SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL
South Carolina officially added two different pieces to their 2019 class this week, and Frank Martin’s incredibly high on both.
Now that both Trae Hannibal and Wildens Leveque have inked their national letters of intent, Martin was able to offer up his first public comments on both Thursday morning and said Hannibal, the team’s in-state commitment, has the makings to be a “stud.”
“I absolutely love Trae Hannibal. I saw him play on our team camp going into his sophomore year and I was like, ‘That kid’s pretty good,”’ Martin said. “And no one knew about him. That’s been his story in high school. He’s never gotten the credit for how good he is. I think he’s a stud.”
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Hannibal was the first member of the Gamecocks’ 2019 class, committing over the summer over Kansas State and Oklahoma State.
The three-star guard has the body type and skill set to thrive in Martin’s defense-first, physical system and adds another layer of athleticism on top of that.
He’s been on the radar since the beginning of his sophomore year and Martin compares him to another great guard that came through the program recently.
“He’s tough as nails, he’s got hands the size of a catcher’s mitt. He passes the ball. He plays downhill. You guys that have seen him, he’s got freakish athleticism but plays with pace,” Martin said. “He plays like a basketball player. He doesn’t play like an athlete. Can you imagine when that guy gets in the weight room with Scott and starts eating college meals and nutritionist and our daily deals? When he learns how to sit on the half court line and guard the ball, think Duane Notice with elite athleticism.”
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Hannibal signed Thursday morning at Hartsville High School, becoming just the third in-state commitment since 2016 joining Jason Cudd and Sedee Keita.
“It’s always great when a South Carolinian stays and plays with that word,” Martin said. “When they’re all done playing the majority come back and live in their state. When they can surround their heart with the two most important names—the name that brought them into the world and the name they grow up representing—it’s powerful. Trae’s getting ready to do that. He loves it, and he can’t wait to be a Gamecock.”
The Gamecocks also added Leveque, a three-star big man from the Northeast, someone that South Carolina didn’t expect to start recruiting until April when Martin saw his AAU team play against another recruit they were scouting.
“When I left the game I was like, ‘Who is that?’ And we stayed on him,” Martin said. “We stayed on him, there was a relationship there from the folks with Mass Rivals not from just my time there but from Chuck (Martin’s) time at UMass. We just worked. I think Wildens is going to be real good.”
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Leveque officially visited South Carolina in October and didn’t wait long to pull the trigger, committing the following week over UMass and VCU.
At 6-foot-9, 210 pounds, Leveque is the heir apparent to All-SEC player Chris Silva, who graduates at the end of this season.
Martin likes Leveque’s athleticism, especially for a big man, and said he’s shot is “clean,” which means it looks normal and he has good form, and said he’s a “runner,” which helps him fit nicely into South Carolina’s system.
“I like kids that keep getting better. Who he was two years ago to who he is now is day and night. Nine times out of 10 guys that get better throughout high school will get better throughout college," Martin said. "He’s a worker; he’s got great hands. He’s got an instinct to block shots. Obviously losing Chris, getting athleticism with size was important to us. We’re excited about Wildens.”
The Gamecocks currently have one scholarship left in the 2019 class and Martin said the staff is in “deep, deep talks” with another potential prospect to fill that slot.
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