Coming into the season, South Carolina thought it was going to be a balanced offensive attack with options galore to go at a defense with.
Through the first few games it was more or less a three-headed attack, but the Gamecocks showed a glimpse of what it could be offensively against Georgetown.
They had 10 different players score in an 80-point output and will need it to continue with a vital part of the non-conference schedule coming up.
“I think we’re a very versatile team. Some teams are categorized as a shooting team; some are categorized as teams who play through their bigs. I think we’re a well-balanced team,” AJ Wilson said. “Anybody on the team can get off on any given night. The thing that makes our team so well rounded is no one is trigger-happy. Everyone wants the next person to score. That helps us too.”
The Gamecocks had double-digit scorers against the Hoyas with seven getting off at least six points and only three in double figures: Wildens Leveque (14), James Reese (11) and Keyshawn Bryant (11).
What South Carolina did offensively certainly is replicable—51.9 percent from two, 25 percent from three and shot 20 free throw attempts—but it was more about the identity of the offense.
South Carolina finally converted looks in the paint thanks to the bigs taking this game personally, Wilson said, and got into open court opportunities as well with 10 fast break points and 42 of the team’s 80 points coming in the paint.
“The thing that was great with how we played on offense to day is there was an aggression to get the ball in the paint. Guys played with aggression whether we threw them the ball or not,” Martin said. “Then lastly the ball never stuck. Guys were moving off the ball. The guy with the ball didn’t hold it. He continued to put the ball in action.”
The Gamecocks had their second-best offensive efficiency of the year, averaging 106.7 points per 100 possessions, and they got good point guard play from Jacobi Wright in his second-career start.
“I’m so proud of that kid, man. He’s a winner. He’s a team guy. He’s a competitive kid. He’s got a lot of pride,” Martin said. “Jacobi’s a competitive, hard-nosed—he’s such a nice kid but don’t mistake that for how competitive he is on the court—he’s a winner and guys love him. He’s fun to be around.”
Now comes a pivotal three-game stretch against Florida State and Clemson, both away from home, with a game against Allen sandwiched in between.
Florida State is the No. 32 defensive efficiency team in the country while Clemson is top 70 as well with both allowing fewer than a point per offensive possession.
KenPom projects both as losses for South Carolina but a win could be a feather in the Gamecocks’ postseason cap and they’ll need to continue it’s consistent offensive performance.
“If everyone does their job,” Wildens Leveque said, “we’re going to be a really hard team to guard.”
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