NCAA Basketball: Ranking the 10 best head coaching hires of 2022 offseason

8. Frank Martin (Massachusetts)

While it may be an impossible task, Massachusetts has been desperately searching for answers ever since John Calipari left the program in 1996, just after leading them to a (later-vacated) run to the Final Four. The last three decades haven’t all been bad for the Minutemen, but they’ve bounced between a series of coaches who haven’t lived up to the expectations. Could this time be different, bringing in an experienced coach with power conference experience?

Martin grew up in south Florida and spent a decade as a high school coach down in Miami. His first collegiate coaching came at Northeastern, not too far from UMass. As a head coach, he succeeded Bob Huggins at Kansas State, leading the Wildcats to an Elite Eight, before heading to South Carolina in 2012. These last ten years have been a mixed bag, highlighted by a surprise run to the Final Four in 2017; his only NCAA Tournament trip with the Gamecocks.

Martin’s wife was a star athlete at UMass, perhaps making this landing spot even sweeter for Martin and his family. He has that prior experience at Northeastern, and he brings 15 years of power conference experience, something no previous UMass head coach could boast. That combination of experience and past success makes Martin an attractive candidate for a Minutemen program that has waffled in recent years, having finished above .500 just once in seven years.