With season over early, this former Gamecock starts job hunt — with sports shut down
TeMarcus Blanton finds himself in a particular sort of limbo.
The former South Carolina men’s basketball player-turned graduate assistant is more than a week removed from the news the Gamecocks’ season was cut short, as the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak ended college basketball suddenly.
Instead of preparing for the NIT — or even the NCAA tournament if things broke right — he’s back home, the school he attends is shut down and his ride with USC basketball is in some ways over.
For a person who is usually looking forward to what’s next, this pause is particularly strange.
“It’s really weird,” Blanton told The State. “Every day I go thinking about, ‘Oh man, what’s next? What’s next? What’s next?’ But you know, with everything going on in this world right now, I understand it.”
Blanton posted to social media a heartfelt look-back at his time as a Gamecock over the weekend. An injury derailed a promising career, but he stayed on and was part of the program for six seasons.
He’s looking to either get into coaching or player development on the professional level after earning his master’s degree in health information technology. For now, with the sport shut down, there’s only so much he can do but he’s still reaching out where he can.
“I’m not gonna let my foot off the gas,” Blanton said. “I’ll still keep trying to reach out to people and whatnot, try to land a spot somewhere.”
Blanton joined coach Frank Martin’s program as a four-star recruit at shooting guard, the top-rated player in his class. But a devastating hip injury, comparable to the one that ended Bo Jackson’s career, before his freshman season lingered through the next few years. Blanton battled back to play 5.9 minutes a game in 2016-17, playing a role on the program’s first Final Four team.
After that, he gave up playing. But he didn’t leave South Carolina.
He stayed on helping out where he could, still a part of the team. After getting his degree in 2018, he became a student assistant coach as he worked toward his graduate degree.
He got to work with teams that beat Kentucky, upset Florida in Gainesville, upended a Final Four team in Auburn and knocked off defending national champion Virginia. This year he was able to watch a Gamecocks squad rally from a tough start to again post double-digit wins in conference.
“It was real fun,” Blanton said. “In the weight room, on the court, off the court. It was real fun. I’m sad it had to end so soon, but it was real fun working with these specific players and it was always fun working with the staff.”
He admitted, as he looked back at six years, it went by fast. He called it the best time of his life.
Blanton gets his degree May 9, and he’s already started in on looking for his next step. But he’s trying to get involved in a sport that is largely shut down at the moment.
For the moment, he’s trying to do what he can, reaching out as he finishes off classes.
He said his role with USC this year involved monitoring hydration levels in players and helping in other areas. It doesn’t hurt to have Martin and the rest of the staff in his corner.
Martin has long spoke highly of Blanton and boasts a deep well of connections throughout the sport. Assistant Perry Clark has been in the college game since 1978 and has been a head coach three times, while assistant Chuck Martin has worked alongside the likes of Tom Crean and John Calipari.
So in short, as Blanton tries to make his way in this profession once things get back to normal, he’ll have some folks in his corner as resources.
“Frank knows a lot of people,” Blanton said. “The rest of the staff knows a lot of people, so to have him on my side it’s a huge advantage for me. Their voices alone just stand out by (themselves) and it’s just such a huge influence in his world and in the basketball world. I think it’s a big advantage for me.”
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
