Men’s basketball opens season Sunday against Milwaukee
South Carolina basketball coach Frank Martin is not one for setting a starting lineup in stone.
Asked at his Wednesday press conference if he knew who would start South Carolina’s first regular season game against University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Sunday, Martin said he had an idea but was not certain yet. He added that he would be a bad football coach because he wouldn’t be able to put together a depth chart.
But Martin made it clear that he has high expectations for his players and will reward them with playing time if they contribute on the floor.
“Everyone is still trying to earn the right to play, let alone be the starter,” Martin said. “It’s their job to earn roles, and it’s my job to manage their roles ... You either contribute to winning or you don’t, and I’m into the guys who contribute to winning.”
After USC’s narrow exhibition win over Kentucky Wesleyan, Martin expressed his disappointment in his post players, junior RJ Slawson and freshman Laimonas Chatkevicius, who combined for one rebound in 39 minutes. The Gamecocks needed a last-second layup from Brenton Williams to beat the Division II team by a point.
He said Chatkevicius’s lack of production on the boards was not entirely unexpected, since he has gone up to five practices at a time without tallying a rebound. But he added that the freshman will have to change his mindset if he wants contribute for USC.
For Slawson, the challenge will be accepting a bigger role than he played in his first two seasons.
“RJ has been kind of a background player here. ... He was never a focal guy, never a front-line guy,” Martin said. “He has to embrace that responsibility because that’s the kind of ability that he has for our basketball team. It’s getting him to understand that he has to do his job every day.”
Martin said the team’s first choice at point guard is junior Eric Smith, who started and played 39 minutes in the exhibition game. He had 11 points and two rebounds on the night.
“Point guard is the equivalent of our quarterback,” Martin said. “If he and the coach aren’t on the same page on both ends of the floor, it’s hard for the team to succeed. ... As long as he does his job and listens and continues to earn the right, he’s our most talented point guard. If he doesn’t, I’m comfortable playing other people.”
Martin said that junior Brenton Williams and fifth-year senior LaShay Page have also had reps at point guard, although Page has not had as much practice time as Martin would like due to a hamstring strain. Page’s last real experience at point guard was in high school.
It has not been determined yet whether Page will be available for Sunday’s game. Freshman forward Mindaugas Kacinas and sophomore guard Damien Leonard are also recovering from injuries, an ankle and broken nose, respectively. Martin said all three have practiced but that Kacinas is the most likely of the three to play.
With the injuries, USC’s practices have gotten “stagnant,” but Martin said Tuesday’s practice was the best the team has had in the past seven or eight days. He called the offense a “work in progress” but is seeing growth defensively.
When Martin decides on a starting lineup for Sunday, convention won’t be a factor. Instead of taking the traditional approach of having tall players inside, Martin said he would be comfortable with six-foot players as long as they were the ones that would help South Carolina win.
“I ain’t worried about what I don’t got,” Martin said. “I’m worried about what I do got, and utilizing what we do got to make it work. The guys that are on our team are our guys, and that’s the guys we’re going to line up and go with, and we’ll figure out a way to get things done.”