Sept. 2, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Marcus Stroman showed moments of brilliance for the South Carolina basketball team in his freshman season, and now after a unique experience abroad he is ready to help lead the Gamecocks into the 2015-16 campaign. Stroman spent the beginning of August with the USA East Coast basketball club as it toured Europe and squared off against some elite competition.

“The furthest I had been was Las Vegas for an All-Star game with my AAU team, I was kind of nervous because I had never been that far but I thought it was a great opportunity,” Stroman said.

The team first gathered in New York City for a brief training camp, allowing the team to gel before heading overseas. The group culled together student-athletes from nine different colleges to play games in Paris and Treviso, Italy. The opening camp was followed by a sleepless flight to France to prepare for the opening game against a Parisian all-star team.

There would be no jet lag at the start, as the East Coast club cruised to a 90-72 win. Like he had done so many times as a freshman, Stroman stacked the box score to the tune of four points, six rebounds, seven assists, and four steals in just 21 minutes for the team.

Rounding out the stop in Paris was a game against the Nigerian national team. With a roster stacked with current and former NBA players, it ran through the East Coast team 127-88 and taught Marcus an important lesson.

“We went against some top pros who played in the NBA and we couldn’t match up with them. They gave us a great show,” Stroman recalled. “You see them in person and you think ‘wow, they really are that good,’ and you see how much hard work it takes to make it to the next level.

“I saw how serious they take their job,” he added. “They expected so much out of each other and they gelled so well together. I was able to measure my game against the pros and saw what I need to do to keep growing. To play against pros was a big thing in helping develop my game.”

An important step for Stroman this summer was completing his recovery from a throat infection that cost him a number of games in the heart of the conference schedule. Even upon his return to the lineup, the weight lost due to the infection sapped his strength. Now as he reports back to campus to begin his second season, his strength and stamina has not only returned, but improved. It pairs with an increased comfort level with the offensive and defensive role he plays with the team.

“My confidence level right now is way higher than last year,” the Columbia native admits. “Last year I was iffy on what to do at times, but now I can go out there and just play basketball.”

Wrapping up the tour were a pair of games against the Chinese national team. It entered as the 14th-ranked country in the world according to FIBA, but the East Coast team drew upon its experience with Nigeria to give the star-studded national team all it could handle. Stroman would score nine points with four steals in a last-second 89-82 loss in game one, and added five more steals and four assists in game two. In that matchup, China needed 29 points from former NBA lottery pick Yi Jianlian to hold off East Coast 92-84.

Helping Marcus along on the trip was a familiar face, as South Carolina Director of Basketball Operations Andy Assaley joined him as the team’s assistant to the general manager. He helped organize the day-to-day operations of the trip, and coordinated the tours of Paris and Venice.

“We set up tours of Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tour, tours of the canals in Venice,” Assaley said. “The nice thing is we had a lot of sightseeing built in to each day, it was important to (East Coast head coach) Guy Rancourt that we get to experience the culture and learning how people in other countries live.

“I had never been to Europe before, so seeing Italy and Paris was awesome,” he added. “The competition was great, getting to go to Treviso and play the Nigerian and Chinese national teams was something else.”

Assaley had a first-hand experience witnessing Stroman as he prepares to play a major role for his Gamecocks this season.

“It was fun watching the things that he has been working on in the spring and summer translated on to the court,” Assaley said. “The leadership role that he took on was great, he embraced being a leader for that team.”