C
Collyn Taylor
Guest
South Carolina finished up its summer slate of workouts this week and players now get a few weeks off before classes start Aug. 22. Most guys will head back home and get some family time before coming back to school and starting work after that. Preseason work usually begins sometime in September.
Summer is a big stretch for this group with a lot of freshmen trying to put on weight to be able to play in the SEC. Trae Hannibal is up to 218 pounds and Alanzo Frink is at about 260, and he says he's put about 18 pounds of muscle on and shaved off quite a bit of fat.
Recruiting notes:
--It's a quiet period right now in the hoops world, which means coaches can't do any evaluations or recruit off-campus but can contact recruits and have them on campus for visits. My guess would be there may be one or potentially two visits occurring the next few weeks before the evaluation period starts Sept. 9.
--One of those may be Obinna Anochili-Killen, who told me he's planning a visit down to South Carolina sometime this month. This is the latest we have on him, and his recruiter of record is Chuck Martin.
--Another big the Gamecocks have been in on and recently offered was in state 2020 Ja'Von Benson out of Ridge View High School. Benson hopped on the team's radar recently and shot up their recruiting board, earning an offer after meeting with the coaching staff Thursday.
It's his first Power 5 offer and it's one he's very excited about. This won't necessarily speed up his recruitment timeline in terms of a commitment, and he told me yesterday he's still enjoying the recruiting process. I wouldn't be shocked to see some other Power 5 teams hop in the mix here. He told me yesterday he still wants to get down to campus for another visit soon. He unofficially visited in June.
--Spoke with Cliff Omoruyi's guardian Muhammad Oliver this week to see if they had any more clarity on a visit schedule and right now they don't but the two are busy the next few weeks figuring out which schools they'll get back down to.
We've mentioned Omoruyi before as a priority in this class and a guy who Chuck Martin has a good relationship with and who's been on campus for a visit during the season. I would be shocked if Omoruyi isn't back on campus at some point over the next two months in some capacity.
Gamecocks have a few things working for them here with the relationship to Chuck Martin and Omoruyi playing at Roselle Catholic, the same place that obviously produced Chris Silva and Frink.
--Thought I'd mention Matt Cross a little bit since he is expected to make his decision sometime this month. The four-star prospect has been pretty quiet and off the radar a little after he started taking his official visits. He's taken trips to South Carolina, Indiana, Miami, Florida and will take one to Texas A&M. Those are probably the five schools most in contention (with Butler also in the mix).
My gut and things based on things I've heard is it'll probably be between the schools he visited first between the Gamecocks, Hoosiers and Miami.
--Myles Tate released his top seven schools this week with South Carolina making the cut along with College of Charleston, Mercer, Ole Miss, Butler, App State and Pittsburgh. I posted on the board but I'll reiterate here I don't believe South Carolina to be the favorite. They have a lot of guards and limited scholarships right now and it might be beneficial for a guy like Tate to go play where he could get some early playing time, if he wants it.
I expect him on campus sometime soon as well for an official.
Scholarship reminder: The Gamecocks have two available in this class, with one of those going to Seventh Woods, which means they're recruiting on one scholarship right now. If AJ Lawson goes pro, that means they'll be able to recruit on two scholarships.
Summer is a big stretch for this group with a lot of freshmen trying to put on weight to be able to play in the SEC. Trae Hannibal is up to 218 pounds and Alanzo Frink is at about 260, and he says he's put about 18 pounds of muscle on and shaved off quite a bit of fat.
Recruiting notes:
--It's a quiet period right now in the hoops world, which means coaches can't do any evaluations or recruit off-campus but can contact recruits and have them on campus for visits. My guess would be there may be one or potentially two visits occurring the next few weeks before the evaluation period starts Sept. 9.
--One of those may be Obinna Anochili-Killen, who told me he's planning a visit down to South Carolina sometime this month. This is the latest we have on him, and his recruiter of record is Chuck Martin.
--Another big the Gamecocks have been in on and recently offered was in state 2020 Ja'Von Benson out of Ridge View High School. Benson hopped on the team's radar recently and shot up their recruiting board, earning an offer after meeting with the coaching staff Thursday.
It's his first Power 5 offer and it's one he's very excited about. This won't necessarily speed up his recruitment timeline in terms of a commitment, and he told me yesterday he's still enjoying the recruiting process. I wouldn't be shocked to see some other Power 5 teams hop in the mix here. He told me yesterday he still wants to get down to campus for another visit soon. He unofficially visited in June.
--Spoke with Cliff Omoruyi's guardian Muhammad Oliver this week to see if they had any more clarity on a visit schedule and right now they don't but the two are busy the next few weeks figuring out which schools they'll get back down to.
We've mentioned Omoruyi before as a priority in this class and a guy who Chuck Martin has a good relationship with and who's been on campus for a visit during the season. I would be shocked if Omoruyi isn't back on campus at some point over the next two months in some capacity.
Gamecocks have a few things working for them here with the relationship to Chuck Martin and Omoruyi playing at Roselle Catholic, the same place that obviously produced Chris Silva and Frink.
--Thought I'd mention Matt Cross a little bit since he is expected to make his decision sometime this month. The four-star prospect has been pretty quiet and off the radar a little after he started taking his official visits. He's taken trips to South Carolina, Indiana, Miami, Florida and will take one to Texas A&M. Those are probably the five schools most in contention (with Butler also in the mix).
My gut and things based on things I've heard is it'll probably be between the schools he visited first between the Gamecocks, Hoosiers and Miami.
--Myles Tate released his top seven schools this week with South Carolina making the cut along with College of Charleston, Mercer, Ole Miss, Butler, App State and Pittsburgh. I posted on the board but I'll reiterate here I don't believe South Carolina to be the favorite. They have a lot of guards and limited scholarships right now and it might be beneficial for a guy like Tate to go play where he could get some early playing time, if he wants it.
I expect him on campus sometime soon as well for an official.
Scholarship reminder: The Gamecocks have two available in this class, with one of those going to Seventh Woods, which means they're recruiting on one scholarship right now. If AJ Lawson goes pro, that means they'll be able to recruit on two scholarships.
