Frank Martin is an honest man. He speaks his mind, has educated opinions about his sport and at least as importantly, educated opinions outside of his sport.

He works to develop student-athletes into great young men on and off of the court caring for them as if they were his own sons. He can be hard on them both publicly and privately, and he’ll light-heartedly poke fun occasionally at their shortcomings, but he cares for them beyond the glory of what basketball can bring.

With a man like Martin, it’s shocking that any coach ran afoul under his watch. He wouldn’t have condoned a man on his staff setting a poor example for the players he’s tasked with developing into productive members of society.

Frank Martin says he’s shocked Lamont Evans was named in the Department of Justice investigation involving bribery and corruption in college basketball and with his reputation as a leader and upstanding man in the sport, he should be believed when he says he didn’t know Evans was doing what he was doing.

Martin keeps his finger on the pulse of the ins and outs of the entire basketball program and chances are, had Evans stayed at South Carolina, Martin would have figured out what was happening. There was little overlap between Evans’ transgressions and his time in the Palmetto State, so little time for Martin to piece together what was going on.

Martin says to ask his friends and they’ll tell you he “doesn’t miss a beat,” and that’s a true statement. He pays attention to everything. Everything.

“I’ve been a part of staffs that have been investigated and after the investigation, what’s come away is how honest we are and how much attention to detail we pay in everything we do,” Martin said. “That has not happened here. That’s why I’m surprised I saw Lamont’s name, because I do pay attention. I do engage in conversations with my staff on a regular basis. Doing things right is so important to me.”

It makes sense for Martin, the son of Cuban exiles, to have the philosophies he does because he’s never taken short cuts. He took a job at Dairy Queen as a youngster to help bring in money his family after his father left.

He started coaching at the high school level while also teaching math, a skill he still has a passion for today. He’s hit every rung on the ladder on his climb to becoming a Final Four coach.

Martin wouldn’t want his name sullied for taking a handout, or letting a player or coach who represents him do the same.

“I have not worked so hard to overcome the odds, to attain the job and the trust of the people who have employed me to circumvent that for a couple of dollars,” Martin said. “I’m not doing that. I’d rather lose working the right way than win taking any kind of shortcut. That’s the way I’m cut.”

It was only in his final days at South Carolina when Evans was engaged in activities amounting to federal crimes. If he had been around longer, Martin would have caught on because he keeps his finger on the pulse of every part of the program.

Martin is an honest man though; he does right to the people around him and sets an example of leadership and strength for his players. That needs to be remembered in a time when ethics in college basketball as a whole, rightly or wrongly, comes into question.