The Daily Gamecock

Trio of players emerge as leaders in Gamecocks win

With the departure of Sindarius Thornwell, the South Carolina men’s basketball team has been looking for a strong leader all season. They finally found that leadership Tuesday night, and it showed, as the Gamecocks were able to come back and get the upset over No. 18/16 Kentucky Wildcats. 

"When I tell you we were looking for leadership is when things are not going your way, somebody to give everyone courage," head coach Frank Martin said after the win. "First time all year, I see it today."

He went on to say three players stepped up and were those leaders in Tuesday's game: Chris Silva, Wesley Myers and Frank Booker. When the Gamecocks started to cool off, trailing by as much as 14 in the second half, these players helped the team refocus and lead the team to the win. 

"Those three guys, we were trying to let it go, we were trying to hang our heads again, but those three guys said 'no, not tonight' and a lot of credit to them for doing that," Martin said. 

Silva led the team offensively, matching his career high with 27 points and notching eight rebounds. While Martin was pleased with what Silva brought on the court, he was even more pleased with how he was interacting with the team.

"Chris is at the table waiting to check in and the game's going on and he's yelling at Hassani about what he's supposed to run," Martin said of Silva's leadership. "We haven't had that; Chris has been working to do that."

Myers didn't have the best night offensively, and Martin said he made some mistakes during the game. He was pleased with how Myers has stepped up, taken accountability and became a leader.

"He's embracing what we're trying to teach. He's not fighting it, and when he makes mistakes, he's receptive to information," Martin said. "Wes is an unbelievable kid. He's too quiet, too quiet — he needs to be louder. And he's starting to do that, he's starting to talk and that's because he's starting to feel more confident with what he's doing."

Martin said when they were down in the second half, that's when he really saw the leadership come through. He said he wanted to find the players that still had some life in them and get them to lead the rest of the team. 

"That was a moment that wasn't about coaching, that was a moment about kids taking ownership, and that's what we've been pushing for, for a long time," Martin said. "And our guys took ownership today. Now, what are we going to do? Are we going to build on that?" 

And Martin will look to Silva, Myers and Booker, specifically, to do just that as they host No. 21/20 Tennessee on Saturday.   


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