Martin searches for same level of success he found at Kansas State
The South Carolina men鈥檚 basketball team has struggled this 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒, to say the least. With a 1-9 SEC record, the Gamecocks aren鈥檛 coming out of the league basement anytime soon, as has been the case the last few years.
But don鈥檛 panic yet. I don鈥檛 know what the heck is wrong with people who are already calling for another basketball coach. There hasn鈥檛 been too much of that talk floating around, but I have a feeling it will ramp up after this 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 comes to an end.
It shouldn鈥檛 be that way. You need more than two years to put your stamp on a program. Evidence of Frank Martin鈥檚 philosophy has already shown up, particularly this 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒. An impressive win against Saint Mary鈥檚 over winter break and a 28-point whooping of Texas A&M are signs that point in the right direction.
In addition, the Gamecocks are just a handful of points away from being 5-5 in the SEC, not 1-9. Four of their league losses have been by five points or less.
Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, huh? That鈥檚 true, but the slim margins are proof that South Carolina is right on the edge of climbing out of mediocrity.
The Gamecocks are a very young team that has only one senior, Brenton Williams. Meanwhile, there are seven freshmen who are getting used to the college game. One of them, Sindarius Thornwell, is already the team鈥檚 second leading scorer.
Martin proved he can win in his time at Kansas State. Frankly, it is just going to take longer to turn South Carolina around. South Carolina is no Kansas State. Few of the country鈥檚 top high school recruits have Columbia in mind, but Martin is starting to change that, beginning with Thornwell. He could have gone anywhere he wanted, but he鈥檚 here.
That will be the case more and more as we head into next 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 and beyond. So show your patience, Gamecock nation, and let Martin do his thing. The results will come along soon.
Michael Sam
There has been a lot of buzz this week about former Missouri defensive end Michael Sam announcing publicly that he is gay. When he is drafted in May, he will become the first active, openly gay player in the three major North American sports.
It is admirable that he had the courage to come out, and he has received a lot of positive reinforcement from the sports world and beyond, which he should.
Sam should be treated like any other football player when he gets to the league, and he shouldn鈥檛 be verbally or physically abused.
However, this doesn鈥檛 mean that everyone has to agree with his lifestyle. They just have to respect it.
This past summer, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson caught unwarranted heat when he said that he鈥檚 鈥渘ot with鈥� gay marriage. He went on to say that he had gay relatives and that he treated them just as he would anyone. However, he did not agree with their views.
Peterson rightfully did not apologize for his comments, saying that he was expressing his personal opinion.
So as we head into this unchartered territory with Sam, people who have views like Peterson鈥檚 should not be chastised. As long as they respect him, that should be enough.
You don鈥檛 have to agree with his beliefs just because it is the popular thing to do nowadays. If you want to stick to your beliefs, that should be acceptable. And people like Peterson are doing just that when they respectfully disagree with another鈥檚 views.
I will end on a Peterson quote that I think is the best response to anyone who disagrees with what I鈥檝e written.
鈥淲e have homosexuals who choose to live their life the way they do. You know what? To me, that鈥檚 fine. You can do that,鈥� Peterson told The Oklahoman. 鈥淚f you want people to respect that, then just respect my view.鈥�