Maik Kotsar

2019-20 (SENIOR)

Second Team All-SEC (coaches)
Senior CLASS Award Candidate
SEC Academic Honor Roll

• Started all 31 games, averaging 11.2 points, a team high 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and team highs of 1.1 blocks and 1.5 steals in 30.4 minutes per game; each of those marks a career high
• In SEC play, scored 12.3 points with 6.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.5 steals in 30.7 minutes per game
• 20 double-figure scoring games, including three 20-point performances, 16 games with 7+ rebounds, 27 games playing 25+ minutes and 19 games with 30+ minutes played
• 12 games with 3+ assists, 11 games with 2+ blocks, three double-doubles and five double-figure rebounding games
• Led or shared the team lead in scoring 10 times, in rebounding 16 times, in assists eight times, and in blocks and steals 13 times
• Scored his 1,000th career point in road matchup at Alabama
• Finished career ranked second all-time at Carolina with 121 starts
• Was the only player in the country 6-10 or taller in 2019-20 with 40 or more steals
• Was the only player in the SEC with 40+ steals and 30+ blocks in 2019-20
• Pulled down a season high 12 rebounds in home win over Cleveland State (Nov. 15)
• 14-point outing vs. Boston University (Nov. 19) began a stretch of five-straight games scoring in double figures
• Named to the Cancun Challenge All-Tournament Team after scoring 12 points vs. Wichita State (Nov. 26) and UNI (Nov. 27)
• 11 points, seven rebounds and two assists in road win at Clemson (Dec. 15)
• Followed with three assists and three steals in upset road win at No. 9/7 Virginia (Dec. 22)
• First double-double of the season came in 18-point, 10-rebound outing vs. Florida (Jan. 7); connected on seven field goals vs. the Gators, was 4-of-4 at the free throw line, with two assists and two steals
• Scored 17 with eight rebounds and an assist, block and steal at Tennessee (Jan. 11)
• Pulled down 10 rebounds in road win at Texas A&M (Jan. 18) and dished a career high seven assists vs. the Aggies
• Scored 10 with nine rebounds and two steals in road win at Arkansas (Jan. 29)
• Matchup vs. the Razorbacks began a career best stretch of nine straight games scoring in double figures
• 21 points and 11 rebounds in home victory over Missouri (Feb. 1), also four blocks vs. the Tigers
• Tallied 13 points, including 7-of-8 at the free throw line, along with eight rebounds in home win over Tennessee (Feb. 15)
• Career high 11 field goals, including seven straight to begin the game, for a season high 24 points along with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals at Mississippi State (Feb. 19)
• 19 points and 10 rebounds in home OT win over Georgia (Feb. 26); scored five points in OT and drew the charge on the final play to secure the win
• Tallied 20 points behind nine field goals, along with four assists in Senior Night win over Mississippi State (March 3)

2018-19 (JUNIOR)

SEC Academic Honor Roll

• Saw action in 30 games, averaging 6.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in 23.3 minutes per contest
• Had five double-figure scoring performances and one double-double
• In SEC action, averaged 5.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game
• Had 13 points to go along with 10 rebounds for second-career double-double vs. Wofford (Nov. 26)
• Solid performance in road contest at No. 5 Michigan, scoring 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, along with two assists
• Missed matchups vs. No. 5 Virginia (Dec. 19) and Clemson (Dec. 22) due to a concussion
• Career night in home win over No. 14 Mississippi State, leading the Gamecocks to upset win with a career best 25 points, hitting 10-of-18 attempts from the floor, along with nine rebounds and two assists
• Had nine points, five rebounds and two blocks in win over No. 16 Auburn (Jan. 22)
• Tallied 13 points in road contest at Mississippi State (Feb. 23)

2017-18 (SOPHOMORE)

SEC Academic Honor Roll

• Started all 33 games of the season, averaging 8.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.9 steals per game
• In SEC games, scored 6.1 points per game, and pulled in 4.6 rebounds per outing
• Posted 11 double-figure scoring contests
• Led the team with 13 points in season-opening road win at Wofford (Nov. 10)
• Connected on a career high eight attempts to match a career high with 16 points in win at FIU (Nov. 27)
• Also dished a career high six assists, and collected three steals and six rebounds against the Panthers
• Scored 12 points, collected six rebounds and three steals in upset win over No. 18/16 Kentucky (Jan. 16)
• Tallied 11 points and seven rebounds in overtime loss at Mississippi State (Feb. 24)
• Scored in double-digits in both matchups at the SEC Tournament, first, scoring 14 in Carolina’s win over Ole Miss (March 7), before matching Chris Silva with a team high 15 against Arkansas (March 8)

2017-18 (FRESHMAN)

SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll

• Saw action in all 37 games during rookie season with 33 starts
• Averaged 5.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.4 blocks in 24.2 minutes per game
• In league play, tallied 4.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 23.2 minutes per outing
• Posted nine double-figure scoring games, and one double-double
• Averaged 49.0 percent from the field
• Put together a string of four-straight double-figure scoring performances early in the non-conference campaign, beginning with a 15-point outing vs. SC State (Nov. 18)
• Tallied 10 points in home win over No. 25/24 Michigan (Nov. 23), and followed with a season high 16 points in upset win over No. 18/16 Syracuse (Nov. 26) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
• First career double-double came in a 10-point, season high 11-rebound performance in home win over Lander (Dec. 27)
• Top scoring output of the SEC season came in a 10-point effort in victory at Mississippi State (Feb. 11)
• Contributed seven points in NCAA Tournament victory over Marquette (March 17), and posted 12 points with three rebounds in Elite Eight victory over No. 20/17 Florida (March 26)
• In Final Four matchup vs. No. 1 seed Gonzaga (April 1), posted four points, three rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals

PRE-SOUTH CAROLINA

• Three-star prospect according to 247sports.com
• Was a member of the Estonia U18 National Team that competed at the 2014 FIBA European Championship

PERSONAL

• Son of Ruta Pukk and Egon Kotsar, also has three siblings
• Speaks English and Estonian
• Credits his favorite actor as Leonardo DiCaprio and his favorite sport other than basketball is soccer
• During the summer of 2018, spent time with the Estonian National Team, playing with the group in the FIBA 3×3 World Championships in the Philippines, before joining the full national team for contests against other European nations
• A finance major