C
Collyn Taylor
Guest
South Carolina landed its fourth commitment of the season with 2021 Ta’Quan Woodley officially announcing his commitment to the Gamecocks over schools like St. Joe’s, Temple, Georgia and St. John’s.
It’s the first big man landed in the class and someone who’s been described to me as a “perfect fit” in Frank Martin’s program.
A little background into Woodley and his recruitment first.
Woodley picked up a South Carolina offer early in the process and there was some mutual interest there but he ultimately committed to Penn State earlier this year.
Once the Lions moved on from head coach Pat Chambers a few weeks ago, Woodley de-committed and the Gamecocks started to really show interest again.
This was right around the time Patrick Iriel left the team, so it made needing to go get a big man imperative. The Gamecocks are still showing interest in at least one other in Jonas Aidoo
Through the process, Woodley really enjoyed Chuck Martin, who handled point on his recruitment, and Frank Martin and the kind of people they are and the structure they give to players in their program.
He really gravitated to Frank Martin’s coaching style and the type of person and coach he is.
A lot of credit goes to Chuck Martin, though, he who initially reached out and did a good job landing Woodley and reestablishing that relationship after he decommitted.
There are some ties to South Carolina from Woodley’s AAU coach, Andy Borman of NY Renaissance, who has known Chuck Martin for over a decade and has developed a good relationship with the coaching staff at South Carolina.
It’s the same AAU program Kofi Cockburn played for, who had Gamecock interest and was recruited by Chuck Martin.
A big reason why he likes Frank Martin so much is because of the structure he provides and obviously the play style the Gamecocks have.
Transitioning nicely in terms of fit, I’ve been told Woodley is an absolutely “perfect fit” for what Frank Martin and that staff like to run and can give the Gamecocks a lot of different things from a scoring, rebounding and defensive side of things.
For starters, Woodley is listed at 6-foot-8, 215 pounds by Rivals but could easily weigh more. He might not have the same level of raw athleticism, but Woodley is the same height and about 10 pounds heavier than Chris Silva was coming out of Roselle.
He’s a traditional four that will give the Gamecocks a big body who can bang around in the paint, something they’ve needed since losing Silva and now Maik Kotsar.
We’ll have more later on the type of player he is but in terms of fit, it’s a very nice marriage between his skill set and what Frank Martin and the Gamecocks want to do on both ends of the court.
Woodley plays at Camden (N.J.) High, which is coached by a former Temple star Rick Brunson and one of the best high school basketball teams in the country.
If you’re looking for some highlights of Woodley, they’re here.
It’s the first big man landed in the class and someone who’s been described to me as a “perfect fit” in Frank Martin’s program.
A little background into Woodley and his recruitment first.
Woodley picked up a South Carolina offer early in the process and there was some mutual interest there but he ultimately committed to Penn State earlier this year.
Once the Lions moved on from head coach Pat Chambers a few weeks ago, Woodley de-committed and the Gamecocks started to really show interest again.
This was right around the time Patrick Iriel left the team, so it made needing to go get a big man imperative. The Gamecocks are still showing interest in at least one other in Jonas Aidoo
Through the process, Woodley really enjoyed Chuck Martin, who handled point on his recruitment, and Frank Martin and the kind of people they are and the structure they give to players in their program.
He really gravitated to Frank Martin’s coaching style and the type of person and coach he is.
A lot of credit goes to Chuck Martin, though, he who initially reached out and did a good job landing Woodley and reestablishing that relationship after he decommitted.
There are some ties to South Carolina from Woodley’s AAU coach, Andy Borman of NY Renaissance, who has known Chuck Martin for over a decade and has developed a good relationship with the coaching staff at South Carolina.
It’s the same AAU program Kofi Cockburn played for, who had Gamecock interest and was recruited by Chuck Martin.
A big reason why he likes Frank Martin so much is because of the structure he provides and obviously the play style the Gamecocks have.
Transitioning nicely in terms of fit, I’ve been told Woodley is an absolutely “perfect fit” for what Frank Martin and that staff like to run and can give the Gamecocks a lot of different things from a scoring, rebounding and defensive side of things.
For starters, Woodley is listed at 6-foot-8, 215 pounds by Rivals but could easily weigh more. He might not have the same level of raw athleticism, but Woodley is the same height and about 10 pounds heavier than Chris Silva was coming out of Roselle.
He’s a traditional four that will give the Gamecocks a big body who can bang around in the paint, something they’ve needed since losing Silva and now Maik Kotsar.
We’ll have more later on the type of player he is but in terms of fit, it’s a very nice marriage between his skill set and what Frank Martin and the Gamecocks want to do on both ends of the court.
Woodley plays at Camden (N.J.) High, which is coached by a former Temple star Rick Brunson and one of the best high school basketball teams in the country.
If you’re looking for some highlights of Woodley, they’re here.
