South Carolina still learning, evaluating lineups and rotations entering season
Some might call it lineup experimentation, but South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris likes to call it learning.
The Gamecocks, breaking in an almost entirely new roster, are still in the information-gathering phase as they tinker with their lineups during Paris’s first season at South Carolina.
Wednesday’s exhibition was a good data point for the evaluation of the roster and getting a feel for which players interact well in a game setting.
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“I’m still learning who’s going to interact well with whom while they’re out there in a real, actual game. I looked at one of my assistants today and said, ‘Three minutes.’ That was the first time I knew for a fact this particular player three minutes was his deal,” Paris said.
“I started to see his tongue hang on the ground at that point. He was tired. You’re learning those things. Who can play for how long? Who plays more effectively with whom? Then making rotations from that.”
You could have penciled in three of South Carolina’s starters weeks before the exhibition against Mars Hill: Meechie Johnson, Chico Carter and GG Jackson.
But both Daniel Hankins-Sanford and Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk picked up starts as well.
For Hankins-Sanford, he’s part of what’s been a heralded freshman class that will play a lot of minutes this year. He ultimately finished with seven points on 3-for-9 shooting, hit one of his three threes and had a rebound.
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“I thought it made sense for us to do that. He’s been productive as a rebounder, he’s been rebounding the ball well. He’s a confident guy. I want him to be aggressive,” Paris said. “One day I envision him being able to affect the game offensively in a lot of different ways. I don’t ever want him to lose that aggressive mode. He’s been good with that.”
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South Carolina’s staff talked about Hankins-Sanford as a physically-ready freshman who can impact the game in a few different ways. After starting fellow freshman Zach Davis in the team’s secret scrimmage against Charlotte, Paris opted for the more physical player to start Wednesday.
“We started Zach in the scrimmage, our secret scrimmage. I’m letting secrets out. There were a couple of things, particularly defensively, he struggled with. It was his first real-live competition against someone else. He’s gotten better since and will continue,” Paris said.
“I thought Daniel was physical in that scrimmage, too. At this level, that’s a big part of it. This guy might be more talented, that guy might be more skilled. But when you get in the throws of it and it’s a mosh pit in there, sometimes the more physical is going to look like a better player for the situation.”
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Bosmans-Verdonk played 20 minutes, ultimately picking up five points and a team-high 12 boards.
Now, with the anictipated return of projected starter Hayden Brown soon, one of those guys will likely head back to the bench to start with. But Paris mentions he liked what he saw from a group still adjusting to a new coaching staff.
“We have a lot of guys in a new position or playing more than they’ve ever played, starting when they’ve never started, were in high school last year, playing a completely different position,” Paris said. “That’s everyone on our team, honestly. I thought the guys handled it really well overall. I’m really pleased with what we did.”
