Hassani Gravett came in last season and gave South Carolina head coach Frank Martin plenty of quality minutes on the perimeter.
Now, as Sindarius Thornwell, P.J. Dozier, and Duane Notice exit, and Rakym Felder serves his indefinite suspension, Gravett will be even more of a key contributor for the Gamecocks.
Martin feels like the 6-2, 187-pound redshirt junior is going to be in position to where he can potentially take the reigns of the team if needed.
Perhaps Gravett’s spot minutes during South Carolina’s run to the Final Four can give him the experience needed to take on that leadership role right at the start of the season.
Inside the Numbers
Gravett, who came from from Pensacola State College where he was the Panhandle Conference Player of the Year in ’15-16, saw minutes in 35 games a season ago and started in three of those games.
He played 16.6 minutes per contest and averaged 3.2 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists.
He had a season-high 12 points in an early January win over Tennessee.
Picking up the shooting percentages is a must as Gravett made only 22.7 percent of his threes while shooting 36.1 percent from the field.
What They’re Saying
“Hassani Gravett needs to be better, and if you follow my career, players in their second year get a lot better than they were in their first year.”
– South Carolina head coach Frank Martin discussing Gravett’s role for the 2017-18 season
Ken’s Take
Gravett should step his game up and play with confidence as he will have a bigger impact this season.
But to do that, he needs to be more aggressive and be able to create his shot with more consistency considering the loss of many key scoring contributors from a year ago.
The key will be chemistry development on that perimeter where Martin has three quality transfers in Kory Holden (Delaware), Wesley Myers (Maine/Naigara), and Frank Booker (Florida Atlantic/Oklahoma).
Gravett, of course, is the only Gamecock in that group who saw action for Martin last season.