Gamecocks will have the transfers—Chico Carter Jr., Josh Gray, Brandon Martin, James Reese, Erik Stevenson and AJ Wilson—available to the media starting at 3:30 p.m. We'll have updates in this thread. Guys will meet with the media for about 10 minutes.
James Reese up first.
--Said he's happy to be home right now and things are going well during preseason work. Waking up at home and being able to drive home and see his newborn niece, he doesn't take that for granted. He's been dreaming of playing at South Carolina since he was a freshman in high school.
--Reese was in the portal and was seriously considering going back to North Texas and Frank Martin called him 30 minutes before he had to tell his coach if he was going to be back or not. Martin was real with him on the phone and he didn't want to miss this opportunity.
--A big reason he wanted to come home is to help get South Carolina back to the tournament. Said this team isn't far off from that. He's excited about gelling with this group of guys.
--He thinks he can bring a different type of mentality to the team and can be a versatile piece of this team. He defends at a high level and he's been part of some winning programs.
--Team is bonding well through the summer with so many faces. He knew Chico Carter, Brandon Martin before college since they grew up in Columbia and he's really bonding well with the new guys he didn't know.
--Said everybody dreams of winning at a high level at the hometown school. Says he wants to make that happen "so bad."
Chico Carter Jr. up now.
--It "feels so good to be back home. I can't express that enough." Said it's been good so far and thinks it will be down the road too.
--Carter signed a deal with an underwear company and thinks NLI will grow as the season going on.
--Feels like he's ready for the jump from the OVC to the SEC but he's ready for it. He's learned a lot about playing at this level in a few short weeks and said he's really improved his body now that he's been on campus.
--Said he had a few options leaving Murray State and really happy Frank Martin called. Said he was happy South Carolina wanted to have him come join the team.
--Team comes in ready to work and with a new team guys have to listen and execute well. The energy is consistently good and thinks that'll carry this team through the season.
--Having a bunch of new faces can make it hard to really gel but guys have been good about communicating and knowing they have to gel quickly. Said they know leadership-wise they have to have guys in those roles.
Erik Stevenson
--The transition has been really good outside of the humidity.
--Said he's happy with the system he's in right now. He thinks being in Frank Martin's system really fits his style of play. He wants to be physical in a tough man-to-man defense is "refreshing."
--Stevenson said he and Frank Martin talked after they played in Cancun and they've been close ever since. Said he moved this far from home (Washington) because he trusts Frank Martin and the sincerity he brings to conversations.
--Thinks they have the pieces to get to the tournament but still need to mature and get tougher. But thinks they have the tools to be pretty good.
--Said defensively here guys are more up the lines in the passing lanes but both are pretty similar in terms of the philosophy and toughness the coaches want to play with.
--Definitely thinks he can be a leader and he's been a leader and isn't afraid to tell guys how to go about their business. Said he wants to help younger dudes learn the game as much as possible. He's in there daily and knows he needs to work and thinks he'll be fine.
AJ Wilson
--Wanted to take advantage of his grad year. Said he was in the portal for about two weeks when Bruce Shingler and Frank Martin called him. They explained a lot about what his role is going to be in terms of being a veteran and adding some size to the floor. He's excited about being in Columbia.
--SEC basketball is more physical and guys are really holding each other accountable in just about everything. Said there's an intensity and attention to detail with the team. He's grown already in a few weeks here.
--Summer workouts have been good about building chemistry. Guys are trying to learn how the other guys want to play and their specific moves. Big thing for him is learning how to use his body a little bit more from a rebounding and shot blocking perspective because he knows he won't be the biggest and most athletic guy on the court anymore.
Josh Gray
--South Carolina recruited him, primarily Chuck Martin, and he ultimately picked LSU. Chuck Martin reached back out in May when he went into the portal and that was it.
--LSU just wasn't the right fit stylistically to what he wanted to do. South Carolina is the "exact opposite" and the right fit for his game. The man to man defense and dumps inside to bigs and utilizing size on the team was a big thing instead of going small (which LSU does). The whole system of using the bigs in pick and rolls and dump downs is "right up my alley."
--Even though he didn't play a lot last year, he took a lot of mental notes at LSU about what worked and what was successful. Said he wants to really impart that on some of the guys here. He really thinks he can be a good two-way player. He runs really well and moves quickly for a big man and thinks he can "make his money" in transition as a 6-foot-11 big. Said he also thinks he'll be a good piece in the half court too.
Brandon Martin
--Feels a little different being around the program in this capacity but it's not too weird. Now he's practicing and "in the fire" now. Mentions he has great relationships with the entire staff having known most for a while.
--After the season he talked with his dad about the season and Frank Martin brought up the idea of him coming to South Carolina after Brandon mentioned potentially leaving USC Upstate.
--Said it's not hard going through practice with his dad. Said he knows it's about listening and playing hard. Said the balance of the relationship between father-son and coach-player was a little weird at first but it's gone well once they've gotten used to it. A big person that really helped him was Tyler Underwood, Brad Underwood's son, who played under his dad for a few years at Illinois. Said Tyler was really helpful in helping him understand the dynamic.
--Said being with his family during the Final Four run was awesome. Being there for the Duke game was exciting. It was "a moment me and my family won't forget."
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