Oct. 23, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. – In the first of our multi-part Gamecock Confidential series, we sat down with the freshmen guards to talk about their first few months at South Carolina, how the upperclassmen have helped them transition to college basketball, and we also find out about their excitement for the season ahead.

The 2015 freshmen class for men’s basketball is preparing for their debut in the Garnet and Black, with an excitement-level that is already at a fever pitch. That excitement isn’t just felt by the fan base — it’s shared among the players, too.

“Just seeing the progression from being here during the summer, seeing our freshmen getting bigger, better and stronger, everybody is really excited for the season,” said guard PJ Dozier.

Fellow backcourt newcomer Jamall Gregory echoed his excitement.

“Every day I see someone who is almost as excited as I am about this season,” Gregory said. “It seems like they genuinely care about us and want us to do well this year.”

The six true freshmen hail from all over the country and abroad, but each has quickly learned what it must take to succeed as a college athlete and flourish under head coach Frank Martin and his staff. Whether it’s the intense workouts with strength coach Scott Greenawalt or time spent at the Dodie Anderson Academic Enrichment Center keeping up with academics and getting a good meal, the freshmen have embraced the college lifestyle.

“Scott brings that intensity into the weight room and gets you going,” Dozier said.

When the work in the gym and weight room are finished, the freshmen have learned to lean on the help from the Dodie to grab a bite to eat and focus on their academics. Even in his short time on campus, forward Eric Cobb has felt nothing but love from his support staff.

“All I can say is love, I love the Dodie,” Cobb said. “I feel like I’m at home there.”

Along with all they’ve learned about what it takes to be a student-athlete, they’ve learned just as much about their head coach, on and off the court.

When asked about why he chose Carolina, despite coming all the way from Illinois, forward Raymond Doby said the deciding factor was “the intensity of Frank Martin, I know it might kind of sound crazy but I felt like I needed somebody that would push me every day in practice and be on me so I could reach my potential.”

All eyes were on Dozier last Fall as he decided on which school to attend, but despite a family legacy of Carolina basketball, it was the coaching staff that tipped the scales for the hometown standout.

“It was definitely the relationship with the coaching staff, being able to build that before I made my decision helped a lot,” he said. “I feel like people look at him (Coach Martin) in the sense of the way they see him on the court, but there’s definitely a whole other side that they don’t get the chance to see. He’s very loyal to his players and his coaches.”

Now that they’re here a major benefit the group has is the experience of the upperclassmen they’ll be joining in with. The Gamecocks return four starters and eight lettermen from last year, including its top two scorers in juniors Duane Notice (11.7 ppg) and Sindarius Thornwell (11.1 ppg).

In addition, the team has three seniors on the post, in Laimonas Chatkevicius, Mindaugas Kacinas and Michael Carrera, that bring a knowledge of Martin’s system to go with a tireless work ethic that has won the admiration of fans for years now.

“Obviously you learn a lot on your own,” Doby said, “but the upperclassmen bring a lot to the table with eating habits, what not to do on off days, bringing that experience that they have while they’ve been here helped us out as we try to adjust to our own situations.”

Thanks to that veteran leadership, the six freshmen are able to grow into their roles without the stress of having to carry a heavy load on and off the court. On top of all that, the leadership from the upperclassmen comes from a point of view that is valuable to the new players.

Players like Thornwell, Carrera and Notice have logged major minutes since day one of their freshmen seasons, serving as the building blocks for Coach Martin’s program. They now are able to impart that knowledge to the next generation of leaders.

“The upperclassmen definitely gave us a lot of pointers, a lot of tips to try and keep our bodies healthy and get through these tough practices,” Dozier said. “That definitely is the leadership that you look for in the upperclassmen, they’re doing their job.”

With the season less than a month away now, the anticipation that fans feel is trumped only by the players who are preparing every day to make this season one to remember.

“[The intensity] is just going up every day,” Doby said. “The more you learn, that intensity and confidence goes up, you get that boost. Every day we get better, we learn, and once that learning process gets there, that confidence gets there. This freshman, class, we’re here to bring it. I hope the fans are really looking forward to it as much as we are.”

That sentiment was backed by forward Chris Silva, who put it simply: “We’re trying to make a difference, that’s what we’re here for.”