What Ja Morant said of Frank Martin, Trae Hannibal

If Frank Martin had his way, Ja Morant would have played his home games at Colonial Life Arena his last two years and would have given the Gamecocks their first top 10 pick since 1972.

But, life doesn’t work out the way coaches want sometimes. Morant, who went to Crestwood in Dalzell, opted to go out of state for college, attending Murray State where he turned into an All-American and the No. 2 pick in this year’s NBA Draft.

Frank Martin and Gamecocks were his only Power 5 offer out of high school and, even though Morant chose to go someplace else, he and Martin still have a positive relationship to this day.

“He definitely congratulated me on all I accomplished. I know I didn’t go to South Carolina but that’s just the type of person he is,” Morant said. “He still has the relationship with players that didn’t even go to his school.”

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Morant was offered by South Carolina and was eyeing a visit to Columbia but committed to Murray State on his visit right before he was expected on the Gamecocks’ campus.

He still hears from Martin from time to time and the Gamecocks’ head coach said in January, as Morant was ascending into stardom, he was a “really big fan of his” and Morant and his family are “wonderful people.

Martin reached out to Morant as he was going through a whirlwind few weeks as a lottery pick and getting set up in Memphis and the two have a good relationship even if Morant chose to go someplace else.

“It was an honor to get an offer from South Carolina and build that relationship with Frank Martin,” Morant said. “He’s a great dude, great coach and we have a good relationship.”

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Even though he went to Murray State, Morant is still close with a lot of in-state players, including Gamecock freshman Trae Hannibal, who lived less than an hour away from Dalzell in Hartsville.

The two played together growing up with Hannibal and Morant playing pickup basketball in his backyard when they were young.

“I remember playing with him in the backyard,” he said. “It’s just the type of love me and my family have for him.”

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So when he watched Hannibal throw down some insane dunks at the SC ProAm Sunday, where Morant was one of the special guests, it was nothing new.

Even as Hannibal blossomed into a top 150 player out of high school, a springboard of a guard who can jump out of the gym who Martin says can become a star at the college level, it’s all things Morant saw growing up together.

“He’s always been athletic,” Morant said. “I’m not even surprised at the stuff he does.”