NBA playoffs assist USC in recruiting

The NBA playoffs are giving the South Carolina men’s basketball program a recruiting pitch.

Two former Gamecocks, Tarence Kinsey and Renaldo Balkman, play for teams that remain alive in the postseason.. And Courtney Lee, who played for USC coach Darrin Horn at Western Kentucky, is starting for the Orlando Magic.

The Gamecocks haven’t had too many NBA players recently, much less playing this late in the playoffs.

“There’s no question, I think it’s positive,” Horn said. “Anytime someone from your program has had success, it’s a positive. Whether we coached them or not, it’s us and our program, that’s how we treat it. We think it’s great that there’s Gamecocks playing in the NBA.”

Balkman was a first-round draft pick of the New York Knicks in 2006 as a junior, while Kinsey, who came out the same year as a senior, started his career by signing a free-agent contract with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Both players are now with different organizations, where they have played less but enjoyed more team success.

Balkman has appeared in six playoff games with the Denver Nuggets, who have advanced to the Western Conference finals.

Kinsey has played in five playoff games for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have clinched a spot in the Eastern Conference finals.

Kinsey and Balkman each have made only brief appearances in games.

Lee, on the other hand, has become a key player for Orlando, which is tied 3-3 with Boston in the Eastern semifinals. Lee, a 6-foot-6 guard, was lightly recruited out of high school but developed into a first-round pick.

Horn said he was watching Lee almost as a parent would, considering he recruited him and coached him for four years. They have exchanged text messages throughout the playoffs.

“He’s a guy that continued to get better,” Horn said. “But I think one of the things that was important for him was he also got in a situation — and I don’t mean this about us personally or specifically, but about him — he got in a situation (at Western Kentucky) where he was able to contribute right away in a style of play that was suited for him and helped him develop.”

Draft updates. Dominique Archie and Devan Downey have begun the process of working out for teams in preparation for the NBA draft.

Archie is set to travel to Houston and Oklahoma City this weekend. Downey also has received interest from Oklahoma City.

“There hasn’t been a lot of traffic as of yet,” Horn said, “but what we’re hearing is that potentially, as the playoffs slow down, meaning teams get knocked out, there’ll be some more.”

Reach Emerson at (803) 771-8676.