SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL
Allen Edwards knows Frank Martin really well; he played for Martin at Miami Senior High School in the early 1990s and kept tabs on Martin’s teams as he bounced from Kansas State to South Carolina and knows what makes a Martin team good.
He’s seen the last three iterations of the Gamecocks up close and personal, coaching against them every year since 2018, and said this year’s squad may be the best one he’s faced.
“I think he’s a little deeper,” Edwards said. I think the young guys he’s brought in are going to make an impact. I think they’ll grow. This is not a knock on last year’s team but I think this is more complete of a team.”
Also see: Inside Saturday's snap count
Edwards’s team, which beat South Carolina last season in Laramie, was throttled Sunday 66-32 against a South Carolina team he was impressed with over the course of the game.
The Gamecocks held Wyoming to 9-for-39 on field goals, including just going just 4-for-17 from three. They’d average .508 points per possession compared to South Carolina’s 1.031 points per possession.
Meanwhile, the Gamecocks shot 25-for-59 from the field and hit 33.3 of their 27 three-pointers, including five of their first nine.
AJ Lawson and Jermaine Couisnard were the team’s leading scorers, both finishing with 12, but Jair Bolden and Alanzo Frink got into double digits as well with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Also see: More in-depth stats from Saturday's loss
“I don’t know if it was just coming off the North Alabama game and North Alabama hanging around a little bit or us having the opportunity at our place last year, but I look at this group and say they’re more balanced,” Edwards said. “Lawson is pretty talented, but I think you have to respect the other pieces as well. My staff, we talked about that after the game. I thought this group was more complete, and they play together more too.”
One guy Edwards was especially impressed with was Justin Minaya, who didn’t have the flashiest stat line at three points and four rebounds, but did a lot of things to stifle the Cowboys offensively.
He’d force a few defensive stops and combined to hold Wyoming’s leading scorer Hunter Maldonado to just 10 points on 2-of-7 shooting.
Minaya didn’t play in the Gamecocks’ 73-64 loss to Wyoming last year, so this was Edwards’s first time seeing the fully healthy Minaya since 2017.
Also see: Hoops recruiting notes from Sunday's game
“I think one of the best compliments you can give a young man is he plays the game the right way,” Edwards said. “I’m not saying all the other guys on Coach Martin’s team doesn’t, but I think he’s a true example of playing the game the right way on both ends of the floor. He plays defensively in their system but he’s not a guy looking for his deal. He lets it come to him. I think sometimes when you’re competing, you need that steady calm, and that’s what he brings this group at the end of the day. I think he’s a heck of a player.”
The Gamecocks are now 2-0 and ranked as the No. 58 overall team in the country according to KenPom. They’ve outscored 143-87 this week and are holding opponents to a NCAA-best 27 effective field goal percentage.
They’ll host Cleveland State Friday.
“I’m excited for what this team can become,” Martin said. “I don’t know what that means from a win-loss perspective, but I’m excited for what we can become.”
