Men’s basketball to face St. John’s before hosting Clemson Sunday
As the Gamecocks prepare to play at St. John’s in the SEC/Big East Challenge tonight, two familiar faces are back to help the team.
Junior guard Bruce Ellington will be available to play until the football team resumes practice prior to its bowl game. Ellington practiced with the basketball team for the first time on Tuesday.
“It makes everything more competitive,” said junior point guard Eric Smith, Ellington’s former roommate. “It adds another body so our guys can stay fresh at practice. He looked well too, for being out so long.”
Coach Frank Martin said Ellington has visited his office at least once a week since August, and added that football coach Steve Spurrier has given his leading wide receiver full approval to play basketball.
Although he did not say how much playing time Ellington would receive, he said football players bring toughness and “a certain sense of ‘I have to get this done.’”
Freshman forward Laimonas Chatkevicius is also eligible to return to the team after serving a six-game suspension for receiving improper benefits from his host family.
“He’s obviously tall,” Martin said. “I hope that becomes productive in some way.”
At 6 feet 11 inches, Chatkevicius is the tallest player on South Carolina’s roster. Martin said his return should help the team protect the rim, which has been an area of concern for the defense. The freshman led the team with four blocks in USC’s exhibition match against Kentucky Wesleyan, the only game in which he has played.
But Chatkevicius also finished that game with no rebounds in his 17 minutes on the court.
“I won’t call it a fight because it’s a one-way conversation,” Martin said. “What he needs to understand is that we don’t need him chucking up threes. We need him to grab a rebound, maybe not every minute but maybe every four or five minutes rather than one every two weeks.”
Against the Red Storm, South Carolina will focus on limiting its turnovers after committing 46 in two games in the Hoops for Hope Classic in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, last week. The Gamecocks had 20 turnovers just in the first half of their game against Missouri State.
“We probably would have set an NCAA record for turnovers in a game if we hadn’t come down (in the second half),” Martin said.
Martin said high turnovers are a natural part of learning a new system on offense, particularly with a fast pace of play. But he added that they cost South Carolina between eight and 12 points a game because opponents take breakaway layups that are impossible to defend.
The Gamecocks have focused their defensive efforts on interrupting their opponents’ ability to pass the ball, forcing one-on-one matchups.
“Coaches have been on us hard about our defense, especially guys on the perimeter, telling us we need to guard the ball better,” Smith said. “We spent some time on that in practice out in Mexico, and it showed.”
After facing St. John’s, USC will return to Colonial Life Arena on Sunday to face Clemson. Although Martin is in his first year as South Carolina’s coach, he said he started hearing about the importance of the rivalry even before he got hired.
“It’s clear as day,” Martin said. “Part of the job description at the University of South Carolina is beating Clemson.”