He’s back: Justin Minaya available to play for Gamecocks vs Vanderbilt
South Carolina men’s basketball finally has one of its key players back on the court again.
Third-year forward Justin Minaya will be able to play Saturday against Vanderbilt, it was announced on the radio pregame show. His return ends a nine-game absence for one of the team’s most versatile players.
Minaya will play with a large brace on his hand, but teammate A.J. Lawson said Minaya didn’t look rusty in practice on Friday and his shot looked to at least be OK on Thursday evening.
The Gamecocks (18-12, 10-7) went 5-4 in Minaya’s absence and are in position to finish fifth or sixth in the SEC based on Saturday’s results and tiebreakers.
Coach Frank Martin has had to do different things to cover for the loss of Minaya, who brought a level of shooting to the lineup while filling a variety of roles in different lineups. As a strong rebounding wing with shotblocking ability, Minaya could play as a traditional wing next to a pair of bigs, pair with power wing Keyshawn Bryant and also play as a de facto power forward alongside one big (often Maik Kotsar) and a trio of guards.
That three-guard look was often a closing lineup in big games.
For the season, Minaya averaged 7.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and nearly a block a game. His shooting had been down this year (26.4 percent from 3), but he was above 36 percent his last full healthy season.
This story was originally published March 7, 2020 at 12:04 PM with the headline "He’s back: Justin Minaya available to play for Gamecocks vs Vanderbilt."
