After rough start to Gamecocks career, Erik Stevenson finds his shot against UAB
Early in the second half of South Carolina’s 66-63 win over UAB, veteran guard Erik Stevenson walked toward the sideline, raised his arms and urged the Colonial Life Arena fans to get loud.
They obliged.
After making just 2 of 25 3-point attempts through the first three games of his USC career, Stevenson endeared himself to the Gamecock faithful on Thursday night, making each of his first three 3-point attempts and leading USC with 15 points.
Chants of “Erik! Erik!” rang from the lively CLA crowd at various points during the night. When he took a hard hit to the face in the second half and spent time in the locker room, fans started clamoring “We want Erik! We want Erik!”
“Yeah, I heard that,” Stevenson said, smiling after the game. “I appreciate it. It’s always cool having the fans love you. And we appreciate the fans. Without them, it’s probably a different ballgame in the second half.”
In the weeks leading up to the season, coach Frank Martin spoke frequently about the edge Stevenson brought to USC after stints at Wichita State and Washington. Martin spoke about his leadership and toughness, the way he and fellow transfer James Reese took hold of the locker room.
But up until Thursday, those intangibles hadn’t translated to production on the court. Brought into the program to be a sharpshooter, Stevenson was shooting a paltry 8% from the 3-point line through three games, going 0 for 10 from the perimeter in USC’s loss to Princeton over the weekend.
Against UAB, Stevenson made three of his five perimeter looks and shot 6 for 9 overall.
“It’s been a struggle from 3, which is obviously not something I was hoping for,” Stevenson said. “But to see those first two go in, it felt good, gave me a good little confidence boost throughout the game. That’s nothing that surprised me. I’m supposed to make shots.
“So having the team, having the staff and the whole program back me when it comes to shooting struggles, telling me to keep shooting, that’s what gives you confidence.”
After each of the first three games, Martin has said that he knew Stevenson’s shots would go in eventually. He’d seen it all summer in the gym.
“I don’t worry about people that work at something that they’re good at,” Martin said. “He’s a good shooter, and he works at it. I’m not worried. If I start talking to him about missing shots, then he thinks that I’m losing faith in his shotmaking, then he’s gonna doubt himself. I don’t do that.
“Now, if he didn’t work, he wouldn’t be shooting (2 for 25). We would have cut those 3s off a long, long time ago. But he works at it.”
Even more, it’s clear that Stevenson has become one of the team’s most vocal players and leaders. During Thursday’s game, while he was on the bench, he’d often stand up and point players to where they needed to go, especially on the defensive side of the ball. That’s not uncommon for a veteran player, but Stevenson transferred to the Gamecocks just months ago.
Stevenson even talks about the game with a broader, coach-like perspective, and he said Martin trusts in him to challenge his teammates when needed.
“I’m just passionate about the game, passionate about winning,” Stevenson said. “I don’t care if I score 50 or go 0 for 10. I just want to win the basketball game. It’s a blessing, knowing the system and knowing the game and having Frank’s trust in me that he allows me to get on guys, he allows me to help guys out.
“He’s given me the freedom to express myself, express my knowledge and tweak some things, honestly, in the system every now and then. It’s just always been in my blood to be a leader. It’s kind of how I was raised.”
This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 8:00 AM.
