USC Starts Out With Win In Frank Martin Era

The Frank Martin-led Gamecock basketball team took the floor for the first time this regular season Sunday afternoon against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a team who was picked this preseason to finish 6th in their conference by Horizon League media, coaches, and athletic directors.

South Carolina got off to a slow start, going into the locker room at halftime down 15 after UWM hit two consecutive 3-pointers to close the 1st half.

"He told us we weren't physical. He challenged us.....lit a fire under us", said Southern Miss-transfer LaShay Page when asked about Frank Martin's message to the team at halftime. Page, who finished with 19 points after bouncing back from a lackluster 1st half, proved he could be the scorer on the wing the Gamecocks desperately need. 

Page may have been the Gamecocks leading scorer but some of his teammates are most responsible for the win. Freshman forwards Michael Carrera (17 pts, 15 rebs) and Mindaugas Kacinas (8 pts, 13 rebs) propelled the Gamecocks to their +14 rebounding advantage over the Panthers. Martin agreed after the game saying: "What won us the game was that offensive rebounding. It was an unbelievable assault on the rim. I am extremely proud of their(Carrera & Kacinas) rebounding."

Brenton Williams also was an integral part of the Gamecocks opening game victory. Williams played the role of hero down the stretch, scoring 12 of his 14 points in overtime while going 8-8 from the foul line to seal the win for South Carolina.

The high-pressure man-to-man defense that Frank Martin loves to play looked wonderful at times, forcing 15 turnovers, but also left a lot to be desired as South Carolina failed to close out on their rotations allowing Wisconsin-Milwaukee to hit fourteen 3-pointers, which included seven by Jordan Aaron, who led the Panthers with 28 points. "We missed some point-blank shots(on offense), and we let our missed shots affect our defensive spirit", Martin said after the game but he had to have been happy with the defense down the stretch as South Carolina forced the Panthers into 2-14 shooting over the last 9:05 of the game, including 2-10 during overtime.

Obviously questions still loom for the Gamecocks, including whether Eric Smith, who had 4 turnovers and questionable shot selection Sunday, will keep his starting spot at point guard. Martin was asked about Smith's job security after the game, giving Smith a vote of confidence by saying, "Eric's my guy."

In just one game we saw plenty of what you would expect from a Frank Martin coached team: rebounding, a fast-paced offense, an intense man-to-man defense but most obvious to everyone was the effort. I think the play that summed up the new mindset of this team was with 5.6 seconds left in overtime, the Gamecocks had a 5-point lead and the game basically won when a UWM guard lost control of his dribble and a loose ball situation ensued. With the ball on the floor, Lakeem Jackson and LaShay Page, two seniors, both dove for the ball when no one one else bothered to. Now, neither came up with it because the ball rolled out of bounds giving South Carolina the ball anyway, but the effort shown on that play should instill confidence in the South Carolina fan-base for this season, and beyond.