Gamecocks getting assistant back, still without two players
South Carolina has had more than its fair share of COVID issues this season, and while they get some good news Friday the Gamecocks will still be without two of their key front court contributors this weekend.
Frank Martin announced Friday morning assistant coach Chuck Martin is out of isolation and is expected to rejoin the team today prior to Saturday’s game with Auburn, but both Alanzo Frink and Jalyn McCreary are still out.
“I’m surprised he’s not in here right now. He out of isolation today. I’m pretty sure he’ll be in the office sometime today. I don’t want to speak for him, but Chuck got pretty beat up too,” Martin said of Chuck.
“It’s not like he’s been sitting around the house chomping at the bit because he feels good. He got his tail kicked. Knowing him and the way he goes about who he is, he’s dying to get around and try.”
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Chuck Martin missed both the LSU and Missouri road games after testing positive for COVID-19 and it looks like he’ll be able to help and be on the sidelines as the Gamecocks host Auburn Saturday (noon, ESPN2).
“I’m sure he’s ready to get out and get around people again. Most important, he’s helped recruit the majority of these kids,” Martin said. I know we were miserable sitting around watching the LSU game wishing we could help.”
The bad news for South Carolina is it won’t be playing with its full roster with two players still out.
Both Frink and McCreary will not play against the Tigers, Martin confirmed Friday, and it adds more frustration for those two players who have combined to play one game since the team came back from its pause.
Frink has only played in three games this year and hasn’t played yet in the four games since South Carolina returned from its pause.
McCreary played once, registering six points and nine rebounds in a win over Texas A&M, but has missed the three other games.
Martin did not give a timeline on when or if the two big men are expected back on the court, mentioning this pandemic has been a “complicated thing” from a player psychological perspective.
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“That’s been the complicated part, man…we’ve got multiple guys who’ve been in quarantine multiple times and they’re not sick. They’ve never contracted the virus, yet they have to be locked up in a room for X-number of days and not be able to do any basketball,” Martin said.
“If you do that for one window of whatever it is—it used to be 10 days, now its’ down to seven days—ok, but if you do it three separate times within a seven-week period that creates difficulty amongst all the players.”
With both Frink and McCreary out the Gamecocks will rely heavily on Wildens Leveque in the frontcourt along with Justin Minaya, Ja’Von Benson, Trey Anderson and Keyshawn Bryant.
