Starting Five With Hassani Gravett

Oct. 28, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Redshirt-sophomore guard Hassani Gravett sat down with GamecocksOnline.com recently for our web series “Starting Five With Hassani Gravett.” The series will highlight a different newcomer to the Carolina team with each edition. Check out what Hassani had to say about his favorite NBA player and his favorite part about being a Gamecock.

Q: Who is the NBA player you try to model your game after the most?
HG: Either Allen Iverson or Russell Westbrook. Those are my two favorite point guards ever. They play similar to how I feel like I do. They play fast, they play 110 percent the whole game and they’re scoring point guards.

Q: What do you like most about being a Gamecock?
HG: I just like playing at the highest level. I love my teammates. It feels like a big family here.

Q: Who has had the biggest influence on your basketball career and why?
HG: I can’t really say one. I’ve had a lot of influences. I say the most recent one is Pete Pena, he was my coach at Pensacola State College. I went through a lot of struggles with injuries last year and he was just always there for me. I could tell that he really showed love to all of his players. I appreciated that a lot. He fought through it with me the whole time. We definitely still talk a lot and stay in contact regularly.

Q: What are some of your interests outside of basketball?
HG: I like music. Montana of 300, Lil Herb and J-Cole are some of my favorite artists. I like playing video games. NBA 2K or Call of Duty are my favorites. The Oklahoma City Thunder is who I play with. Sindarius (Thornwell) and I are definitely the best ones on the team. I play a lot of different sports. I like playing football, soccer and ping pong.

Q: What aspect of your game do you want to work on the most this season?
HG: Now that I’m playing at an even higher level, I just really want to work on my pace and my tempo in the game.

South Carolina continues preseason practice in advance of its exhibition contest versus Newberry on Nov. 6. Tip-off is slated at Colonial Life Arena for 4 p.m. ET versus the Wolves.