His top-rated teammate won’t join him at USC. His plan: show why ‘I should be a 5-star’
Trae Hannibal will begin his senior year at Hartsville High School on Monday. This will officially end a summer he spent with Tom Izzo, Bob Huggins, Tony Bennett, Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski, Rick Barnes, Frank Martin and Brad Brownell.
“It was fun playing in front of basically every coach in America,” Hannibal said. “It was really fun.”
Hannibal, who committed to South Carolina in early June, wasn’t as much the attraction as Josiah James, his AAU teammate and holder of 40-plus scholarship offers. The duo, representing the Charleston-based TMP organization, joined up in late spring and created a bond both on and off the floor. They were two different point guards – one (James) 6-foot-6; the other 6-2 – who often found themselves on the same page.
“If Josiah’s not the point, we throw the ball ahead to Trae and use him as a point guard,” TMP coach Antoine Saunders said in July, “or vice versa. We run with whoever.
“The game’s a lot easier when you have two top-flight guards like that.”
The thought of such chemistry carrying on at the college level stopped Wednesday evening when news broke of James trimming his list to four schools and not including USC.
The five-star prospect is moving forward with Clemson, Duke, Michigan State and Tennessee as his options.
Hannibal said he didn’t learn of the list until late Wednesday when his father brought it to his attention.
“I was like ‘Wow,’” Hannibal told The State on Thursday. “But at the end of the day, I still have respect for him. That’s my brother that I played with in AAU. I still got love and support for him wherever he goes.”
The top five players in SC’s 2019 class, according to Big Shots rankings, have either made their college choice, or have made cuts. Gray Collegiate’s Juwan Gary, No. 2 behind James, has pledged to Alabama. Lower Richland’s Christian Brown, No. 3, has scheduled visits to Clemson and LSU, while Georgia and UNLV remain in the mix. Ride View’s Malcolm Wilson, No. 5, is down to Clemson, Georgetown and Rice.
Hannibal, given a three-star rating by Rivals, is ranked fourth. It appears he’ll be the lone member of the group to wear garnet and black in 2019-20.
“They have me ranked as a three-star,” Hannibal said. “I feed off of that. I still practice, work out like I don’t have an offer, I’m not committed.
“I’m just blessed to be in the position I’m in. I take a lot of pride in that. I’m just going to play as hard as I can every high school game this year. And then when I get to college, I’m going to show people why I should be a five-star and that I came to USC for a reason.”
Hannibal averaged over 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Hartsville as a junior. The Red Foxes went 16-9 and fell in the second round of the Class AAAA state playoffs.
College decision behind him, Hannibal has started to jot down his senior year goals. He wants to win a state title, he wants to be Mr. Basketball.
“I’m coachable,” Hannibal said. “I get all my players involved and do what I gotta do to help my team win. Those are the tools that you need for Player of the Year, and I think I have all of those. So I’ll go for that.
“And I’ll go for a state championship. I want to make my teammates a lot better and finish with high percentages in everything. I want to help my team become better each game and each practice.”
James, who will be seeking a fourth consecutive SCISA AAA title with Porter-Gaud, is perhaps the leading candidate to follow Zion Williamson as SC’s Mr. Basketball.
What did Hannibal get out of his summer playing with him?
“He made some crazy shots,” Hannibal said, “but he’s always focused and I like that. I like playing with people that are focused. His mentality, his will to win, I just love that.”
Hannibal suffered a minor leg injury late in the AAU season and missed TMP’s games at the national tournament in Orlando. Slightly hobbled, he still took Frank Martin up on an invitation to Columbia to attend one of USC’s final summer practices.
Hannibal sat at Carolina Coliseum and envisioned his future. He can’t wait.
“It’s really fun and active,” Hannibal said. “It’s great to see the team practice and things like that. Even though I’m not going to be there until the next year, just watching them practice, I get excited. They’re getting after it.
“Coach doesn’t let them slack off at all. He makes them get after it on defense. And I love defense. Defense is what’s going to get you points. I’m excited.”
This story was originally published August 16, 2018 at 7:18 PM.