It took the Gamecocks less than a game to get weird with their lineups.
With the bigs not playing well in Wednesday’s 77-55 win over North Alabama, Frank Martin opted to play the smallest of small ball with a three-guard lineup, Justin Minaya anchoring the power forward spot and Jalyn McCreary at center.
And, oddly enough, it worked.
“I started practicing last week at the four, and I like that lineup,” Minaya said. “We spread the floor and it’s a versatile group and can do a lot of different things. I thought it worked well.”
Also see: Instant analysis from Wednesday's win
The Gamecocks had a sickness sweep through the team last week which caused Maik Kotsar to miss a few days of practice leading up to the season opener and played like it. Wildens Leveque also missed the season opener with a foot injury.
He finished with six points and two rebounds as the Gamecocks’ bigs not named Jalyn McCreary combined for six points, five rebounds and three turnovers.
Minaya on the other hand, in his first game back in almost a year after a scary knee injury in practice last season, went for 17 points and 11 rebounds and played at the four spot a significant amount of time Wednesday night.
He did it all after not having practiced at the power forward spot for more than a week, and it might be something the Gamecocks (1-0) consider doing more of moving forward.
“That’s the great thing about having a guy with a little experience,” Frank Martin said. “You can adapt on the fly sometimes. Is that something I’ll do more as we go forward? I think it’s more of a gut feel depending on the opponent and the way the first year big guys are practicing. We have to have a better three days of practice than what we did.”
Also see: What Frank Martin said postgame
Minaya was helped tremendously by Jalyn McCreary, a freshman who resembles more of a would up coil in both potential energy and bounce-ability, who finished with nine points to lead all freshmen and four rebounds.
His head coach joked he still has “no idea of anything we’re doing” but he has the athleticism and talent to where he’ll see significant minutes and the coaches aren’t afraid to play him at the center spot.
“Jalyn is a tremendous kid. He reminds me a lot of Chris Silva as a freshman. He has no idea of anything we’re doing. I’m trying really, really hard to get him to understand. He’s a great kid. He cares,” Martin said. “He calls me like everyday saying, ‘I need to come see you because I don’t understand.’ I say, ‘come on,’ and what I tell him over and over is you’re going to get confused, I understand. It’s part of the deal and all freshmen go through this. What you can’t do is not play with the aggressiveness you possess. When you see the ball, go get the ball. when we shoot, go get the rebound. Defensively, work your tail off and understand what we’re trying to do. As you grow, you’ll keep playing.”
Also see: Examining the Gamecocks' path to the NCAA Tournament
McCreary is still learning, but if he plays the way he played Wednesday, he has the ability to see a lot of time on the court this season, similar to Silva who averaged 13.3 minutes per game as a freshman.
Center spot or not, he’ll likely see the floor more.
“He’s going to help us win games,” Martin said. “He’s an unbelievable kid. I’m going to keep playing him, and I’m going to keep aging in dog years because of it. It’s all worth it.”
