Carrera pulls down 15 rebounds to lead USC to overtime victory
South Carolina coach Frank Martin’s recruitment of Michael Carrera consisted of one phone call.
“That’s the kind of belief that kid has,” Martin said. “He said he always wanted to play for me and it was one phone call. When I made that phone call, he said, ‘Coach, I have so much respect for you, and it gives me a chance to play in the SEC.’ He goes, ‘I’ll take that right away.’”
In the 6-foot-5-inch Venezuelan freshman forward, Martin found an ideal player for his system -— aggressive on the court and passionate off it. Carrera finished with a double-double in his first collegiate game, pushing the Gamecocks to an 82-75 overtime win of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Carrera had 17 points with 15 rebounds and three blocks, a stat line that made senior Lakeem Jackson wide-eyed, as the Gamecocks have not had a 15-rebound game in two seasons. On the floor or on the bench, Carrera was as animated as his head coach, waving his arms up and down to get the crowd going or yelling at a teammate about something he wasn’t pleased with.
With his shorts rolled up above his knees, Carrera stands out with his long arms, having a wingspan of over 7 feet. Watching him play can be exhausting with how he dives for every loose ball and tries to contest every shot.
“What you saw on the court is everyday in practice,” said senior guard LaShay Page. “He’s one to play hard. He’s a high-energy guy. He’s yelling. That’s just his thing.”
Freshman Mindaugas Kacinas finished 13 rebounds with eight points, combining with Carrera to have 28 of the team’s 45 rebounds. Martin’s policy is that freshmen do not speak to the media during their first semester, so Carrera and Kacinas were not made available after the game.
“I couldn’t be happier with two kids playing in their first Division I basketball game to take that kind of pride in something they know we were bothered about as a staff,” Martin said. “That won us the game — the offensive rebounding. It was relentless. It was an unbelievable assault on the rim with us on offense. That’s part of our personality. It’s going to be a staple of South Carolina basketball and I’m extremely proud of those two guys.”
After tying the game on two free throws from Kacinas, the Gamecocks relied on guard Brenton Williams in overtime. With point guard Eric Smith out of the game with cramps, Williams took over at the point, scoring 12 of his 16 points in overtime, eight of which came at the free throw line.
Despite the success he had at the point, Martin said he will stick with Smith as the starter.
“Defensively, [Williams] is not as solid right now as those other guys are,” Martin said. “It’s feast or famine with him. He’s going to shoot some balls that you’re going to sit there and say, ‘oh my God.’ But he’s a wonderful kid and we don’t win without him down the stretch there ... He’s the secret weapon. You don’t play him all game, then he’s fresh and blows by people. He made some big plays. Those free throws were worth a million bucks.”
Milwaukee led by as much as 15 points at the start of the second half, South Carolina having to claw back with a 70.8 shooting percentage from the field to tie the game at 66 in regulation. The Gamecocks were just 9-of-34 from the field in the first half, 0-of-8 from 3-point range. Page, expected to be a scoring threat as a fifth-year senior transfer from Southern Miss, was just 1-of-9.
Page finished with 19 points to be the leading USC scorer, but the star was Carrera who was a consistent force to be reckoned with the entire game and made his presence felt even when he wasn’t in it.
On a team with low expectations from the outside, Carerra represents what the Gamecocks could be in the future under Martin. Just like the program as a whole, he’s a work in progress.
“Mike’s biggest strength is his passion, and Mike’s biggest weakness is his passion,” Martin said. “There were certain times where he was so wrapped up with the moment, he didn’t listen so he couldn’t get to the next play. That’s something that we need to get rid of. It takes time to do.”
Chatkevicius out: Freshman center Laimonas Chatkevicius will miss six games after the NCAA determined he received impermissible benefits from his host family before enrolling at South Carolina, USC announced before the game.