Final Four Spotlight: The recruit that jump-started Frank Martin's career

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South Carolina coach Frank Martin personifies the American dream, having worked for everything he has achieved. Martin has run the length of the coaching totem pole, from high school manager to leading a team to the Final Four. Perhaps the most critical point in Martin's career was his beginnings at a mid-major program in New England and the recruit that jump-started his path to stardom.

J.J. Barea, an 11-year NBA veteran, was Martin's first critical recruit. Martin lured him from Miami to Northeastern when Martin was a second-year assistant, holding off some bigger programs who tried to grab Barea at the last minute. Barea went on to be one of the best players in school history and has earned over $24 million and one championship ring in the NBA.

After his first year as an assistant at Northeastern, Martin had to pitch himself to new Northeastern coach Ron Everhart, who was taking over for Rudy Keeling. Everhart decided to keep Martin on staff after a brief meeting with him.

“None of my guys were going to come with me from Louisiana," Everhart said. "The (Northeastern) athletic director at the time was Ian McCaw, who I worked with at Tulane. Ian said right away that Frank is a guy that you’re going to want to talk to. He is pretty good.”

“I go to the Final Four and I meet with Frank. We talked in my room for five minutes and I knew I was going to hire him. He was great. He was about keeping guys accountable and making kids better. With his background, being from Miami High and being a math teacher, I just really identified with him. The irony is, we get done meeting and we’re coming down the elevator and Bob Huggins says that you need to hire that guy. Three years later, Huggins is calling me about hiring him at Cincinnati.”

Following a 10-win season, Everhart's top priority was adding talent to his Northeastern roster. It was at that point that a phone call from Art Alvarez, the coach at Miami Christian High School, about an undersized and underrecruited prospect named J.J. Barea changed everything for Martin.

“Rick Pitino calls Ronny and tells him that there is this kid in Miami that they think he might be a little short or not as quick for them. They love the kid but you should probably get involved. Ronny, by then, was sold,” Alvarez said. “Ronny finds out that Frank and I are really good friends and tells Frank to go to Miami and get J.J.”

“All the big people came in late and Frank had done such a good job, he got me involved with the parents and his dad came to the conclusion that these bigger schools, he wasn’t going to have the same opportunity that he would have at Northeastern.”

Unfortunately, Barea's visit to Northeastern didn’t go off as planned.

“The visit was awful," Barea said. "It was raining, it was cold and there was nobody on campus. But I was with Frank and coach Everhart. The two reasons I went to Northeastern was that my dad liked the school; it was an academic school. But I also had a great feeling about Frank. From the first time that I met him until the last day he worked with me, I trusted him; he kept me grounded. I just felt really comfortable with Frank. I knew everything that he told me was going to happen so I decided to go there.”

Barea, who is playing in his 11th NBA season, became the catalyst for change at Northeastern, leading the Huskies back to the postseason and earning CAA Player of the Year honors as a senior. Even back then in Boston, Barea foresaw great things in Martin's future.

“I always saw him, even when he was my assistant coach, as a head coach," Barea said. "He always had the character, the personality, the drive and passion for it.”

Every great recruiter, no matter the sport or field, is able to connect and establish a strong rapport with their target. Martin excels in this area.

“Whatever he tells you, you can take it to the bank," Alvarez said. "He doesn’t mess around, he doesn’t make up stuff and he tells you the truth. Frank will not tell you what you want to hear. He will tell you what he feels. People like that. They love how sincere he is.”

Everhart shared the same sentiments.

“He doesn’t sugar coat anything and kids understand how hard it is going to be when they get there. It is really that simple. Frank Martin is one of the guys I have tremendous respect and admiration for because he always has been a guy that is very honest and very straightforward. He understands how to be honest, disciplined and how to help kids to become better people.”

Barea, though, may have said it best about the culture that Martin has created at South Carolina.

“He is always going to get the best out of his players. I remember when they put him on the TV when he was screaming at his players; people really didn’t know all that about him. I knew all of the players loved him.”