Gamecocks freshmen have been 'great' this summer
SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL
It’s no secret how much Frank Martin likes the Gamecocks’ freshman class this season.
Since compiling the team’s four-man group of prep players, he’s been raving about the talent and college readiness, and that excitement hasn’t faded as they finish up summer workouts and transition into preseason practice.
“They’ve been great. They learn, which is a big thing for me if kids learn. These kids learn. If I’m coaching you, they pay attention,” Martin said. “They’re engaged with coaching. That means you don’t have to call their name to listen. They’ve been fun, but pretty soon it’s a different atmosphere. How do they manage that in what’ll be thrown at them pretty soon?”
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The class is headlined by Trae Hannibal and Wildens Leveque, who both put on shows in the SC ProAm this summer, but they have a few other guys who Martin’s incredibly high on and thinks could make an impact.
One of the biggest surprises, he said, has been Trey Anderson who’s come in and done well in the weight room and progressed more than maybe the coaches thought he would at this point in his career.
“Physically he’s a lot more prepared than I thought he was going to be. I knew he could shoot it, I knew he could move. We recruited him. It’s not like I saw a picture and said, ‘Looks good, send him scholarship papers,’” Martin said. “But I didn’t realized physically he’s as competitive and the work ethic to attack the weight room; attack drills. You learn more about kids when you start to coach them. There’s a lot of guys that you read about on scouting reports, but when they get on the court they don’t progress as fast as they need to. He’s progressed extremely fast. That’s what caught me off guard.”
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The other freshman is Jalyn McCreary, who was the most recent freshman to commit to South Carolina after his official visit in April.
A physical specimen, he showed off some serious athleticism in the ProAm this summer and there are a lot of high hopes for the Gamecocks’ big man as he continues to develop in the weight room.
“Jalyn McCreary can be as strong a player as we’ve ever had as far as combining strength in the weight room and strength on the court,” Martin said. “He’s not there yet. Will he get there? I think he will, but how soon? I’m excited about those guys.”
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The Gamecocks have their full team together now that school’s started with the final addition, graduate transfer Micaiah Henry, getting to campus soon after graduating from Tennessee Tech in early August.
Other than Henry, the Gamecocks had all their newcomers and the majority of the returning players on campus this summer working out and getting stronger for what could be a really good season in Columbia.
And, in the eight offseasons Martin’s been in Columbia, he says this summer was probably the most complete they’ve had.
“I thought we had the best summer we’ve had, all the way around. Our academic people raved about what they did over the summer. Scott Greenawalt, we’ve been together 15 years, he doesn’t run around handing praise on a daily basis and he says this is the best summer he’s had with the whole team. On the court I was pleased. Our team’s been intact since the first day of summer school,” he said.
“Henry hadn’t been on campus because he was waiting to graduate but we knew who our team was going to be. The last two years I’ve been scrambling into July trying to complete our roster. I couldn’t ask for the guys to be any better than they’ve been the whole summer.”