SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL

Frank Martin’s never met Chris Silva’s mother, but that didn’t stop him from getting a little teary-eyed Friday night when scrolling through social media.

It was there he and his wife watched a video posted shortly after 9 p.m. showing Silva breaking down in tears after he reunited with his mother after not seeing her for the last three years.

“It’s awesome. My wife and I were sitting on the couch and we were like two little kids,” Martin said. “You guys got to know Chris a little bit. You see him in that moment and you realize how important family is to him. You see the teammates and the coach? That’s a guy who’s played 30 games. He’s not even two months or three months into his rookie year. They’re just as happy for him as he is himself. It’s who he is, man.”

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Silva, who’s originally from Gabon in Africa, came over and played prep basketball in New Jersey before coming to South Carolina out of Roselle Catholic.

Once he arrived in Columbia, he only went home really once, the summer between his junior and senior seasons to see family and renew his visa.

With the help of NBA Africa, the league’s outreach program to that continent, the league was able to fly his mother over in time for the holidays and he was able to spend time with family at Christmas for the first time in a very long time.

While watching the video, Martin saw the emotion pour out of Silva and was reminded again why he was such a productive player in four seasons at South Carolina..

“Everyone here was worried about replacing his points, his rebounds and all that. His enthusiasm for his team, for competing and for life is the stuff that you don’t replace. There’s a reason why his freshman year—the seniors got all the credit, and rightfully so—we won 25. His sophomore year we won 26. His last two years we had chances for the seams to come apart and he wouldn’t let it happen,” he said.

“It’s his spirit, who he is an how committed he is to people and how loyal he is. I’m ecstatic because I know his journey. I lived it with him. I know how much it hurts him to not share time with his family. I know how much it hurt him after his junior year here because he feels an obligation to provide for his family, who doesn’t have it great in Africa in Gabon. To see that moment tells you who he is and what he’s about.”

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Silva is currently a role player for the Miami Heat, playing 9.5 minutes per game and shooting 66.7 percent from the field. He’s averaging 3.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game.

In his time at South Carolina, he was All-SEC twice, earning first and second team honors, and was on the All-Defensive team his last two seasons on campus. As a junior he was the league’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year.

He endeared himself to Martin and the Gamecocks as part of their Final Four run his sophomore season and was an integral part of the team’s success his final two seasons as well.

It’s that endearment which made Martin get emotional watching the video Friday night for Silva and a woman he had not met.

The Gamecocks tried to do something similar for Silva’s senior year but couldn’t get something worked out to get his mother over from Gabon.

“Her English is not very good. I never met her,” Martin said. “We tried to get her here for his senior day and couldn’t make it work.