South Carolina coach: ‘Shenanigans’ happen
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina men’s basketball coach Frank Martin isn’t surprised by allegations of corruption in the sport, though he was stunned one of his friends and former assistants was among the 10 arrested in the national federal investigation of fraud related to college basketball. “Any coach in this business that tries to act like there weren’t some shenanigans going on the way it was reported, they’re not being honest with you,” Martin said Thursday, when he spoke to the media for the first time since Lamont Evans was among those charged with corruption and bribery last month. Evans and three assistants at other schools, along with an Adidas executive and five others, were charged by the Department of Justice. Evans worked with Martin at Kansas State and later at South Carolina. Martin didn’t provide details about what shenanigans he was referring to, and when asked why if he suspected illegal practices were going at other schools he did not report them to the NCAA, he indicated it wasn’t his responsibility. “There’s no snitching within your family,” Martin responded. Martin explained that if a coach is willing to risk his career to get involved with shoe companies and agents to lure players with NBA potential, “Do what you’ve got to do, man,” he said. Also speaking Thursday, Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton said there were no indications Evans was doing anything illegal and that he learned of Evans’ involvement in the federal investigation by scrolling through Twitter headlines on Sept. 26. Martin said neither he nor South Carolina is a target of the federal inquiry, though the university has launched one internal investigation and plans to hire a third party to conduct another. Martin defended himself against accusations he should have known what Evans was doing since he gave Evans his first basketball job at Kansas State in 2008 and brought him to South Carolina to coach with him until 2016.
BASEBALL
› ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves exercised their option on manager Brian Snitker for the 2018 season on Thursday, providing some stability to an organization now looking for a new general manager. The decision on Snitker came three days after John Coppolella was forced to resign as GM when an investigation by Major League Baseball revealed serious rules violations in the international player market. Gordon Blakeley, a special assistant to the GM, also resigned. Snitker was named interim manager on May 16, 2016 and was named to the full-time job after that season. Snitker, who turns 62 on Oct. 17, has been with the organization since being hired as a roving instructor by Hank Aaron in 1981.
BASKETBALL
› PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid was cleared for fiveon-five drills Thursday and participated in a full practice with the Philadelphia 76ers for the first time. Embiid sat out Philadelphia’s preseason opener Wednesday night and won’t play against Boston tonight, but the team is hopeful Embiid will be in the lineup when the Sixers open their regular season Oct. 18 at Washington. Thursday’s workout was Embiid’s first full practice since having surgery March 24 for a meniscus tear in his left knee. He hasn’t played in a game since Jan. 27. Embiid’s career has been riddled with injuries dating to his college days at Kansas and all three seasons with the Sixers since he was picked No. 3 overall.
GOLF
› Justin Thomas was voted PGA Tour player of the year for his remarkable season of five victories, his first major championship and the FedEx Cup title. Thomas all but locked up the award when he closed with a 66 at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club and was runner-up at the Tour Championship to capture the FedEx Cup late last month. His five victories included the PGA Championship and a FedEx Cup playoff event, and he set the tour’s 72-hole scoring record at the Sony Open. The tour does not disclose the vote totals. Also on the ballot were Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama. Thomas previously won the PGA of America award as player of the year, which is based on points. Xander Schauffele, whose two victories this season included the Tour Championship, was voted PGA Tour rookie of the year. He became the fourth player in the past five years from the high school class of 2011 to win the award.