South Carolina Basketball: SEC coach calls Gamecock forward league's best freshman

Early this season, South Carolina basketball fans tried to tell the rest of the country that they had one of the nation's best freshmen.

The claims fell on deaf ears early in the season as 4-star freshman Collin Murray-Boyles missed the opening month as he dealt with mononucleosis. Then, when he did return, over the next month he was on the court, CMB took some time to get back up to speed and strength.

Now, the college basketball world is catching on to just how good Collin Murray-Boyles is. In February, he is scoring 18 points per game on 69% shooting while pulling down 6.7 rebounds and tallying over 2 stocks (steals + blocks) per game. He's been remarkably consistent, as well, as he has scored at least 12 points and rebounded at least 5 misses in each of those games. His game against Vanderbilt saw him tie the South Carolina basketball freshman record with 31 points.

He won the SEC Freshman of the Week honors three weeks ago, and he has been getting a lot of love from national analysts and others around the sport. This week, Carolina's next opponent raved about Collin Murray-Boyles.

While previewing the Gamecocks during his weekly press conference, Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams called Murray-Boyles the "Freshman of the Year in the league." In case that wasn't clear enough, Williams added that he "is really, really good."

The Aggies' headman also had some kind words for the Gamecocks as a team. He called Lamont Paris' team "the most improved team in Power-5." Williams spoke highly of the Gamecocks' ability to stay true to their identity (slower-paced offense, smart decision-making, physical defense) and how smoothly the Gamecocks have incorporated all of the new faces into their team this season.

The Gamecocks and Aggies will tip off on Wednesday at 8:30 PM EST, and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.