MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Longtime WVU men’s basketball assistant coach Erik Martin has earned his first head coaching opportunity. Martin will be introduced as the new head coach at South Carolina State on Wednesday. Blue Gold News was the first to report the hiring on Monday afternoon.
“I am grateful to everyone at West Virginia for the past fifteen years and those who have helped me get to this — Huggs, the university, the boosters, everybody. You don’t get to this point without having some help and good people around you,” Martin said on Monday’s Citynet Statewide Sportsline.
“A search firm reached out to Coach Huggins and they were looking for the number of someone else. Coach Huggins said, ‘Hey, I have someone on my staff that would be great for that job’. Usually that doesn’t go anywhere but that conversation. But they reached out to me and we connected.”
Thank you West Virginia/Morgantown. It has been my honor to serve you over the past 15 years. As I leave I take nothing but good memories. Once a Mountaineer always a Mountaineer. God bless🙏🏾
— Erik Martin (@CoachEMartinWVU) July 11, 2022
Martin has been an assistant coach for Bob Huggins since the 2006-2007 season at Kansas State. Martin played for Huggins at Cincinnati from 1991-1993 and he went on to have a nine-year professional playing career in the Continental Basketball Association and overseas.
South Carolina State competes in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Bulldogs went 15-16 last season. Martin must quickly build a roster that is only about half complete.
“We only have six guys on scholarship. I am happy to get the job but the first thing I have to do is find some players. Once I get some players, I will worry about getting a staff.
“At this point, I am ready to be a head coach. With the MEAC, and with historically black colleges getting more notoriety, I just feel like it is a part of the country I have never been. I’ll have a new recruiting base. But everything about it is a challenge. And I have never been one to run from a challenge.”
Martin, Larry Harrison and Ron Everhart have been on staff together with Huggins for the past decade.
.@CoachEMartinWVU, former @WVUHoops Assistant for @CoachHuggs, announced earlier today that he accepted the head coaching position at @ScstateMBB. Why does Erik see this as a good fit for him? He joins @TonyCaridi, @BradHowe07, and @HunterWvu88bgn. pic.twitter.com/xr3LjQg9si
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) July 11, 2022
Martin expects to employ a style of play that will mirror Huggins’ teams of recent years.
“I definitely want to press. I want to get up and down and be a fast break team. Obviously, with playing for and coaching with Bob Huggins, my defense is going to be somewhat similar to his where it is going to be hard to score on us.”