When Mike Oliva and South Carolina coach Frank Martin see each other before Monday night’s men’s basketball game between host FIU and the Gamecocks, the two men will embrace.
“There will be a hug and a kiss,” Oliva said, “Cuban style.”
Oliva, 37, played for Martin at Miami High from 1996 to 1998 and is now FIU’s director of basketball operations. Martin, 51, is known for his coaching intensity and his “if looks could kill” stare.
This past spring, Martin made history, taking the Gamecocks — in their 109th season —to their first NCAA Final Four.