COLUMBIA — Frank Martin and Dan Leibovitz once recruited against one another, when the former was an assistant coach at Northeastern and the latter at Temple. Now they’re partners with the same goal — Martin to reach the NCAA Tournament, and Leibovitz to help get him there.
As new SEC associate commissioner for men’s basketball, Leibovitz is part of an administrative reshuffling that included the addition of former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese as special advisor, and Mark Whitehead as coordinator of officials. It’s all part of an effort to prevent a repeat of what happened this year, when a team like South Carolina fell off the NCAA Tournament bubble despite 24 wins and a third-place finish in the league.