The harsh truth about the University of South Carolina’s men’s basketball program is that it’s been obsolete for nearly its entire existence. If you want to get technical, the program’s only success came during the Frank McGuire era, which spanned from 1964 to 1980. The former coach of NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain, McGuire coached and recruited South Carolina greats Alex English and Mike Dunleavy, both of whom graduated to find long-lasting success at the professional level. Since McGuire left the university, though, the program has squandered at, or below, mediocrity.
There was simply no allure to joining a Gamecock team that has repeatedly served as the SEC’s punching bag, at least until Frank Martin arrived. Martin earned his stripes at Kansas State, beginning in 2007. He rejuvenated Kansas State’s basketball team, coaching it to NCAA Tournament appearances in four of his five years as coach, and to the NIT Tournament the other. Upon arriving in Columbia, a restitution period was expected. Martin had to rebuild the culture, rebuild the roster and, most importantly, rebuild himself.
The head coach didn’t exactly leave Kansas State on the greatest terms, as he was often ridiculed for being too passionate at times. From time to time that passion spilled onto the floor in what appeared as public scolding, when in actuality it was merely Martin’s attempt to extract every ounce of talent from his players. So, after five years of success at Kansas State, he embarked on a journey to resuscitate a team with no identity.
Entering his fourth season in South Carolina, Martin has assembled his most talented crew to date. All of these players are Martin’s guys. He’s added six recruits to the roster but has also retained the core group of veterans that led South Carolina to its first winning season in six years. The group, highlighted by junior guard Sindarius Thornwell, junior guard Duane Notice and senior forward Mindaugus Kacinas, provides Martin with a solid foundation to build upon to potentially make a major leap this season. Leadership has been an issue in the past, but, according to Martin, that issue will stay in the past.
“The older guys are ready to go play; they’ve been great," Martin said. "You guys have sat here and listened to me for three years complain about leadership and personality and all those things. There’s nothing to complain about when it comes to that right now. Those guys have been absolutely phenomenal.”
Martin also alluded to the expected learning curve for the younger players in adapting to the college game. As the unit develops a sense of unity and cohesiveness, though, it could be a dangerous group. New recruits mean added depth for a team that was riddled by injury for most of last season.
Six new faces will take the court for the Gamecocks, perhaps the most familiar being P.J. Dozier, younger brother of Asia Dozier of the women’s basketball team. Dozier committed to South Carolina as a five-star recruit, ranked 19th in the ESPN Top 100. The 6-foot-6 point guard is the first McDonald’s All-American to attend South Carolina in almost 15 years and will likely provide relief for Thornwell and Notice off the bench. Despite Dozier’s highly-touted resume, Thornwell says the team will not harp on starting jobs.
“We feel like this is the better team since we’ve been here," Thornwell said. "Like coach said, we don’t care about competing for playing time. We’re just focused on helping each other get better and working together and trying to win.”
Coach Martin also addressed the Gamecocks frontcourt depth issues by recruiting forward Eric Cobb. Outside of Kacinas and senior forward Laimonas Chatkevicius, South Carolina had no viable options to clog the paint against larger opponents. Cobb, a 6-foot-9, 296-pound Jacksonville native, possesses an array of post moves, but more importantly has the size to compete with the elite talents the SEC will present. Though Cobb will likely have to drop a few pounds to keep up with the college pace, his addition will play a pivotal role throughout the season, especially if the injury bug stings the frontcourt.
The Gamecocks schedule is a bit more favorable than last season as well. The team will face the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats just once this season, as opposed to two matchups in the previous, but will be playing on their home court. The Gamecocks are scheduled to face the nation’s top recruit Ben Simmons and the Louisiana State Tigers just once as well, also on their home court. These two games will take place back-to-back in February.
The regular season will kick off on Saturday, as the Gamecocks take on the Norfolk State Spartans.