Gamecocks get their jersey numbers. Wait, a freshman is rocking double zero?
A season after Sindarius Thornwell ended his legendary South Carolina career with a Final Four run, the Gamecocks already had a new No. 0 on their roster.
David Beatty, a freshman in 2017-18 who has since transferred, had a special reason behind choosing the unique digit. He said he was a “zero in high school because no one believed in me and I was on my own.” He wanted to represent that mindest in college with his jersey number.
Beatty is now at La Salle, allowing someone else the opportunity to look like Thornwell. It appears A.J. Lawson nearly did it.
USC released its 208-19 roster Thursday, showing 15 players, including eight newcomers. Lawson, a highly touted freshman from Canada, will be No. 00 in your programs.
Per Frank Martin’s policy, freshmen aren’t made available to the media until their first semester, so we might not know if Lawson flirted with No. 0 until January. The listed 6-foot-6, 165-pound guard wore No. 1 in high school.
T.J. Moss, a rookie point guard from Memphis, will be No. 1 for the Gamecocks this season.
South Carolina 2018-19 roster
(Newcomers in bold)
No. 00 A.J. Lawson 6-5, 165
No. 1 T.J. Moss 6-4, 180
No. 2 Hassani Gravett 6-2, 187
No. 4 Tre Campbell 6-2, 170
No. 5 Jermaine Couisnard 6-4, 185
No. 10 Justin Minaya 6-5, 210
No. 13 Felipe Haase 6-9, 249
No. 14 Nathan Nelson 6-6, 167
No. 20 Alanzo Frink 6-8, 265
No. 21 Maik Kotsar 6-10, 260
No. 23 Evan Hinson 6-4, 240
No. 24 Keyshawn Bryant 6-6, 185
No. 30 Chris Silva 6-9, 223
No. 33 Jason Cudd 7-1, 255
No. 52 Jair Bolden 6-4, 212*
*Sitting out as transfer