SOUTH CAROLINA BASKETBALL
South Carolina hosts Boston University Tuesday night.
1. Wildens at work
Freshman Wildens Leveque had the best game of his young career against Cleveland State. Fellow freshman Jalyn McCreary was limited due to strep throat, and Leveque took advantage of the extra opportunity, scoring 12 points with two steals, a block and rebound in just 11 minutes. Leveque has yet to miss a shot this season and is 6-7 from the free throw line, no minor feat for a group of big men who have struggled mightily at the line. Leveque missed the first game of the season with a toe injury, but has flashed major potential in the two games since.
“My stubborn rear end has to get patient,” Frank martin said. “When you’re playing with energy, then you can let them play through mistakes.”
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Leveque has prototypical size for his position at 6-11 and 230 pounds, and he is long and springy, bringing to mind Chris Silva. He also is frequently surviving on hustle alone, with no idea where he is supposed to be, much like Silva was as a freshman.
“We’re at practice and we’re trying to defend their ball screen and all of a sudden he hard hedges,” Martin said. “I’m like, what are you doing? And he says, oh, that’s how we did it in high school. It’s been six months since he was in high school, but that’s the stuff of freshmen.”
McCreary and Alanzo Frink, the starter at power forward, are both a little undersized for their position. It isn’t a major concern now against smaller teams, but when teams get bigger and better, and with graduate transfer Micaiah Henry struggling, Leveque looks like he could play an important role this season.
2. More on Frink
Leveque’s big game overshadowed Frink, who had his first career double-double and notched career-highs with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Through three games he is leading the Gamecocks in rebounding at 6.3 per game, and after foul trouble limited him to just 12 minutes in the opener, Frink has avoided committing too many fouls.
Frink isn’t as flashy as Leveque or McCreary (at least in terms of play, not hair), but he’s ahead of them when it comes to knowing how to play.
“Alanzo has to get out of this laid-back mindset, and he’s so much better than he was two-years ago,” Martin said. “As he continues to learn how to pay with a greater sense of urgency he’s going to have the ability to impact the game tremendously.”
3. Missing Minaya
Justin Minaya had 17 points and 11 rebounds in the season opener against North Alabama and seemed fully healthy and poised for a big season. But he followed that career-night with just three points and four rebounds against Wyoming as his shot refused to fall. It got even worse against Cleveland State, when Minaya went 0-9 with two turnovers. It wasn’t just numbers, he didn’t look engaged on either end of the court.
It wasn’t a good sign for the player expected to be South Carolina’s glue guy. The experienced, selfless player who is an elite defender and can keep all the new players organized. Martin expressed concern following the game.
“He wasn’t mentally there. He’s as rock solid, always prepared, enthusiasm, energy. He didn’t say a word all game,” Martin said. “He wasn’t his typical self.”
4. Hustle
Martin adores as much as the next coach, and he was pleased with the Gamecocks’ hustle against Cleveland State. That led to a funny story about T.J. Moss who got a bloody lip diving for a loose ball.
“I’m not a big let’s slap five kind of guy so the cameras can say look at him, he’s happy,” Martin said. “I’m into coaching the next play. I’ll leave the chest bumping and all that to the cheerleaders. But when a kid creates the loose ball, outruns two guys, goes head-first, slams face into the ground and has blood coming out of his mouth, he deserves a high-five.”
So now you know what it takes.
5. Scouting the Terriers
The game is technically the first of two on-campus games in the Cancun Challenge. The Cancun part of the cancun Challenge takes place November 26-27, when South Carolina will play Wichita State and then either West Virginia or Northern Iowa. South Carolina leads the all-time series with Boston University 2-0, and Boston University has never beaten an SEC team (although it did beat Texas A&M in 1986, before Texas A&M joined the SEC).
The Terriers are 2-2 on the season. Walter Whyte leads the Terriers in scoring at 18.5 points and shoots 43 percent from three. He is also averaging 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 steals, so expect Minaya to draw the assignment of slowing down Whyte.
The Ws
Who: South Carolina vs Boston University
When: Tuesday, November 19, 7:00 pm
Where: Colonial Life Arena
Watch: SEC Network+
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