has scheduled a 10 a.m. news conference in Manhattan to discuss K-State’s basketball program. Wildcats players had a meeting at Bramlage Coliseum on Monday night but didn’t comment after leaving the arena.

Martin’s departure from Manhattan comes after he spent the weekend in New York serving as a CBS analyst for the NCAA Tournament. Speculation heated up Friday that South Carolina was making a push for Martin, but Martin sent a text to The Star and other news outlets saying he had not spoken with anyone about other openings.

But on Monday, Martin’s agent, Richard Katz, said “we have had conversations” with South Carolina. He would not say a deal was done. Martin also denied a deal was done to ESPN.com and did not return messages left on his cellphone seeking comment. but the source close to Martin insisted he had agreed in principle to take over at South Carolina. The final step will be signing an approved contract by the school.

Martin just finished his fifth season at K-State, where he has led the Wildcats to three straight NCAA Tournaments and four overall. He has been linked to other coaching searches in the past, including DePaul, Oregon, UNLV and Miami, but signed a new contract with K-State in 2010. The deal runs through 2015 and pays him an average of $1.55 million per year after signing bonuses, but before performance-based bonuses.

He decided to pass on that negotiation window, though, and leave for a job that could be viewed as a lateral move but definitely not a step up. South Carolina won 10 games last season and finished last in the SEC. The Gamecocks fired Darrin Horn at the conclusion of the season.

K-State returns all but one scholarship player next season and appears poised for another strong year. but the move sends Martin closer to his hometown of Miami and puts him in the SEC with life-long coaching friends Andy Kennedy of Mississippi and Anthony Grant of Alabama.

Another plus for Martin is that he will have a new boss in South Carolina athletic director Eric Hyman. Martin’s decision to leave was due, at least in part, to a deteriorating relationship with Currie.

The two have never shared a deep connection, and Martin wasn’t a fan of his micro-managing style.

“Frank isn’t one to complain about someone behind his back,” the source said, “but I can tell you he doesn’t get along with that gentleman.”

That sour relationship between Currie and Martin reached a breaking point during the NCAA Tournament, when Martin didn’t agree with the way Currie handled the decision to hold senior Jamar Samuels out of a game in the round of 32 against Syracuse, which K-State lost.

Samuels, sources said, was wired $200 by his former AAU coach. Currie has said he found out about the possible NCAA violation between the Wildcats’ first and second tournament games and made the decision to suspend Samuels.

Martin said he didn’t think Samuels did anything wrong and also said he played no part in the decision-making process to suspend him.

The situation upset Martin. He was so upset, the source close to Martin said, that he was ready to listen to South Carolina’s offer.