SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL

It took a little longer than maybe expected, but Wildens Leveque lived up to the billing in his first action as a Gamecock.

After missing the season opener with a toe injury, Leveque provided an immediate spark off the bench in his first 15 minutes of his career.

“The activity, the energy, he attacked the ball. The ball finds energy. If you stand around, the ball is never going to find you. He got a post up and created a foul,” Frank Martin said. “He can make free throws. He got to the right place and so we attacked on the perimeter. They were hard to throw the ball inside; it’s kind of like a pack-line mindset. We kept attacking and were patient and patient and spread out, and there goes Trae Hannibal boom to Wildens, dunk. He got offensive rebounds because he moved around.”

Also see: Examining the Gamecock redshirt tracker

His 15 minutes were tied for the most among true freshmen with Jalyn McCreary, and he didn’t wait long to make an impact.

Leveque finished with four points and four rebounds and a block, which will likely turn into a huge part of the 6-foot-11, 230-pounders game this season.

His offensive rating of 102 is good for sixth on the team and is the best mark among freshmen.

His first collegiate points came on a really nice dunk thanks to a nice feed from fellow freshman Trae Hannibal, throwing it down in traffic.

That was his only field goal of the game with his other two points coming on free throws. He was one of just two Gamecocks to make all of their shots from the charity stripe Sunday; Jermaine Couisnard was the other, making his lone attempt.

He seems to be in the right spot all the time defensively, and it shows, but the next step in his game is to continue developing offensively.

The freshman oozing potential is still learning the Gamecocks’ system, and as he gets more comfortable throughout his first year he’ll settle in more.

Also see: What we learned from Sunday's hoops win

“He just needs to learn to play in structure. With freshmen, that’s the hardest thing,” Martin said. “The other team is defending and you’re playing offense. One guy is a tick late, it kind of messes everything up. Right now we’re a tick late on some things. We have to keep working. (But) His activity, man. They had four opportunities when he was in there to score at the rim, and he went after all four of them. He got two of them and the other two they missed because he’s coming. It’s hard to score over him because he goes after the ball and tries to block it. I think he’s going to be a good player.”

College basketball team’s can’t have enough guys with the energy guys like Leveque and McCreary have, especially coming off the bench.

They did well with the spark plug that was Chris Silva, and the Gamecocks have high hopes for what Leveque can bring over the course of his career.

“Wildens, coming in practice, does give us a spark blocking shots and rebounding. Once he understands the principles and concepts of Frank Martin basketball, he’s going to be really good.”

Also see: The latest inside the football program

The Gamecocks are 2-0 on the year after a dominant 66-32 win over Wyoming where they held the Cowboys to 23.1 percent from the field and forced 15 turnovers.

They'll try and keep their good form up Friday, hosting Cleveland State at 7 p.m.