Frank Martin said earlier in the offseason one of his biggest recruiting regrets of the last few cycles was not pursuing James Reese and Chico Carter harder coming out of high school.

With Josh Gray, it was the opposite with the Gamecocks pursing Gray, who instead opted to enroll at LSU.

Now, though, all three made it to South Carolina after entering the portal this spring with Gray the latest and seemingly final addition to the roster before the season starts.

“As soon as we called it was done. He was like, ‘I should have come here to start with,’” Frank Martin said of Gray. “He was like, ‘I should have listened to you the first time. I can’t wait to get there.”

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Led by assistant Chuck Martin then, the Gamecocks pursued Gray heavily coming out of high school in Connecticut with the 2020 class but lost out to the Tigers.

Gray only played in 10 games last season for a team that reached the Sweet 16, scoring eight points (3-for-6 from the field) with 12 rebounds and a block in 33 total minutes.

Frank Martin said he had some ideas of why Gray didn’t play in Baton Rouge—opting not to expand on those—but thinks the combination of Gray’s size, ability to run and rim presence can positively impact this year’s roster.

“Based on who he was in high school, he can be as good a runner we have on our team and he’s unbelievably competitive at the rim, which are things we lacked last year. I didn’t think we were very competitive at the rim from the guard spot or big spot,” he said.

“I didn’t think we were competitive at the rim last year on offense or defense. He brings physicality at the rim with the ability to run…I think if he’s willing to come in here and work, which is what we spoke to him in high school about, he’s going to have an opportunity to play.”

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After starting last year with one player on the roster listed at 6-foot-10 or taller, the Gray—along with Wildens Leveque and Tre-Vaughn Minott—gives the Gamecocks another large option to put in the front court.

“I think the one thing that stands out with Josh is his size. It’s legitimate 6-foot-11 and a half, 7-feet tall and 250 pounds. There aren’t a lot of human beings walking the Earth who look like that,” Chuck Martin said. “When you see a 17 or 18 year old kid that looks the way Josh looks and runs the way he runs, you get excited. He’s raw and he’s young and he has to continue to develop and get better but he’s big and he has tons of potential.”

Gray is expected to arrive on campus Thursday and begin on-court work with the staff once they reconvene after off-campus recruiting this weekend, and the staff will get a better feel for where his game is currently.

Frank Martin knows the big man isn’t a finished product and hasn’t played consistent minutes in over a year but thinks with some work Gray and develop into a good player and someone who can help the Gamecocks’ front court this season.

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“If he commits to that work I think the ceiling is nowhere near where any of us can touch as far as his room for growth. Like every other guy in high school he’ll shoot a three here or there but that’s not what he does,” he said.

“I’d say no one’s ever taught him how to play in the low post. He’s more of a ball screen and roll kind of guy who can dunk and alley-oop and offensive rebound. We have to spend some time on low post play and understanding how to play with his back to the basket and create angles and seals and making decisions."