'He's got an edge to him like Sin did.' Frank Martin analyzes USC's recruiting class

Forget a press release with crafted quotes. Frank Martin is here to give his unfiltered take on South Carolina's 2018 recruiting class.

The Gamecocks have officially signed three players, allowing Martin to speak publicly about Jermaine Couisnard, T.J. Moss and Alanzo Frink. (Tre Campbell, a graduate transfer from Georgetown, only verbally committed to USC on Tuesday.)

Martin on Couisnard, a 6-foot-4 combination guard from outside Chicago who played this past season at Montverde Academy in Florida: "I’m really excited about him. He remains me of Sindarius (Thornwell) a lot. His demeanor, his size, his game. He’s got an edge to him like Sin did. I’m excited about him.

"Can play the 1, the 2, the 3. Very similar to Sin, very, very similar to Sin. Shoots it better than Sindarius did in high school. But I’m excited about Jermaine. He has a love for basketball. Not too concerned with outside perception, really consumed with the people that are in his ear trying to help him."

Martin on Moss, a 6-4 point guard from Memphis who spent this past season at Findlay Prep in Nevada: "We recruited him all year. Back in the fall we had Kory Holden, Rakym Felder in place. I didn’t think we needed a point guard.

"When I had seen T.J. play earlier in his career with Memphis East – Penny Hardaway’s team – he was their leading scorer. I saw him play AAU ball. I told him when I recruited him – he started laughing – he used to shoot every ball. So he goes to Findlay Prep to be a point guard and I’m saying, ‘There’s no way he’s going to be a point guard. I’ve never seen this guy pass.’ And he made the adjustment. He played like a real point guard.

"So as we got deeper into the year and I started sensing that we needed to address the point spot, I was real excited about him. 6-4, long arms, big hands. (Like) Couisnard, long arms. Once again, some length and athleticism on the perimeter.

"Two guys (Moss and Couisnard), they both have an edge to who they are that I like. They both have a passion for basketball. They’re both better than what they are rated, whatever that means. And they know that, so they play with that edge because of that, to a certain extent."

Martin on Frink, a 6-9 power forward from the same New Jersey high school that produced Chris Silva: "I love big guys. I’m not part of this new movement of playing small guys. I like big guys and I’m going to beat the living snout out of you at the rim every time. And when we’re good, that’s what we do. I think that’s where you win the game, you win at the rim. And you win at the rim by protecting it and you win at the rim by scoring closer to the rim. That creates opportunity from the 3-point line.

“And Alanzo, he’s 265 pounds. He’s probably got the best hands of any big that we’ve had here at South Carolina. He catches everything. He has a skill level to him. Has nimble feet. He probably has to lose about 15 pounds or so. But he was a heavy kid.

“I went recruiting in Spain for the 18 and under world championships and he was playing there with Justin Minaya on the Dominican national team for that age group. And he was heavy then. And I was like, ‘Wow, you got a chance’ because he knows how to play. And he’s changed his body around.

"I’m excited for Alanzo. I think he’s a perfect fit for us. He’s tough, he’s not fazed by contact."

This story was originally published May 10, 2018 at 12:18 PM with the headline "'He's got an edge to him like Sin did.' Frank Martin analyzes USC's recruiting class."