South Carolina Basketball went from a surprise Final Four appearance in 2017 to going just 17-16 last season. Can the Gamecocks get back on the right path?
19 months ago, the South Carolina Gamecocks reached the school’s first-ever Final Four, had the SEC Player of the Year (Sindarius Thornwell), a number of legitimate NBA Draft prospects, a coach that was on top of his game, a program that was years ahead of schedule.
A lot of things have changed in those 19 months.
Frank Martin is still running the show in Columbia but his team – and his program – look vastly different. Heck, the Gamecocks were barely a .500 team last year (17-16) thanks to a number of unexpected departures that left the roster significantly depleted.
South Carolina is now trying to build their way back up to being what they were during the 2016-17 season. Star forward Chris Silva, an All-SEC preseason first-team selection, and Maik Kotsar are the only two starters that remain from that Final Four team.
They’ll be the two veteran leaders on a South Carolina team that is still very young, but Martin expressed his excitement about this freshman class at SEC Media Day.
"“I’m not saying we have freshmen that are going to play like (Michael) Beasley or Rose or one of those guys but it’s the most talented group of freshman that I’ve had in my time at South Carolina top to bottom: competitiveness, smarts, athleticism, accepting coaching. It’s the most talented group we’ve had.”"
The Gamecocks will need those freshmen to play major roles if they’re going to accomplish anything of note in 2018-19. So, what should fans expect?
Here’s a full preview for South Carolina’s upcoming season, including a look at their projected rotation and a breakdown of their non-conference schedule.