Two seasons after making the Final Four, South Carolina men's basketball is set to return to the court in head coach Frank Martin’s seventh season at the helm.
Despite exceeding expectations during the 2016-17 season, South Carolina closed out last season tied with Georgia at 11th place in the SEC. The Gamecocks recorded a 7-11 mark on the 2017-18 season in SEC play and 17-16 overall, placing ahead of just Vanderbilt (6-12 SEC, 12-20) and Ole Miss (5-13 SEC, 12-20).
This year, coach Martin is looking to new blood to revitalize the team. On the 2018-19 roster are eight newcomers, including graduate-transfer Tre Campbell from Georgetown University and junior transfer guard Jair Bolden from George Washington University.
“You get a couple guys that understand college basketball,” Martin said. “So there’s an understanding to how hard every day is to not taking a day for granted ...That sense of urgency that unfortunately, most freshmen don’t understand."
With plenty of new faces in the lineup this season, veterans Chris Silva, Maik Kotsar and Hassani Gravett are the only players left from the Gamecocks’ run to the 2017 Final Four. That squad, highlighted by former Gamecocks turned NBA players P.J. Dozier and Sindarius Thornwell, serves as the ideal for incoming freshman.
“The guys that signed to come play here, they know what the locker room they’re walking into, where it was at eighteen months ago," Martin said. "My job as the years continue to pass to be the caretaker of that because the responsibility continues to grow every year from everyone in that locker room that guys before have done so much.”
In addition to SEC play and South Carolina’s annual battle with in-state rival Clemson, the Gamecocks’ schedule contains marquee opponents for four consecutive weeks. In December, South Carolina will face Wyoming and 2018 runner-up Michigan on the road as well as No. 1 ranked Virginia.
“From an experience and name standpoint, our roster seems to be real hard. And me personally, I hope it is, 'cause that’s when I feel comfortable," Martin said.
However, Martin said that comfort level varies game-by-game, perhaps even half-by-half, when his team is on the court.
"When we’re up 30, I’m usually very uptight with everything," Martin said. "When we’re down 10, I feel kind of a little bit more at home because I’m in a place where you’ve got to work to figure it out."
The players on Martin's team seem to share his enthusiasm. Coming into his third season as a power forward/center, Kotsar has his sights set on getting back to where he was two seasons ago.
“I feel really motivated,” Kotsar said. “The Final Four run was spectacular. Nothing but good memories from it. Last year didn’t go as we wanted to and that only motivated us to work harder. To come back this season and try to get to the Final Four again. I mean, why not even further?”
Gamecock fans will see if that motivation yields results when regular season play starts on Tuesday, Nov. 6 against the University of South Carolina Upstate at 7 p.m. at Colonial Life Arena.