What Frank Martin said on Evan Hinson
SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL
Evan Hinson’s year of decisions seems to have taken one more turn this week with Will Muschamp saying the Gamecocks’ tight end was leaving the program.
The reason, Muschamp said, was for the former two-sport athlete to focus solely on basketball, something he gave up last season to focus more on football.
“That’s one of the reasons he picked to go to school here; he wanted to play both. Last year he made a decision,” Frank Martin said. “He just finally made a decision he wanted to be a full time basketball player.”
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Martin coached Hinson for two and a half seasons before Hinson left the team roughly halfway through conference play to center his attention on football spring practice.
Hinson went through all of spring practice with the Gamecocks and started with the team in August as it started preseason camp, but he was quickly sidelined after undergoing a procedure to fix an irregular heartbeat.
The initial prognosis was Hinson had to miss 4-6 weeks, but Muschamp said a week ago Hinson would only have to miss 1-3 weeks, which meant he’d be able to return sometime in mid-September.
Hinson left the team before the season started and is now in the transfer portal with no official announcement on his next landing spot.
This puts him in a peculiar spot now with basketball. The Gamecocks are currently full at the moment on scholarships with the NCAA-allotted 13. That means, if Hinson wants to play basketball again, he can’t do it at South Carolina.
No destination has been officially determined yet, if he decides to transfer.
“I don’t have a scholarship,” Martin said, “and he can’t afford to be in school here without a scholarship so we’re not an option.”
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Hinson was a key contributor for Martin when he was available to the basketball team, working his way into the starting lineup as a sophomore.
He finishes his basketball career averaging two points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.2 assists in 46 career games (17 starts).
If he does go to another school, Martin likes the kind of player it’s getting.
“He brings a toughness, a confidence, size. He’s a real good teammate. Teammates like him a lot. He can defend. He didn’t become a starting player for us because I liked him,” Martin said. “He did things and brought something to the table we really needed. I hurt for him. I know he put a lot of time on the football field, but it happens.”
Hinson struggled to find the field playing football, finishing his South Carolina career as a primarily special teams player with one reception for one yard.