Frank Martin updates freshman forward Jalyn McCreary’s injury situation
South Carolina men’s basketball didn’t have good news about freshman forward Jalyn McCreary.
The Greenville-area product missed the second half of the Gamecocks’ win against Tennessee on Saturday with a head injury. Gamecocks coach Frank Martin said McCreary was improving Monday but was not doing well Sunday.
“He’s got Tweety Bird and Bugs Bunny confused right now,” Martin said. “He’s better today. He wasn’t doing well yesterday. And when I mean well, I don’t mean he’s in dire straits. He got whacked in the head pretty good.”
Martin intimated the injury happened when McCreary tumbled into a cameraperson on the baseline.
“Why is there a guy with a camera sitting where he’s sitting?” Martin said. “Now I’m down a player because we’ve got people sitting on a baseline.
“This kid making a basketball play gets hurt because of that. C’mon man. ... There’s no place for that. They need to find a better camera or sit in a better place”
Without McCreary and with a mess of foul trouble, the Gamecocks went with three guards, Maik Kotsar at center and a lot of Keyshawn Bryant and Nathan Nelson manning the other forward spot. That group held in and kept things close before ending the game on a 11-3 run to steal a win.
McCreary has averaged 11.6 minutes, four points and 2.7 rebounds per game this season. He’s shooting 58.1% from the field and 39.5% from the free throw line.
The Gamecocks have been working with a blend of big men beside Kotsar with McCreary, Alanzo Frink and Wildens Leveque all filling in. They also had to shuffle their frontcourt with Justin Minaya being lost for at least a month and possibly more because of a thumb injury.
The Gamecocks (16-9, 8-4 SEC) visit Mississippi State at 9 p.m. Wednesday.
This story was originally published February 17, 2020 at 11:40 AM.
