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Things were not this way back when I played sports at my high school in suburban Boston. However, three years as an AD in Florida exposed me to the seedy side of high school sports…and there was no one seedier than Frank Martin.

In the late 90’s, current UMass basketball coach Frank Martin cheated. He cheated in a big-time way at small-time sports. According to a Miami New Times investigation (see below) and Florida High School Activities Association (FHSAA) findings, two future NBA players, Udonis Haslem and Steve Blake, and others mysteriously joined his high school basketball team in Miami, with addresses falsified, free housing offered and money changing hands. Martin was able to parlay this ‘success’ and recruiting connections into an assistant coaching job with Bob Huggins at Kansas State (yes, the same Bob Huggins who has run afoul of the NCAA on many an occasion). As an AD in Jacksonville from 2007-1010, I had front row seats to a similar scandal at Arlington Country Day school (ironically, coached by former Boston Celtics player Rex Morgan). ACD was kicked out of the FHSAA for repeated rules violations in basketball and closed its doors for good a few years later. Where did ACD send their Division 1 hoopsters...to Kansas State and Frank Martin.

Today, Frank Martin makes over $2 million per year as the highest paid public employee of the State of Massachusetts. His rise to prominence and wealth fueled by past indiscretions. His cheating deprived countless Florida high school students of their moments of glory…winning a sectional or state title, irreplaceable memories of youth that last a lifetime.

Sure, people deserve a second chance in life. However, when you stoop so low to cheat your way to glory and hurt innocent kids in the process, you should be forced to find another profession…and not made the highest paid employee of a great state.

August 12, 1998|By Buddy Collings of The Sentinel Staff

Miami High’s basketball program, Florida’s high school dynasty of the decade, was rocked by scandal Tuesday.

The Florida High School Activities Association has stripped the Stingarees of their 1998 Class 6A state championship and declared them ineligible for next season’s playoffs. Miami High had won eight basketball titles in the past 11 years, and is 68-0 against Florida high schools in three seasons.

The FHSAA determined that Miami High employees and boosters recruited athletes and offered housing to at least five basketball players, including current University of Florida freshman Udonis Haslem, DePaul signee Antonio Latimer and Steven Blake, a high school senior who has orally committed to Maryland.

``I’m shocked, but I’m happy,’‘ said Travis Jones, coach of the Edgewater team that was hammered, 89-56, by Miami High in the Class 6A basketball final. ``I’ve said before that everybody else in 6A is playing for second place. This ruling today gets rid of that. It opens it up for all of us next year.’‘

``If they cheated like that, then they deserve to get what’s coming to them,’‘ said Nigel Dixon, Edgewater’s 6-foot-10 center. ``All the other schools had to play by the same rules. I still don’t like the fact we lost to them. I don’t like to lose to anybody, period.’‘ ``Man, they were hit hard. But before we played them the guys were talking about them - 6-8, 6-10, 6-9, 6-5. They sounded too good to be true. Too many good players never come to one school like that.’‘

Miami High basketball coach Frank Martin is working at an out-of-state summer camp and was unavailable for comment Tuesday. The school’s athletic director, Jose ``Tiger’‘ Nunez, declined comment

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Cheaters Never Win...well actually, yes they do

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