MOUNT PLEASANT - South Carolina head coach Frank Martin was more of an observer during his team’s trip to Costa Rica and it could bring about some tweaks to Xs and Os this season. He was able to observe because associate head coach Matt Figger was able to run the show.

The Gamecocks had two weeks at home to practice as a team before embarking on a six-day trip to Costa Rica for two games against the country’s national team, as well as community service events and some time for team bonding activities.

Figger was able to lead the team in practice and games while Martin observed, making notes and evaluating from afar.

Martin said that Figger did a “phenomenal” job in his role as a stand-in head coach.

“Matt is so loyal. He’s real good at what he does,” Martin told TheBigSpur.com. “He managed the personalities, managed the team and adopted yesterday’s practice to help them plan to make today’s practice more productive. When you’re an assistant coach, that’s not part of your daily routine. You run your drills, coach your position, but don’t worry about the whole. He had to do that for a three week period and I thought he was phenomenal.”

Figger, entering his fifth season with the Gamecocks and fourth as associate head coach, has been with Martin since 2007 and is a loyal servant. Now, it’s almost time to him to branch out as the next member of Martin’s coaching tree.

“Matt put a little bit of his flavor into the way he coached and with me stepping back watching, I saw some of that,” Martin said. “Matt is very much deserving of a head coaching job. I really, really hope we have success this year so someone can give him the chance that he very much deserves.”

Former South Carolina assistant coach Brad Underwood is now leading the program at Oklahoma State after three successful seasons, which each included NCAA Tournament berths, at Texas San Antonio.

The styles of Martin and Figger blend pretty well, which is part of the reason why the Gamecocks’ record has improved each season.

“We all have to coach to who we are,” Martin said. “Matt can’t run a practice trying to be Frank. Frank can change who he is because something worked for Matt. But that’s why our staff is so connected, that’s why are players are so connected with us, because we all respect that and we all allow our personalities to impact our team.”