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LSU MBB transfer comes on board
- Thread starter Swayin
- Start date
A legit big man. He didn't get a lot of minutes his freshman year at LSU. He looks to be very athletic and long. Hopefully he helps the program.....
doublea1971
GCF Top Poster
His shooting has to come along better, but he's one heck of a defender at the rim. He's got a legit big man body, as you note. My hope is that he will help fill in the role that we lost in Alanzo Frink. The good news is that Frank Martin & co. recruited Josh pretty hard, so they know his skillset well... he's not coming in as an unknown (and hoped upon quantity). I like this pickup.
The article summarized the player movement this off-season pretty good if nothing else.
More experienced transfers are the only way to go when you loose as many as we have this time around.
I will go to the games and support the times, but it's hard to see us getting above .500 this season. The funny thing is I also felt the same at the beginning of the 2016-17 season, but the team was markedly better and the Final Four run happened.
Flip a coin.
doublea1971
GCF Top Poster
Here's the thing... only Hannibal, Minaya, and maybe Frink transfers came as shocks. It was a given that there was going to be some turnover, as it was obvious that team chemistry wasn't there and obvious that Frank Martin wasn't feeling some of the guys (Anderson, McCreary). Frank's system is all about getting the guys to operate as "brothers"... they spend inordinate amounts of time together during the off-season, and they know each other's tendencies quite well on the court. When things are firing on all cylinders, you get that '16-'17 feel.
I like most of the pieces that Frank has pulled in. Erik Stevenson is particularly intriguing to me, since he single-handedly TORCHED the Gamecocks a few years back. Injury held him back, and he seems to be at 100% again. Gray gives us another true (well, almost) 7 footer with a large frame to go along. Pair him with Tre Vaughan Minotte, and I think we have some impressive bigs (though the scoring from both is a question mark). Chico Carter will see plenty of minutes this year, and is an EXCELLENT supplement to Cousinard. All in all, I think Frank did a great job working the portal and finding the guys that fit all of our needs with the transfers. They, almost to a man, seem like they will be defensive minded (Martin style) AND will have offensive skills to compliment.
doublea1971
GCF Top Poster
Some good information on Josh Gray from Frank Martin and Chuck Martin yesterday. In a free article posted on GamecockCentral, Frank and Chuck had the following to say...
"I think the one thing that stands out with Josh is his size. It’s legitimate 6-foot-11 and a half, 7-feet tall and 250 pounds. There aren’t a lot of human beings walking the Earth who look like that...When you see a 17 or 18 year old kid that looks the way Josh looks and runs the way he runs, you get excited. He’s raw and he’s young and he has to continue to develop and get better but he’s big and he has tons of potential..." (Chuck Martin)
"If he commits to that work I think the ceiling is nowhere near where any of us can touch as far as his room for growth. Like every other guy in high school he’ll shoot a three here or there but that’s not what he does..." (Frank Martin)
"I’d say no one’s ever taught him how to play in the low post. He’s more of a ball screen and roll kind of guy who can dunk and alley-oop and offensive rebound. We have to spend some time on low post play and understanding how to play with his back to the basket and create angles and seals and making decisions." (Frank Martin)
https://southcarolina.rivals.com/news/martin-breaks-down-newest-transfer-portal-addition
As I have noted before, he's gonna be great for the Gamecocks at the rim. It's notable from what they say in the article that he's pretty raw. BUT... the guy is a legit 7 footer with a HUGE frame. He's Frink with a few more inches of height. I'm excited about what I see and read about this kid. He'll likely be a substitute player to begin the season, but if he pays attention and develops well, we could legit see two 7 footers playing on the floor at the same time (Minotte and Gray).
From the additions this offseason, I think we gained a LOT of athleticism. This should compliment what we already had in Keyshawn, and Cousinard. It will be an interesting season, getting these guys to gel, but I think the Gamecocks are in good hands and look forward to seeing the "new look" squad in action.
"I think the one thing that stands out with Josh is his size. It’s legitimate 6-foot-11 and a half, 7-feet tall and 250 pounds. There aren’t a lot of human beings walking the Earth who look like that...When you see a 17 or 18 year old kid that looks the way Josh looks and runs the way he runs, you get excited. He’s raw and he’s young and he has to continue to develop and get better but he’s big and he has tons of potential..." (Chuck Martin)
"If he commits to that work I think the ceiling is nowhere near where any of us can touch as far as his room for growth. Like every other guy in high school he’ll shoot a three here or there but that’s not what he does..." (Frank Martin)
"I’d say no one’s ever taught him how to play in the low post. He’s more of a ball screen and roll kind of guy who can dunk and alley-oop and offensive rebound. We have to spend some time on low post play and understanding how to play with his back to the basket and create angles and seals and making decisions." (Frank Martin)
https://southcarolina.rivals.com/news/martin-breaks-down-newest-transfer-portal-addition
As I have noted before, he's gonna be great for the Gamecocks at the rim. It's notable from what they say in the article that he's pretty raw. BUT... the guy is a legit 7 footer with a HUGE frame. He's Frink with a few more inches of height. I'm excited about what I see and read about this kid. He'll likely be a substitute player to begin the season, but if he pays attention and develops well, we could legit see two 7 footers playing on the floor at the same time (Minotte and Gray).
From the additions this offseason, I think we gained a LOT of athleticism. This should compliment what we already had in Keyshawn, and Cousinard. It will be an interesting season, getting these guys to gel, but I think the Gamecocks are in good hands and look forward to seeing the "new look" squad in action.
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I remember Frank always saying that while Laimonas would tire easily, he offset that by understanding how to guard ball screens.
Not sure what we will get this season with the 52-card pickup as far as the roster goes, but Gray should be decent if he can guard ball screens.
Not sure what we will get this season with the 52-card pickup as far as the roster goes, but Gray should be decent if he can guard ball screens.
Man I hope Frank can put it together this year. I'm ready for some good SC college hoops.