NCAA Basketball Recruiting: 3-star recruits from 2019 class that will excel

F Jalyn McCreary – South Carolina Gamecocks

South Carolina believes they got a steal with three-star forward Jalyn McCreary, who had an under the radar recruitment overall. But opposing teams also may have thought that he’d sign with the Gamecocks program as well. He’s projected as an athletic forward with some scoring potential, averaging over 18 ppg his senior season in high school.

The 6’8 frontcourt piece was a big get for South Carolina, who desperately needs new faces after their leading scorer and rebounder Chris Silva has graduated. Felipe Haase has transferred from the program as well this offseason. Then there is Maik Kotsar, who despite being a three-star starter, hasn’t developed into a major impact player, failing to average double figures yet. They did bring in Tennessee Tech grad transfer Micaiah Henry for next season but will need to have their future frontline set.

One of the problems that the past Gamecocks big men have had has been a lack of overall athleticism, which has been problematic on the defensive end in particular. Head coach Frank Martin won’t have that issue with McCreary – at least on the skills part. Silva’s departure has opened a lot of minutes and the senior bigs aren’t good enough to be guaranteed a starting role. We’ve seen Coach Martin give opportunities to freshmen before, so don’t be surprised if this one does the same.