What Frank Martin said about USC’s early signees, Iriel’s departure
The South Carolina men’s basketball team fortified its 2021-22 backcourt Wednesday by inking two guards on the first day of the November early signing period.
Legacy Charter point guard Jacobi Wright and Miami guard Devin Carter both signed Wednesday, the school announced. The third member of Martin’s recruiting class, Mississippi forward Carlous Williams, has not yet signed. Williams said in August that he was planning to sign in the spring.
Wright and Carter could be key additions to a South Carolina backcourt that has the potential to lose veterans Seventh Woods and A.J. Lawson next season. Martin said he likes the intensity that both signees bring to the court. Both are rated as three-star prospects in 274Sports’ composite rankings.
“Two guys that just live, breathe basketball,” Martin said. “They’re both leaders. They’re both unbelievably competitive. You sit down and visit with them, and they’re very soft-spoken young men. They’re very mild with how they express themselves in a conversation.
“But when they go on the court, they want to rip your head off. And they’re very demanding of their teammates, that they do the same.”
From Fort Mill, the 6-foot-2, 170-pound Wright committed to the Gamecocks in June, saying then that he liked Martin’s hard coaching style and that he felt like a “perfect fit” for USC’s system.
“Jacobi is your ultimate point guard,” Martin said. “He’s a leader. He uplifts everybody’s talent around him. And then he’s fearless in the moment. He’s going to be a tremendous addition to our basketball team, very vocal on the basketball court, just always looking to help. Always looking to do more. He’s a lot of fun. He’s a pitbull. He is relentless as a competitor.”
At 6-foot-4, 175 pounds, Carter is a different, lengthier kind of guard than Wright and should provide versatility. He’s the son of Anthony Carter, who played 14 seasons in the NBA and has served as the Miami Heat’s player development coach since 2018.
Martin said Carter has been working out with his father and that the elder Carter “really drills him hard.” Carter reclassified to the 2021 class from 2020 after injuring his shoulder during his senior year of high school. He most recently played at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, which has won seven prep school national titles since 2010 and has churned out NBA stars such as Donovan Mitchell.
“Devin’s long; he’s in that 6-foot-4 range with really, really long arms, big hands, fits the profile of guards that I like to coach,” Martin said. “He’s played point, has played off the ball. He’s recovering from shoulder injury that he suffered his senior year in high school. Main reason he went to prep school. But we’re excited about him. Once again, another unbelievable competitor that’s a great teammate.”
Patrick Iriel leaves Gamecocks
As for the 2020 freshman class, Martin addressed the sudden departure of forward Patrick Iriel for the first time Wednesday. The team announced Oct. 28 that the local A.C. Flora High product decided to withdraw from school after multiple meetings with Martin.
While the coach declined to provide specifics on the content of those meetings, he said the decision “was a personal matter” for Iriel.
“It was not a basketball thing,” Martin said. “It was not a Frank-Patrick relationship problem. Just made a decision for what he felt was best for him. And I fully understood. We had countless conversations. His family and I had countless conversations, and we all have to do what allows us to have peace and happiness in our hearts. And, at this time, going to class and playing basketball is not something that he wanted to be a part of right now.”
Iriel’s withdrawal leaves forward Ja’Von Benson, also from Columbia, as the lone 2020-21 freshman on scholarship. Martin praised Benson on Wednesday for the basketball instincts he’s shown in practice, although he added that Benson still has much to learn about playing on the college level.
Martin said he doesn’t know yet how he will manage Iriel’s scholarship moving forward.
“I got no idea right now,” Martin said. “We’ll look at some mid-year transfers to see if something’s available. I might even consider putting one of our walk-ons on scholarship for the second semester, because I can’t use it in the first semester, and then determine what to do in the spring, for the following year.
“...We’re managing this roster right now on the scholarship numbers. Trying to figure out how to do that and stay at 13 every single year is going to be complicated. It’s going to be time consuming, and it’s going to be interesting.”
