C
Collyn Taylor
Guest
South Carolina pulled a surprise commitment late Thursday and into Friday, landing big man Tre-Vaughn Minott out of Canada. While it went a little bit under the radar, it's a big (literally) pick up for Frank Martin and South Carolina and had been in the works for a little bit.
With Patrick Iriel opting to leave school before the season started, it gave the Gamecocks a free scholarship to use once the fall semester was over (since Iriel transferred once the fall started, South Carolina couldn't use the scholarship and had to wait for the spring).
The Gamecocks mulled some things over and, once the season started, realized there was a need for another big man who could come in and play in the low post (Wildens Leveque was the only player on the roster who was over 6-foot-9).
Minott popped up on the radar and the Gamecocks began showing interest and moving forward with his recruitment in December. With the semester starting in early January, things had to move fairly quickly, and they did, landing Minott right as the semester was set to begin. Since this year doesn't count toward a player's eligibility, it seemed like a no-brainer for Minott to come in and essentially get a free semester.
Some backstory on Minott: he was born in Canada and was part of the 2020 class before reclassifying to 2021 and spending this summer at the NBA Academy Latin America and then committing to South Carolina. In this semester he was able to cut down on some weight and get his body ready to play a college game.
Playing in Canada, he had a natural connection with fellow Canadian AJ Lawson and the Gamecocks had built a solid relationship with coaches up there. Chuck Martin, who was the point man on the Gamecocks' recruitment of Lawson, was the lead on Minott as well. Oddly enough, both involved more unique situations with Minott obviously a mid-year enrollee and Lawson a late reclassification to the 2018 class and into school.
Minott is immediately eligible and will be available for South Carolina whenever the Gamecocks resume playing again.
The biggest question is what his impact will be the remainder of this year.
His immediate impact is pretty simple: he's 6-foot-10 and gives the Gamecocks another big who can play low and gives the Gamecocks another rim protector. Minott's a bigger-bodied guy who's spent the last few months getting his body ready to play at a DI level and has shed some fat while adding muscle. His length should absolutely help him rebound, in the Gamecocks' zone defense and protect the rim.
Minott will have a hefty learning curve coming in halfway through the season needing to learn a lot of South Carolina's defensive concepts and what they're trying to do offensively. He has a chance to earn some minutes early in his time at South Carolina, and it'll be up to Martin to run things offensively he's comfortable with and defensively get him up to speed. The good news for Minott is he's long, which will help do some things in zone South Carolina's doing this year.
With Patrick Iriel opting to leave school before the season started, it gave the Gamecocks a free scholarship to use once the fall semester was over (since Iriel transferred once the fall started, South Carolina couldn't use the scholarship and had to wait for the spring).
The Gamecocks mulled some things over and, once the season started, realized there was a need for another big man who could come in and play in the low post (Wildens Leveque was the only player on the roster who was over 6-foot-9).
Minott popped up on the radar and the Gamecocks began showing interest and moving forward with his recruitment in December. With the semester starting in early January, things had to move fairly quickly, and they did, landing Minott right as the semester was set to begin. Since this year doesn't count toward a player's eligibility, it seemed like a no-brainer for Minott to come in and essentially get a free semester.
Some backstory on Minott: he was born in Canada and was part of the 2020 class before reclassifying to 2021 and spending this summer at the NBA Academy Latin America and then committing to South Carolina. In this semester he was able to cut down on some weight and get his body ready to play a college game.
Playing in Canada, he had a natural connection with fellow Canadian AJ Lawson and the Gamecocks had built a solid relationship with coaches up there. Chuck Martin, who was the point man on the Gamecocks' recruitment of Lawson, was the lead on Minott as well. Oddly enough, both involved more unique situations with Minott obviously a mid-year enrollee and Lawson a late reclassification to the 2018 class and into school.
Minott is immediately eligible and will be available for South Carolina whenever the Gamecocks resume playing again.
The biggest question is what his impact will be the remainder of this year.
His immediate impact is pretty simple: he's 6-foot-10 and gives the Gamecocks another big who can play low and gives the Gamecocks another rim protector. Minott's a bigger-bodied guy who's spent the last few months getting his body ready to play at a DI level and has shed some fat while adding muscle. His length should absolutely help him rebound, in the Gamecocks' zone defense and protect the rim.
Minott will have a hefty learning curve coming in halfway through the season needing to learn a lot of South Carolina's defensive concepts and what they're trying to do offensively. He has a chance to earn some minutes early in his time at South Carolina, and it'll be up to Martin to run things offensively he's comfortable with and defensively get him up to speed. The good news for Minott is he's long, which will help do some things in zone South Carolina's doing this year.
