Last season forward position was pretty set with a guy named Sindarius Thornwell holding things down for the most part. With one of the best players in program history now in the NBA, the Gamecocks needed someone to step up there.

Enter Justin Minaya.

The true freshman has started every game so far this season and has been one of the biggest standout players to date.

“I’m definitely still adjusting, still trying to get better,” he said. “It’s definitely a lot faster and a lot stronger.”

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Minaya’s played 71 percent of the team’s possible minutes and fourth on the team in offensive rating (104.3).

He’s third on the team with 10.8 points per game and is shooting the ball effectively well with a 55.5 shooting percentage.

But one of the biggest attributes, according to Frank Martin, can’t be quantified on a stat sheet. Minaya’s maturity sets him apart from other freshman, and it stems from familial ties.

Minaya’s father, Omar, is the senior vice president of baseball operations with the San Diego Padres in the MLB with previous stops with the New York Mets and Montreal Expos.

“When I was younger I would see professionals and see how they’d prepare for games and what they’d do before the game, during the game and after the game,” Minaya said. “I got to see the whole thing. That helped me a lot.”

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Growing up in New Jersey while his dad was assistant general manager with the Mets, Justin spent plenty of days at the ballpark and around the team seeing different players and how they prepared.

He would also go down to spring training in Florida with his family, and he even played baseball growing up before switching over fully to basketball after his freshman year.

Growing up around New York, Justin saw his father and the Mets have some success and lows as well, seeing an Eastern Division title and some sub-500 seasons. That means Justin knows exactly what makes a good team tick.

And it’s rubbing off on his team.

“He’s seen the DNA of winning teams, he’s seen the DNA of losing teams. When you get access to be around, you learn a lot about why some teams succeed and why some teams don’t,” Martin said. “He accepts responsibility. He’s obviously paid attention, and being exposed to it has helped him.”

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For Minaya, he’s still learning and adjusting to college basketball on the fly.

It’s still a learning process, he said, getting used to the speed and physicality that comes with playing in the SEC.

Coming in as a freshman, he didn’t expect to be playing that much. But now that he is, he’s not taking the moment lightly.

“I just try to do my best and do what the coaches ask me to do,” Minaya said. “I feel like if I do that, then everything will fall into place.”