C
Collyn Taylor
Guest
South Carolina lost 109-86 to Auburn and moves to 3-5, 1-3 in the SEC. Up next is a home game Wednesday against Georgia.
--South Carolina hasn't had practice time, but there's probably no reason to come out and look like this at this point in the season. Practice time has a little to do with it but the Gamecocks just didn't come out like they were ready to play and it was reflected in the final score, including giving up 109 points, the most of the Frank Martin era. This game, from a talent and metrics standpoint, was a toss up and the Gamecocks had enough talent to win this game and they were blown out. Getting more practice time will help but the Gamecocks need to figure a lot of things out if they want to be the team they think they can and talked about being in the preseason.
The Gamecocks were favored in this one, and need to start winning the games they're favored in and at some point the team's talent needs to start showing and becoming more consistent.
--South Carolina just doesn't have enough firepower right now around AJ Lawson. Lawson's had his struggles this year (his free throw number Saturday is one) but is doing absolutely everything from an offensive perspective and the Gamecocks need to play better around him. Lawson scored 23 points on 60 percent shooting but outside of him the Gamecocks scored 68 points and went just 22-for-58 from the field (4-for-15 from three). If South Carolina doesn't figure out its offense outside of Lawson soon, this season could be a struggle on that end of the court more than it was Saturday.
--Defense has been a staple of South Carolina's identity since Frank Martin was hired, and Saturday was arguably the worst defensive performance in his time at South Carolina. The Gamecocks struggled to keep the ball in front of them and had too many breakdowns because of Auburn's pass-first offense that resulted in far too many easy looks that the Tigers took advantage of. Pick and roll defense continues to be bad and the Gamecocks need to figure out how to tweak the defense to the point they can be serviceable.
With the length South Carolina has, a zone team (whether a 2-3, 3-2 or 1-3-1) seems like the better defensive scheme to play given the struggles in man to man defense the last few games.
--Jermaine Couisnard continues to have a rough sophomore season, and continues to be incredibly inefficient in his offense. The Gamecocks' guard struggled to do much of anything—16 points, 4-for-16 from the field and 1-for-5 from three) and seems to be out of place and out of rhythm in his offense right now. He looked a lot better last season when he was playing the point guard spot, and it might be time to think about playing him there given the inconsistency poor play at that position right now.
--This was a matchup against two teams, one with a true point guard and another without. Auburn's offense was crisp under Sharife Cooper while the Gamecocks struggled at the point guard position and it showed in the final score. The Tigers had 21 assists, 12 coming from Cooper, while the Gamecocks had 14 assists on 28 made buckets. Offensively it seems players rush shots and get too sped up in the halfcourt and take ill-advised shots instead of passing the ball. It can result in offensive stagnation, which happened in the first half with the Gamecocks going over seven minutes without a bucket and going 0-for-12 and 1-for-15
--The Gamecocks need to figure out their front court with Jalyn McCreary and Alanzo Frink still out. Wildens Leveque is showing promise but still has some growing pains at the center spot and without him playing well the Gamecocks don't have anyone with experience who can match up with SEC big men. Ja'Von Benson played well in limited action and Tre-Vaughn Minott is just not ready right now after just arriving on campus. Getting either Frink or McCreary back (both would be better) but the Gamecocks need to figure out how to get production (especially defensively) out of the front court while being undersized. Justin Minaya is doing a good job, but he can't do it all.
--In terms of identity, the Gamecocks need to figure out what kind of team they are. Not having consistent practice time has put a dent in that, but the Gamecocks need to figure out their identity is. The Gamecocks can't be a team that allows this many points and struggles defensively while not being good offensively from an efficiency standpoint. The Gamecocks look sloppy and are running out of time to figure out the kind of team they are.
--The Gamecocks need to find a way to play against teams that are as physical, if not more physical, than them. When South Carolina plays teams with players who understand how to use their bodies and aren't afraid of contact they shy away from that and struggle. This is a team with physical players and need to find ways to play and compete against guys who are physical. Also, there was some tired legs and Auburn and the Tigers beat South Carolina to every loose ball and out-rebounded them 46-34 with 14 offensive rebounds.
--South Carolina hasn't had practice time, but there's probably no reason to come out and look like this at this point in the season. Practice time has a little to do with it but the Gamecocks just didn't come out like they were ready to play and it was reflected in the final score, including giving up 109 points, the most of the Frank Martin era. This game, from a talent and metrics standpoint, was a toss up and the Gamecocks had enough talent to win this game and they were blown out. Getting more practice time will help but the Gamecocks need to figure a lot of things out if they want to be the team they think they can and talked about being in the preseason.
The Gamecocks were favored in this one, and need to start winning the games they're favored in and at some point the team's talent needs to start showing and becoming more consistent.
--South Carolina just doesn't have enough firepower right now around AJ Lawson. Lawson's had his struggles this year (his free throw number Saturday is one) but is doing absolutely everything from an offensive perspective and the Gamecocks need to play better around him. Lawson scored 23 points on 60 percent shooting but outside of him the Gamecocks scored 68 points and went just 22-for-58 from the field (4-for-15 from three). If South Carolina doesn't figure out its offense outside of Lawson soon, this season could be a struggle on that end of the court more than it was Saturday.
--Defense has been a staple of South Carolina's identity since Frank Martin was hired, and Saturday was arguably the worst defensive performance in his time at South Carolina. The Gamecocks struggled to keep the ball in front of them and had too many breakdowns because of Auburn's pass-first offense that resulted in far too many easy looks that the Tigers took advantage of. Pick and roll defense continues to be bad and the Gamecocks need to figure out how to tweak the defense to the point they can be serviceable.
With the length South Carolina has, a zone team (whether a 2-3, 3-2 or 1-3-1) seems like the better defensive scheme to play given the struggles in man to man defense the last few games.
--Jermaine Couisnard continues to have a rough sophomore season, and continues to be incredibly inefficient in his offense. The Gamecocks' guard struggled to do much of anything—16 points, 4-for-16 from the field and 1-for-5 from three) and seems to be out of place and out of rhythm in his offense right now. He looked a lot better last season when he was playing the point guard spot, and it might be time to think about playing him there given the inconsistency poor play at that position right now.
--This was a matchup against two teams, one with a true point guard and another without. Auburn's offense was crisp under Sharife Cooper while the Gamecocks struggled at the point guard position and it showed in the final score. The Tigers had 21 assists, 12 coming from Cooper, while the Gamecocks had 14 assists on 28 made buckets. Offensively it seems players rush shots and get too sped up in the halfcourt and take ill-advised shots instead of passing the ball. It can result in offensive stagnation, which happened in the first half with the Gamecocks going over seven minutes without a bucket and going 0-for-12 and 1-for-15
--The Gamecocks need to figure out their front court with Jalyn McCreary and Alanzo Frink still out. Wildens Leveque is showing promise but still has some growing pains at the center spot and without him playing well the Gamecocks don't have anyone with experience who can match up with SEC big men. Ja'Von Benson played well in limited action and Tre-Vaughn Minott is just not ready right now after just arriving on campus. Getting either Frink or McCreary back (both would be better) but the Gamecocks need to figure out how to get production (especially defensively) out of the front court while being undersized. Justin Minaya is doing a good job, but he can't do it all.
--In terms of identity, the Gamecocks need to figure out what kind of team they are. Not having consistent practice time has put a dent in that, but the Gamecocks need to figure out their identity is. The Gamecocks can't be a team that allows this many points and struggles defensively while not being good offensively from an efficiency standpoint. The Gamecocks look sloppy and are running out of time to figure out the kind of team they are.
--The Gamecocks need to find a way to play against teams that are as physical, if not more physical, than them. When South Carolina plays teams with players who understand how to use their bodies and aren't afraid of contact they shy away from that and struggle. This is a team with physical players and need to find ways to play and compete against guys who are physical. Also, there was some tired legs and Auburn and the Tigers beat South Carolina to every loose ball and out-rebounded them 46-34 with 14 offensive rebounds.
