doublea1971
GCF Top Poster
As everyone knows, the 'Cocks sit at a respectable 3-1 on the young season. After watching the play so far, with a group of guys that none of us know well (nor know what to expect from them), here are a few things I note:
1.) Our returning players are leading the charge in scoring. It's no big secret that Frank Martin's teams are at their best when they have a core of players who have spent 2+ years in his system. With all of the defections/changes from last year's team, the big question mark for most of us was what would the new guys bring to the table, and how well would they mesh.
Well, the good news is that at the 4 games into the season point, the guys that seem to be doing the yeoman's share of the work are Jermaine Cousinard and Wildens Leveque.
I reviewed the stats from each game so far, and it was interesting to see that in Game #1 (v. USC-Upstate), Cousinard & Leveque were our top 2 scorers (with 14 pts. each). Game #2 (v. Princeton), Cousinard again was #1 with 17 points, and Leveque was #3 with 12 points (Eric Stevenson was in between them at #2). Game #3 (v. W. Ky), Cousinard was in the lead of scorers with 16 points. (Leveque, unfortunately, was saddled by fouls and was not in the top 3). Game #4 v. UAB saw Leveque in the top 3 scorers, with 13 points. (Cousinard, like Leveque in Game #3, was not a major factor).
So thus far, Cousinard has paced the Gamecocks as the top scoring player in 3 of the 4 games. Leveque has been in the top 3 scorers in 3 of the 4 games (including a tie for first w/Cousinard in Game #1).
This is a good sign for things to come, as having those two as reliable scorers in double figures each game takes the pressure off some of the new guys, who will eventually come into their own (like Reese and Stevenson, who I believe will become key cogs in the Gamecocks system this year).
2.) Brandon Martin may be a factor this season. This one came as a bit of a surprise to me. Most of the NCAA coaches who have sons who play for them tend to shy away from playing their kids too much, so as to not seem to be playing favorites. Brandon Martin would seem to fit into that same category, as he is LAST in minutes played other than C. Carter of the guys who have played in all 4 games this season (Benson, Minotte, and Mike Greene are the only players who have not played in every game on the season, with the exception of the injured/suspended players).
Brandon's minutes on the court, however, have been meaningful. He has shown an aptitude for understanding the defensive side of Coach Martin's schemes, and he has also been a factor in scoring - averaging 2.5PPG, and also grabbing 2.8 rebound/game. His assist/turnover ratio is positive, he's even logged two steals and blocked shot. He might be one of the first guys off of the bench if he keeps playing with the gusto he's shown so far. And he might also be a "spark plug" kind of player in the mold of Keyshawn when Bryant was a Freshman - a guy who is a crowd favorite, and does the little things which get the team back into the game during dry spells of shooting.
3.) Benson and Minotte are the "lost boys" right now. Ja'Von Benson is averaging 4.5 RPG in limited minutes on the court (he's only played in 2 of our 4 games so far, and only logged 12 minutes in those two games). In the USC-Upstate game, Benson looked pretty solid, defensively - creating some good turnovers and hustling to the ball. So why does he seem to be the last option off the bench for our C/PF play? Minotte was a player who seemed to provide some effort for the 'Cocks last season. This year? Same thing as Benson... limited minutes (and games played). His numbers are only slightly ahead of Benson for all categories.
It would appear to be a combination of two factors for these two... the proverbial "practice" effort, which Coach Martin harps on every season. You practice well, you play well... and Coach Martin gives you the chance to prove you can play well in games if you practice well. But the more "hidden" factor seems to be scoring. Benson is 1-5 in shooting from the field, and has no trips to the line for FTs. Minotte is 1-1 in shooting, and has no trips to the FT line either. For two guys with significant height and bodies which can be used to "bruise" their way around the basket... those numbers are simply unacceptable. They've both got a large hill to climb to get out of Coach Martin's doghouse and earn minutes on the court.
4.) Starting lineups and mid-game lineups are still up in the air. It would appear that Coach Martin is still tooling with which players mesh well together in games. We've seen the very large lineup with Josh Gray and Wildens Leveque playing simultaneously. We've seen the 4 guard lineup as well. Both groups have been effective for stretches and both groups have looked abysmal at times. I believe it's a good thing that we have so much versatility this season with lineups, and the early games have shown that any of these combinations can win games for us. (Princeton was an aberration, as far as I'm concerned, since we shot SO poorly as a team).
5.) The bigs, overall, need some work. My comments on Benson and Minotte (above) aside, Gray and Woodley are not getting to the FT line either. And THAT is a problem. (They have 4 attempts and 3 attempts respectively). With the lone exception of Wildens Leveque, Coach Martin is absolutely right to be disappointed with the play of his big men. In my estimation, that falls in large part on the Assistant coaches who work with the bigs. We need someone to step up and challenge those guys and make them understand that physical play is a necessity in Coach Martin's system. Just ask the Lithuanians from Martin's first season here.
6.) It remains to be seen how the wins and losses so far will help the Gamecocks come NCAA tourney talk. Of the squads we've faced so far (and will face on Tuesday), none of them have perfect records. USC-Upstate is now 1-3, Princeton and UAB are 3-1, and W. Ky is 1-2. Wofford has only played Clemson, with the other two opponents being Bob Jones and Erskine College, neither of which put up a real fight against the Terriers. Lots of folks like to complain about Coach Martin's non-conference slate, but I think that it is warranted this season, given the volume of new players on the court for the 'Cocks. We shall see how things pan out as the season progresses.
That's some of the interesting things I've seen so far. What kind of thoughts can you add for me? Curious to hear from y'all!
1.) Our returning players are leading the charge in scoring. It's no big secret that Frank Martin's teams are at their best when they have a core of players who have spent 2+ years in his system. With all of the defections/changes from last year's team, the big question mark for most of us was what would the new guys bring to the table, and how well would they mesh.
Well, the good news is that at the 4 games into the season point, the guys that seem to be doing the yeoman's share of the work are Jermaine Cousinard and Wildens Leveque.
I reviewed the stats from each game so far, and it was interesting to see that in Game #1 (v. USC-Upstate), Cousinard & Leveque were our top 2 scorers (with 14 pts. each). Game #2 (v. Princeton), Cousinard again was #1 with 17 points, and Leveque was #3 with 12 points (Eric Stevenson was in between them at #2). Game #3 (v. W. Ky), Cousinard was in the lead of scorers with 16 points. (Leveque, unfortunately, was saddled by fouls and was not in the top 3). Game #4 v. UAB saw Leveque in the top 3 scorers, with 13 points. (Cousinard, like Leveque in Game #3, was not a major factor).
So thus far, Cousinard has paced the Gamecocks as the top scoring player in 3 of the 4 games. Leveque has been in the top 3 scorers in 3 of the 4 games (including a tie for first w/Cousinard in Game #1).
This is a good sign for things to come, as having those two as reliable scorers in double figures each game takes the pressure off some of the new guys, who will eventually come into their own (like Reese and Stevenson, who I believe will become key cogs in the Gamecocks system this year).
2.) Brandon Martin may be a factor this season. This one came as a bit of a surprise to me. Most of the NCAA coaches who have sons who play for them tend to shy away from playing their kids too much, so as to not seem to be playing favorites. Brandon Martin would seem to fit into that same category, as he is LAST in minutes played other than C. Carter of the guys who have played in all 4 games this season (Benson, Minotte, and Mike Greene are the only players who have not played in every game on the season, with the exception of the injured/suspended players).
Brandon's minutes on the court, however, have been meaningful. He has shown an aptitude for understanding the defensive side of Coach Martin's schemes, and he has also been a factor in scoring - averaging 2.5PPG, and also grabbing 2.8 rebound/game. His assist/turnover ratio is positive, he's even logged two steals and blocked shot. He might be one of the first guys off of the bench if he keeps playing with the gusto he's shown so far. And he might also be a "spark plug" kind of player in the mold of Keyshawn when Bryant was a Freshman - a guy who is a crowd favorite, and does the little things which get the team back into the game during dry spells of shooting.
3.) Benson and Minotte are the "lost boys" right now. Ja'Von Benson is averaging 4.5 RPG in limited minutes on the court (he's only played in 2 of our 4 games so far, and only logged 12 minutes in those two games). In the USC-Upstate game, Benson looked pretty solid, defensively - creating some good turnovers and hustling to the ball. So why does he seem to be the last option off the bench for our C/PF play? Minotte was a player who seemed to provide some effort for the 'Cocks last season. This year? Same thing as Benson... limited minutes (and games played). His numbers are only slightly ahead of Benson for all categories.
It would appear to be a combination of two factors for these two... the proverbial "practice" effort, which Coach Martin harps on every season. You practice well, you play well... and Coach Martin gives you the chance to prove you can play well in games if you practice well. But the more "hidden" factor seems to be scoring. Benson is 1-5 in shooting from the field, and has no trips to the line for FTs. Minotte is 1-1 in shooting, and has no trips to the FT line either. For two guys with significant height and bodies which can be used to "bruise" their way around the basket... those numbers are simply unacceptable. They've both got a large hill to climb to get out of Coach Martin's doghouse and earn minutes on the court.
4.) Starting lineups and mid-game lineups are still up in the air. It would appear that Coach Martin is still tooling with which players mesh well together in games. We've seen the very large lineup with Josh Gray and Wildens Leveque playing simultaneously. We've seen the 4 guard lineup as well. Both groups have been effective for stretches and both groups have looked abysmal at times. I believe it's a good thing that we have so much versatility this season with lineups, and the early games have shown that any of these combinations can win games for us. (Princeton was an aberration, as far as I'm concerned, since we shot SO poorly as a team).
5.) The bigs, overall, need some work. My comments on Benson and Minotte (above) aside, Gray and Woodley are not getting to the FT line either. And THAT is a problem. (They have 4 attempts and 3 attempts respectively). With the lone exception of Wildens Leveque, Coach Martin is absolutely right to be disappointed with the play of his big men. In my estimation, that falls in large part on the Assistant coaches who work with the bigs. We need someone to step up and challenge those guys and make them understand that physical play is a necessity in Coach Martin's system. Just ask the Lithuanians from Martin's first season here.
6.) It remains to be seen how the wins and losses so far will help the Gamecocks come NCAA tourney talk. Of the squads we've faced so far (and will face on Tuesday), none of them have perfect records. USC-Upstate is now 1-3, Princeton and UAB are 3-1, and W. Ky is 1-2. Wofford has only played Clemson, with the other two opponents being Bob Jones and Erskine College, neither of which put up a real fight against the Terriers. Lots of folks like to complain about Coach Martin's non-conference slate, but I think that it is warranted this season, given the volume of new players on the court for the 'Cocks. We shall see how things pan out as the season progresses.
That's some of the interesting things I've seen so far. What kind of thoughts can you add for me? Curious to hear from y'all!
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