Gamecocks coaches get good look at hometown big man

At Monday’s MLK Bash, South Carolina basketball coach Frank Martin was able to check out several Gamecock targets, including Ridge View’s Malcolm Wilson.

Martin had to like what he saw from the 6-foot-11 center on the defensive end in the Blazers’ 50-45 loss to Keenan. Wilson blocked 11 shotsand grabbed seven rebounds to go along with four points.

“Didn’t see him until the end of the game, but I’m glad to see him,” Wilson said of Martin. “He normally comes to a lot of games around here, but it was good to see him watching us.”

The Gamecocks were one of the first schools to offer Wilson, a three-star prospect who is ranked No. 145 on Rivals Top 150 list for the class of 2019. Wilson says USC assistant coach Chuck Martin and Frank Martin remain in constant contact with him.

Wilson attended the Gamecocks’ game against UMass on Dec. 2, and USC is trying to get him back on campus for a game soon. He said there are a lot of positives in the Gamecocks’ favor.

“I like that they’re close,” Wilson said. “I like the basketball program, and they have some good academic programs. Engineering is something I’m interested in, and I know they’ve got some good programs.

“I’m planning to be in college for four years, so getting a good education and something to build off of. I don’t want to get out of college and not have anything to do. My mother and my dad, they pound that into me that education is most important in picking a school.”

Clemson also is interested in Wilson, and he will be at Saturday’s game against Notre Dame. He also has a visit planned for Virginia Commonwealth on Feb. 10. Other schools Wilson is talking with include Harvard, Yale, Virginia Tech, Rice and Georgia.

Wilson doesn’t have a time frame on narrowing down his list but hinted possibly before the start of next season. Entering Monday’s game, he was averaging 8.8 rebounds and leads the Midlands with six blocks a game.

Wilson has had more than 10 blocks in three of his past four games. Still, Wilson sees plenty of room for improvement.

“I got to work on being stronger around the basket. I’m letting guys push me off the blocks. Once I get that down, I will be much better,” Wilson said.

This story was originally published January 16, 2018 at 1:33 PM.