As the South Carolina men’s basketball team prepares for the start to its 2016-17 season, head coach Frank Martin was asked if he was comfortable about a very young part of his team, the frontcourt.
“I better be,” Martin quickly said.
In losing senior forwards Michael Carrera and Mindaugas Kacinas and center Laimonas Chatkevicius, the Gamecocks have one player, sophomore Chris Silva, which played significant minutes last season.
The rest of the frontcourt is made up of four freshmen – Khadim Gueye, Sedee Keita, Maik Kotsar – junior transfer Ran Tut and redshirt junior Jarrell Holliman.
“I think they are going to be fine,” Martin said. “They are young, they are going to be nervous and that’s the great thing about having older guys around that can help deal with those moments.”
In a changing of the guard (pun intended) it is now the Gamecocks backcourt, led by senior guards Sindarius Thornwell, Duane Notice and Justin McKie that will lead a still predominately young team.
“We’ve done a good job of building a team that can cater to the offense and the defense that we run, that fits Frank’s system the right way,” Notice said. “You have a big in Chris Silva that has done it. He knows what coach wants from him and can help the big guys out. And then you have plethora of guards that have been here and have been through the fire.”
The youth closer to the basket is not without talent. Keita was a four-star recruit and the No. 112 player in country according to 247Sports Composite.
Length, and a whole lot of it, is the early strength of this group:
Khadim Gueye – 7-0
Sedee Keita – 6-9
Maik Kotsar – 6-10
Chris Silva – 6-9
Ran Tut – 6-9
“Those young guys are all going to be extremely valuable to us. It’s going to be by committee,” Martin said. “They are all going to play and who plays more an all of that will be determined on maturity, the ability to retain information, to manage emotions, things of that nature.”
The team has already gelled having had the opportunity to practice for a 10-day period before their trip to Costa Rica in August. The Gamecocks have begun preseason practices and will host an exhibition game against Newberry on Nov. 6 before opening up the regular season at home against Louisiana Tech on Nov. 11.
“I better be,” Martin quickly said.
In losing senior forwards Michael Carrera and Mindaugas Kacinas and center Laimonas Chatkevicius, the Gamecocks have one player, sophomore Chris Silva, which played significant minutes last season.
The rest of the frontcourt is made up of four freshmen – Khadim Gueye, Sedee Keita, Maik Kotsar – junior transfer Ran Tut and redshirt junior Jarrell Holliman.
“I think they are going to be fine,” Martin said. “They are young, they are going to be nervous and that’s the great thing about having older guys around that can help deal with those moments.”
In a changing of the guard (pun intended) it is now the Gamecocks backcourt, led by senior guards Sindarius Thornwell, Duane Notice and Justin McKie that will lead a still predominately young team.
“We’ve done a good job of building a team that can cater to the offense and the defense that we run, that fits Frank’s system the right way,” Notice said. “You have a big in Chris Silva that has done it. He knows what coach wants from him and can help the big guys out. And then you have plethora of guards that have been here and have been through the fire.”
The youth closer to the basket is not without talent. Keita was a four-star recruit and the No. 112 player in country according to 247Sports Composite.
Length, and a whole lot of it, is the early strength of this group:
Khadim Gueye – 7-0
Sedee Keita – 6-9
Maik Kotsar – 6-10
Chris Silva – 6-9
Ran Tut – 6-9
“Those young guys are all going to be extremely valuable to us. It’s going to be by committee,” Martin said. “They are all going to play and who plays more an all of that will be determined on maturity, the ability to retain information, to manage emotions, things of that nature.”
The team has already gelled having had the opportunity to practice for a 10-day period before their trip to Costa Rica in August. The Gamecocks have begun preseason practices and will host an exhibition game against Newberry on Nov. 6 before opening up the regular season at home against Louisiana Tech on Nov. 11.
