South Carolina basketball: everything Frank Martin said about the transfers
By Jacob Elsey
South Carolina basketball adds 4 transfers to the 2021 roster.
The South Carolina basketball lineup will look a little different next season, as the Gamecocks have now brought in four new faces to the program over the last few weeks. Those four transfers will take the place of some players that are leaving the South Carolina program in Trae Hannibal, TJ Moss, Jalyn McCreary, and Justin Minaya.
Yesterday, head coach Frank Martin met with the media for the first time since the end of the last year to discuss what he expects from the newcomers, and look at how they’ll fit into the team’s future.
Two of the four transfers are originally from the Columbia area, in Chico Carter and James Reese. Carter, a third-year player from Murray State, played his high school ball at Cardinal Newman. The guard brings a legitimate scoring threat to the team, after averaging 12.7 points per game in his sophomore slate with the Racers. He started the final eight contests of the regular season, notching four 20-point games and averaging 18.4 points over that time.
Reese, on the other hand, is a fifth-year player making his fourth college stop. The AC Flora graduate initially went to Buffalo before transferring to Odessa Junior College, and eventually, North Texas. Reese was the Mean Green’s second leading scorer in 2020 at 10.9 points per game, and tallied double figures in both of the team’s NCAA Tournament games. While Reese can score, he’ll be even more of an asset on the defensive side of the ball, which was an area the Gamecocks were lacking last season. The senior ranked in the top 10 among Conference USA steals leaders in 2020, and is known to be an aggressive, gritty on-ball defender.
Here’s what Martin had to say about bringing these two players back home.
"“Coming out of high school, I always looked back at those two and say, I think I made a mistake, because I didn’t offer those two a scholarship. They’re two of my favorite players that I watched play here in the Midlands… Those two guys are going to bring tremendous toughness, character, talent, shooting. I’m excited for both of those guys, along with being local kids, because both, at the end of the day, their dream was to play at South Carolina.”"
Another guard, Erik Stevenson, will also be expected to help out next year. A transfer from Washington, he, too, will be asked to bring tenacity to the defense. At 6-foot-3, he’s lengthy enough to make life difficult for smaller backcourt players, and should fit in nicely with coach Martin’s scheme.
Prior to a season at Washington, the Evergreen State native played for two years under Gregg Marshall at Wichita State. Martin got to see his abilities first hand in a 70-47 shellacking in 2019. That matchup, Stevenson scored 19 points and pulled in eight boards to lead the Shockers to a big victory.
Martin remembers it vividly, and has been trying to get Stevenson to come to Columbia ever since.
"“Erik’s a dynamic personality; he’s aggressive. I know this, when we were getting ready to play Wichita State in Cancun I was watching him on film and was like, ‘I like this guy.’ Then we went out and played and he single-handedly destroyed us in a game we had no chance to win. We tried to recruit him a year ago and he wanted to go home. Obviously going home didn’t work out the way he planned. He was as excited as excited can be when we called this time around.”"
Last but not least is the addition of forward AJ Wilson. The lone post player in the group, Wilson left George Mason as the program’s all-time leader in blocked shots. The fifth-year veteran has always been a force on the glass, averaging more than two blocks and six boards a game over the last two seasons, but he’s also seen improvement on offense. After posting 3.7 points per contest in his first two seasons, the big man saw a bump to 12.2 points as a junior. That boost helped him earn most improved player in the A-10.
Last year, he saw a dip to 7.8 points per game, but he’s proven to be an efficient scorer. Wilson has made 47% of his two-point shots over four seasons, and his defensive prowess will definitely land him minutes for Frank Martin in 2021.
"“I loved him in high school cause of the aggression he played with, but offensively he was very underdeveloped at that stage. He went to George Mason and had a heck of a career there… He chases that ball, man. He blocks shots, he rebounds offensively and defensively. He runs the court. Offensively he’s improved drastically.”"
These additions should help the Gamecocks on many levels. First and foremost, they’ll immediately improve a defensive unit that allowed the most points per game in the conference last season. The 79.1 point mark was the worst of the Frank Martin era, and the highest rate allowed in nearly two decades.
Locking down opposing backcourts with the three newly added guards will go a long ways in limiting scoring opportunities. It will hopefully allow the team to play more aggressively, which should result in turnovers and fast break scoring chances. Adding a rim protector in Wilson is also a key piece that was missing last year.
Things looked dire for Martin and the South Carolina basketball program after the initial exodus from last year’s roster, but the tenth-year head coach has done a fantastic job of refilling the cupboard with immediate contributors. These additions will undoubtedly help the Gamecocks put a tougher, more Martin-esque product on the floor as they look to erase the memories of last year and get back to their winning ways.