C
Collyn Taylor
Guest
Day one of the SC ProAm kicked off Sunday with all but two scholarship players (Justin Minaya and Micaiah Henry) participating today. There were a few standout performances on day one so let's get to it.
I will say this event isn't conducive for determining a player's entire skill set, especially bigs. This is usually one event catered towards wings and guards.
Another note: AJ Lawson didn't play today since he was at Chris Paul's camp at
The biggest headline today was Jermaine Couisnard, who went off for 40 points in the first game and showcased some skills I probably wasn't expecting right now. He's obviously a great shooter and started to get more comfortable as the game went on; this was his first time playing in front of any sort of crowd since his prep year at Montverde.
He's not the quickest guy on the court but he's strong and rebounded well for a guard. He's also a lot quicker than I anticipated on the defensive end. Frank Martin said last season that was the biggest thing Couisnard had to work on and it seems like he did. He was able to lock down a few guys that were quicker than he was.
TJ Moss is coming off that ankle injury and wasn't the primary ballhandler on his team, so it was hard to gauge the developments he's made right now. I will say last year his first ProAm game last year he wasn't great but had two great games to finish it up so we'll see how he does Tuesday and Thursday.
He can still shoot it and doesn't lack confidence shooting the basketball from long range. He took a lot of shots and converted at a pretty good clip.
Trae Hannibal is probably the most talked-about freshman and I could see why. He wasn't the most impressive freshman on the court (that goes to Wildens Leveque, and we'll get to him later) but was an elite passer and is a physical guard that can get to the basket. He's up around 220 pounds and can really get up. Biggest thing he'll have to work on his his jump shot but in a pretty free-flow game he commanded the offense pretty well, which consisted usually of running the fastbreak.
Now to Wildens Leveque, who was probably the biggest standout of the day behind Couisnard. He threw down a few dunks over the course of his game and looked a little like Chris Silva that's a little more refined at this point of his career. Silva probably had more raw athleticism at that point (not saying Leveque doesn't) but Leveque showed off some serious post moves and a few hammer dunks. He also blocked a few shots and looks the part of a paint protector.
He's long and lanky, whose roughly the same size as Silva. He'll have to get his shot a little better and fill out a little more but he's got the makings of a really good player.
Jalyn McCreary showed off some good things offensively, looking like the athletic freak the Gamecocks recruited. He had a few up-and-under moves in the post that caught my attention and a nice windmill dunk at the buzzer.
Getting in the weight room will help him (like it will most freshmen) defensively and on the rebounding side of things. He'll have to continue conditioning but looks solid in the first real outing of his college career.
Since he's a big, it's hard to tell any strides Maik Kotsar's made this offseason but he had a few good looks at the rim. His big thing now is finishing those looks when he gets them. He still looks physically strong and looks like he put on a little more muscle this offseason.
Jair Bolden is a guy the Gamecocks expect to factor into the starting backcourt this season and looked good in his first game today. He can create his own shot and is a really good passer. He ran the floor well in transition (with the ball and without) and looks the part of a Frank Martin guard. He's built like a linebacker and is arguably the best shooter on the team.
He was able to finish some in traffic and (for as much defense was played) can defend at a high level.
In his first action ever since transferring to South Carolina, Seventh Woods looked all right. He threw down a few dunks and shot the ball OK but looked like he was still just feeling out the situation. I think we'll get a better read on him later in the week.
Alanzo Frink looks like he trimmed quite a bit of weight this offseason and looks a lot slimmer (and more muscular) than he was last year. He backed down Kotsar a few times and showed off some range, hitting a couple threes as well. He seems in much better shape this time around and looks the part of the SEC big entering his sophomore season.
Keyshawn Bryant doesn't look like he's missed a step so far. He threw down a few monstrous dunks and is the same athletic freak he was last season. He looks like he shaved off a little fat this offseason and added somewhat of a three-pointer to his game. He looks like a better shooter, although it's still coming along.
Trey Anderson was the final of the team's freshmen to play and it was a slower start for him in the first half getting adjusted to the speed of things. He got beat off the dribble a few times but had a much better second half. He needs to continue to bulk up a little bit before the season starts, but looks like a shooter.
That was a big reason the Gamecocks recruited him and that's probably the biggest part of his game right now.
If you missed our Justin Minaya note from earlier, it's here.
I will say this event isn't conducive for determining a player's entire skill set, especially bigs. This is usually one event catered towards wings and guards.
Another note: AJ Lawson didn't play today since he was at Chris Paul's camp at
The biggest headline today was Jermaine Couisnard, who went off for 40 points in the first game and showcased some skills I probably wasn't expecting right now. He's obviously a great shooter and started to get more comfortable as the game went on; this was his first time playing in front of any sort of crowd since his prep year at Montverde.
He's not the quickest guy on the court but he's strong and rebounded well for a guard. He's also a lot quicker than I anticipated on the defensive end. Frank Martin said last season that was the biggest thing Couisnard had to work on and it seems like he did. He was able to lock down a few guys that were quicker than he was.
TJ Moss is coming off that ankle injury and wasn't the primary ballhandler on his team, so it was hard to gauge the developments he's made right now. I will say last year his first ProAm game last year he wasn't great but had two great games to finish it up so we'll see how he does Tuesday and Thursday.
He can still shoot it and doesn't lack confidence shooting the basketball from long range. He took a lot of shots and converted at a pretty good clip.
Trae Hannibal is probably the most talked-about freshman and I could see why. He wasn't the most impressive freshman on the court (that goes to Wildens Leveque, and we'll get to him later) but was an elite passer and is a physical guard that can get to the basket. He's up around 220 pounds and can really get up. Biggest thing he'll have to work on his his jump shot but in a pretty free-flow game he commanded the offense pretty well, which consisted usually of running the fastbreak.
Now to Wildens Leveque, who was probably the biggest standout of the day behind Couisnard. He threw down a few dunks over the course of his game and looked a little like Chris Silva that's a little more refined at this point of his career. Silva probably had more raw athleticism at that point (not saying Leveque doesn't) but Leveque showed off some serious post moves and a few hammer dunks. He also blocked a few shots and looks the part of a paint protector.
He's long and lanky, whose roughly the same size as Silva. He'll have to get his shot a little better and fill out a little more but he's got the makings of a really good player.
Jalyn McCreary showed off some good things offensively, looking like the athletic freak the Gamecocks recruited. He had a few up-and-under moves in the post that caught my attention and a nice windmill dunk at the buzzer.
Getting in the weight room will help him (like it will most freshmen) defensively and on the rebounding side of things. He'll have to continue conditioning but looks solid in the first real outing of his college career.
Since he's a big, it's hard to tell any strides Maik Kotsar's made this offseason but he had a few good looks at the rim. His big thing now is finishing those looks when he gets them. He still looks physically strong and looks like he put on a little more muscle this offseason.
Jair Bolden is a guy the Gamecocks expect to factor into the starting backcourt this season and looked good in his first game today. He can create his own shot and is a really good passer. He ran the floor well in transition (with the ball and without) and looks the part of a Frank Martin guard. He's built like a linebacker and is arguably the best shooter on the team.
He was able to finish some in traffic and (for as much defense was played) can defend at a high level.
In his first action ever since transferring to South Carolina, Seventh Woods looked all right. He threw down a few dunks and shot the ball OK but looked like he was still just feeling out the situation. I think we'll get a better read on him later in the week.
Alanzo Frink looks like he trimmed quite a bit of weight this offseason and looks a lot slimmer (and more muscular) than he was last year. He backed down Kotsar a few times and showed off some range, hitting a couple threes as well. He seems in much better shape this time around and looks the part of the SEC big entering his sophomore season.
Keyshawn Bryant doesn't look like he's missed a step so far. He threw down a few monstrous dunks and is the same athletic freak he was last season. He looks like he shaved off a little fat this offseason and added somewhat of a three-pointer to his game. He looks like a better shooter, although it's still coming along.
Trey Anderson was the final of the team's freshmen to play and it was a slower start for him in the first half getting adjusted to the speed of things. He got beat off the dribble a few times but had a much better second half. He needs to continue to bulk up a little bit before the season starts, but looks like a shooter.
That was a big reason the Gamecocks recruited him and that's probably the biggest part of his game right now.
If you missed our Justin Minaya note from earlier, it's here.
