South Carolina honoring seniors who've made big impact on 2022 season

Tuesday could be the last time a host of South Carolina players play at Colonial Life Arena.

The Gamecocks are hosting senior day against Missouri and set to honor seven different players as part of a senior class Frank Martin praises for how they’ve handled coming off a tough 2020-21 season.

“I’m really proud of those guys,” Frank Martin said. “I know they’ve helped me heal. They’ve given us the fight to go out there and win games, which is what we built our program around before last year.” 

They’ll have their ceremony after the game with a few guys being honored who still have eligibility left. Regardless of who, almost all of the players honored Tuesday have made a big impact on this season.

“You have to honor them; you have to celebrate them. They get their degrees and decide to pursue life through playing or whatever it might be they never get celebrated at senior day,” Martin said. “It’s the right thing to do. If they choose to come back to school then we’ll have those discussions when the season ends.”

Keyshawn Bryant and Jermaine Couisnard

Both could have easily transferred after a tough 2021 season but they each returned after testing NBA waters and are contributing to the Gamecocks’ success of late.

Couisnard’s stats dipped in his sophomore season but he’s rebounded this year, tied for the team lead averaging 11.5 points per game on 40.9 percent shooting. Couisnard’s made a third of his threes and is averaging 2.9 assists per  game.

He’s battled injuries for large stretches as the Gamecocks battled point guard inconsistency and has just returned to form. He’s third on the team on offensive box plus-minus and second in points produced.

After a career year in 2021, Bryant is averaging 8.7 points on 42.4 percent shooting and has taken a step up from three. He’s shooting 33.3 percent from beyond the arc, a career-best.

A human highlight reel since the day he stepped on campus, Bryant could have opted to transfer after a tough junior season but opted to come back. When the Gamecocks are playing well, it’s usually in part because Bryant is playing well. 

“They’ve been great man. I’ve expressed this before earlier this year. Last year was a very difficult year. Keyshawn and Jermaine could have packed their bags and gone elsewhere,” Frank Martin said. “That’s what the rules allow them to do. Instead they said, ‘No, you’re our guy. We love that uniform and we’re going to play and make this right.’ That’s what they’ve done.”

Bryant has one more year of eligibility if he wants to use it while Couisnard has two.

Mike Green

Green is a walk-on from Myrtle Beach who’s played in 17 career games, averaging 2.8 minutes over his career. He’s shot 35 percent for his career, 38.5 percent from three.

Brandon Martin

Martin came to South Carolina after three years at USC Upstate to play for his father. He’s provided some depth and stability at times in the frontcourt. In 12 minutes per game he’s averaging 2.4 points and 2.6 rebounds while shooting 44.8 percent from the field.

After a year where Upstate went through COVID struggles, Martin’s come in and added what his dad called the “spirit and toughness we’ve needed.” He has one more year if he wants it.

James Reese

Reese is one of the more impactful transfers this season, coming in and being a scoring threat right away.

Originally from Columbia and growing up wanting to play for South Carolina, Reese is leading the team averaging 29.9 minutes per game while also being the team’s best defender.

He’s averaging 10.4 points on 41.5 percent shooting and 32.8 percent from three. What he brings is intrinsic as well, bringing what Martin’s called a leadership and a winner’s mentality. He’s the lone player on the roster to log meaningful minutes in the NCAA Tournament.

“Obviously James has been rock solid for us,” Martin said. “He’s been an unbelievable leader with courage and a tremendous spirit day in and day out. I’m really proud of him.”

Reese is out of eligibility.

Erik Stevenson

Stevenson, similar to Reese, has come in and from the jump been a reason why the Gamecocks have won twice as many regular season and league games then they did last year.

He’s tied for the team lead averaging 11.5 points per game while shooting 37.2 percent from the field and 32.9 percent from three. He’s also second on the team averaging 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

After a career spanning stints at Wichita State and Washington, he’s been an integral piece of South Carolina’s team this year.

“After a great two-year run at Wichita State, things got crazy over there. It’s not my place to be commenting on why he left Wichita State but he did. He ended up at Washington so he could end up closer to home. That didn’t’ work out that well. They had a year very similar to ours,” Martin said.

“For him to get up and come across the country and come here and have a bunch of new teammates and lay it on the line the way he has to give us all courage to play and believe we can win says a lot about those guys.”

He has one more year of eligibility if he ops to take it.

AJ Wilson

After setting school block records at George Mason, Wilson came to South Carolina for his final year of eligibility. He was expected to be a mainstay in the starting lineup and it hasn’t necessarily gone as expected.

He’s averaging 14.7 minutes per game and scoring 3.5 points per game on 46.6 percent shooting. He’s averaging 3.4 rebounds per game.

Wilson will likely get the start Tuesday night for senior day and South Carolina will need him to play well down the stretch.

“AJ, I’ve got mixed emotions. He’s a really good dude. I wished this year had panned out better for him as far as the way it’s gone from the beginning until where we’re at right now,” Martin said. “We still got a couple games to play and hopefully some more after that. We need him to help us and really wish for him to play well to close out the year.”