Why didn’t Trae Hannibal play more? Did Frank Martin shove a player? A few thoughts
South Carolina fell to Florida, 81-68, on Tuesday evening and Trae Hannibal, like the 10,651 in attendance at Colonial Life Arena, simply watched the second half.
For some games this season, this wouldn’t cause questions. Hannibal is a freshman who’s been a healthy scratch for Frank Martin’s team three times in 2019-20.
But in the SEC opener, Hannibal scored four points in two minutes to end the first half, the latter coming off an intercepted pass at mid-court and finish at the rim.
He helped Carolina cut the Florida lead to three at the break. But then he didn’t take his warm-up shirt off for the final 20 minutes.
Why?
Martin, when asked what Hannibal needs to do to see more time, didn’t answer directly.
“Let’s talk about the guys I actually played,” he said.
Hannibal was one of four guards to see the floor against Florida. Jermaine Couisnard, normally Martin’s first backcourt option off the bench, missed the game with a strained back. Starters A.J. Lawson and Jair Bolden combined for 24 points — on 7 of 29 shooting — while getting 34 minutes apiece. T.J. Moss had two points, two assists and three turnovers in 13 minutes
When Hannibal did enter the game — at the 2:19 mark of the first half — he replaced Moss. But it was Moss on the floor for five second-half minutes.
“T.J. gives us probably our most intelligent player at the guard spot,” Martin said of the redshirt freshman who’s now averaging 2.6 points per game, “like from an understanding standpoint.
“He had a real bad turnover tonight and he had a tendency of having a bad turnover at a bad moment. He had two of them. One where he just threw to the guy in front of him. The other one where he’s trying to pass it to Keyshawn (Bryant) and he threw it out of bounds. But it’s a pass that we say don’t make. The angle he threw that ball, we just say don’t make that pass.
“He’s a very intelligent player. He knows what we’re trying to do. He knows where he belongs. And where T.J. has to continue to make an adjustment, just like (Florida’s) freshman guards, is with the speed of college basketball. That’s where his biggest adjustment’s at.”
Playing more Hannibal was part of Martin’s series of adjustments following the Houston loss Dec. 8. After Hannibal was a spark to the upset of No. 9 Virginia on Dec. 22, Martin provided insight on the rookie’s progress, an up-and-down path.
Hannibal scored four points and grabbed three steals in only seven minutes against the Cavaliers.
“I wish I had more faith and trust in him so I could have played him more today,” Martin said then. “I’m starting to get there with him so we can get him on the court a little more.
“I’m telling you, he makes the wow play and the bad mistake. But he’s got a knack for the ball. Sometimes we’re in practice and everything is completely out of whack from what we’re trying to do, but he comes out with the ball.
“So I got to figure out a way to give him those opportunities in games and allow him to grow. But if you leave him out there for too long and you’re playing teams like this and you lose for him to get experience, then you guys are going to be asking different questions after the game. That’s part of the deal.”
Hannibal has 20 points — along with four assists, seven steals and five turnovers — over Carolina’s last four games. He’s totaled 44 minutes in those contests.
The ‘shove’
With 31 seconds remaining in the first half, Martin directed freshman Jalyn McCreary to check into the game by physically guiding him toward the scorer’s table.
Video of the sequence, as seen on the ESPNU broadcast, circulated on Twitter. Social media and message board reaction was divided on the moment and whether or not there was any significance or cause for concern.
Martin was asked to explain what happened.
“Are you talking about when I told him to check in the game and there’s a 30-second timeout and he was like walking and I kind of shoved him to go to the table?” Martin asked a reporter. “That’s exactly what happened. So people are mad? That’s what happened.
“Maybe next time I’ll hug him and carry him and put him at the table and say, ‘Please, tell him you’re checking in the game.’”
NEXT
What: South Carolina at Tennessee
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Where: Knoxville, Tennessee
TV: SEC Network
Radio: 107.5 The Game in Columbia area
Box score: Florida 81, South Carolina 68
FLORIDA (10-4): Nembhard 8-14 2-2 21, Johnson 8-13 3-4 19, Lewis 4-9 6-6 15, Locke 2-7 0-0 6, Blackshear 2-7 7-10 11, Payne 1-4 1-3 3, Bassett 2-3 0-0 4, Glover 1-2 0-0 2, Mann 0-1 0-0 0, Jitoboh 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-60 19-25 81.
SOUTH CAROLINA (8-6): Kotsar 7-12 4-4 18, Bryant 5-10 4-5 14, Bolden 4-14 3-4 12, Lawson 3-15 3-5 12, Minaya 1-3 2-4 4, Moss 1-1 0-0 2, Frink 0-3 0-0 0, McCreary 0-0 2-2 2, Leveque 0-0 0-0 0, Hannibal 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 23-60 18-24 68.
Halftime—Florida 40-37. 3-Point Goals—Florida 6-16 (Nembhard 3-5, Locke 2-3, Lewis 1-3, Glover 0-1, Mann 0-1, Johnson 0-3), South Carolina 4-15 (Lawson 3-8, Bolden 1-5, Bryant 0-1, Minaya 0-1). Rebounds—Florida 39 (Lewis, Payne 9), South Carolina 28 (Kotsar 10). Assists—Florida 13 (Nembhard 10), South Carolina 11 (Bryant, Lawson 3). Total Fouls—Florida 19, South Carolina 21. A—10,651 (18,000).
This story was originally published January 7, 2020 at 11:34 PM.
