In one of his first ever appearances in the media, Frank Martin talked extensively about his teams playing hard and connected, “the only thing I ever promised,” he said.

Last year, the Gamecocks lost that.

The connectivity issue was real to watch—headlined by inconsistent point guard play—and something Martin’s talked about repairing heading into the season.

“It’s really hard to coach basketball when point guard play is disconnected from the coach. That’s what our point guard play was last year. It’s not a knock on players,” Martin said.

“Last year, I just could never get (Jermaine Couisnard) or anyone else to connect with me. The biggest reason for that is lack of practice and not being able to have any continuity. We were always disconnected.”

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The Gamecocks had a revolving door at point guard in a tumultuous 2020 season, playing four different players at the point with no one taking the reigns and establishing himself at the position.

South Carolina finished 13th in the league in offensive efficiency and stagnated offensively at times last season.

Part of it was in large part because the Gamecocks had so many disruptions in the middle of the year, and the coaching went about trying to address those issues in recruiting.

Along with returning Jermaine Couisnard for his fourth season with the program, brought in Rivals150 point guard Jacobi Wright and added Chico Carter Jr. (Murray State) and Erik Stevenson (Washington) out of the transfer portal.

Now comes the imperative part of the preseason where Martin has to figure out how each operates the offense and figure out stylistically what each brings to the table.

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“I’m not there yet with our point guard play. We have a lot of different kinds of players. Jermaine is completely different than Jacobi,” Martin said. “Jacobi’s completely different than Chico. Erik Stevenson, who can also slide to the point, is completely different than all three of those guys. We have different options. Here’s what I do know I have: unbelievable eagerness to learn.”

Despite still being a understandable work in progress a few days into the preseason, Martin likes what he’s seen from his group.

He made sure to say he didn’t doubt the group’s ability but he’s “trying to figure that spot out” and is “excited about everyone that can play at that spot.”

Time will tell what this group will turn into, but Martin is encouraged by what he’s seen so far in dealing with them this preseason.

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“I have spent more time in my office with these peoples learning about each other, about life, about my history, about how we play,” Martin said.

“My point guards have come in and asked me to see film on old point guards I’ve coached to see them play than I have the last two years. I’m not saying the previous two years are bad, I’m just saying that’s why I’m excited about what’s in front of us with these guys.”

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