Martin's message to freshmen entering the stretch run

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL

Chris Silva knows he and the two other seniors on the team, Hassani Gravett and Tre Campbell, only have a guaranteed seven games left in their college careers, and head coach Frank Martin knows it too.

That’s why he sat down after Saturday’s game against Texas A&M with the team’s freshmen to remind them just how important it is to stay engaged during this stretch run, and the message was simple.

“I don’t know how long you guys are going to be here for: two, three or four (years). I got no idea,” Martin told the team’s freshmen. “But the day you’re a senior, how are you going to feel the day a freshman don’t lay it on the line for you when you have six games to go? Is that what you want from your teammate? Are you going to do that to your teammate? Don’t do that to our seniors, man.”

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The message was told to the team’s three contributing freshmen but directed specifically at Alanzo Frink and Keyshawn Bryant, who combined for no points in 17 minutes in Saturday’s win.

After the game Martin wasn’t pleased with Bryant, who’s been a reliable starter in SEC play, saying the freshman needed to mature more for this stretch run as the Gamecocks (13-12, 8-4 SEC) fight for any postseason tournament berth.

The message was pretty clear to him and the rest of the freshmen to pick up some slack as the Gamecocks hit a vital part of the team’s schedule, and he had another message for the trio of seniors on the team.

“I told the seniors if I have to fight the fight for you, we’re not winning down the stretch,” Martin said. “You guys have to help me get these guys engaged to do things the right way. That’s part of the seniors’ responsibility.”

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And a large part of that responsibility will fall on reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year and candidate for All-SEC team this year Chris Silva, who’s emerged as one of the team’s most vocal leaders this season.

He said there’s no added sense of urgency from him heading into the final six regular season games of his career; he’s just focused on continuing to grow as a leader and bring the younger players along.

“It’s basically like being the way I have been all season. It’s not like one day I’m going to come and let them do what they want in practice and the next day I’m going to be aggressive saying I only have a few games left,” Silva said.

“Last year I really didn’t know how to lead. I was just an energy ball in practice and when coach got mad I got mad. Some players didn’t like how aggressive I was. This year I learned more how to talk with them.”

Also see: Gamecocks make good impression on a big-time Georgia DB

But the Gamecocks are fighting for more than just padding the seniors’ stats the final six games of the year.

They’re currently tied for fourth in the conference heading into Tuesday’s game with Ole Miss, the team they’re tied with at 8-4 in the league.

A win would go along way and secure at least a .500 record in SEC play with five games to play, all against teams with a .500 record or worse in conference play.

“There’s no time to let down,” Silva said. “There’s no time to say we’re tired because every team in this league this time of the year is tired. We have to be the ones pushing through.”