Two former K-State coaches will work as guest studio analysts during NCAA Tournament
Kansas State men’s basketball fans may feel nostalgia while they watch the studio shows that accompany the NCAA Tournament later this week.
A pair of former K-State coaches (Bob Huggins and Frank Martin) have signed on to share their insight about the first two rounds of games as guest studio hosts for TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV.
Huggins will join the Atlanta studio on Thursday and Friday with host Nabil Karim and analysts Candace Parker, Seth Davis and Rex Chapman. Martin will replace Huggins on set the following two days.
Former Wildcats coaches Lon Kruger and Bruce Weber were apparently unavailable.
All kidding aside, most reacted positively when Turner Sports announced Huggins and Martin were signing on to assist with ther TV coveraged.
It’s just too bad they won’t be on the air at the same time.
Huggins is currently the coach at West Virginia, but he spent one eventful season coaching the Wildcats before leaving to lead the Mountaineers in 2007.
Many credit Huggins for breathing new life into K-State basketball after years of disappointment under Tom Asbury and Jim Wooldridge.
Martin was the lead assistant on Huggins’ coaching staff in Manhattan. Rather than conduct a national search to find a replacement, the Wildcats promoted Martin to the full-time gag after Huggins left town.
That proved to be a wise decision. Martin led K-State to 117 victories over the next five seasons and reached the NCAA Tournament four times. His best season came in 2010 when the Wildcats won 29 games and reached the Elite Eight.
Martin left K-State for South Carolina in 2012 and was recently fired by the Gamecocks after going 171-147 in Columbia.
Huggins is available, because the Mountaineers missed the NCAA Tournament this season.