Freshman Justin Minaya Scores 16 in the SEC Tourney (video)
Minaya went 6-9 from the field in the opening round win versus Ole Miss.
Justin Minaya’s career at South Carolina included a bit of an anomaly during his freshman season. Minaya, who announced his transfer to Providence in the spring, shot a career high 107 three pointers during his freshman campaign in Columbia. He also made a career high from long range that year, hitting 39 and shooting 36% from long range.
He played in just five games during his sophomore year before suffering a knee injury in November. Minaya started cold from deep that season (2-15), and never seemed to regain his shooting touch from the beyond arc, going 19-72 (.264) and 17-73 (.233) in the two seasons following his knee injury.
Minaya’s career free throw percentage (.664) at South Carolina indicates that he is likely not a knock down 3-point shooter, but in the SEC Tournament of his freshman year Minaya turned a game around from deep with a second half flurry.
A strength of Minaya’s game is his ability to move without the ball. He actively tracks offensive rebounds using guile and will, and during this game against Ole Miss during his freshman year, Minaya finished an and-1 after a heady cut to the bucket in the first half.
But it was the second half where he did his most damage. Minaya scored 11 of his 16 points in the final 20 minutes, including a stretch of 3-pointers midway through the second half:
He hit a 3-pointer with Carolina down 55-51
Moments later, Minaya buried his second deep one during the spurt after Ole Miss pulled ahead 59-55
Finally, Minaya capped his hot stretch by tying the game at 61
This outburst all took place in a span of two minutes, and sparked a big South Carolina run.
Minaya finished the game with 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists, while shooting 6-9 from the field and 4-5 from long range.
It sounds as though the Providence staff believes they can help turn Minaya’s shooting percentages upward. As Minaya told Kevin McNamara after committing to PC, “He (Ed Cooley) felt I could really shoot the ball and could help me with that and be a productive wing for them.”
Also noteworthy was that Minaya played at the top of South Carolina’s 2-3 zone. We have seen him take on the challenge of guarding some of the SEC’s more athletic big men, and in this game he showed some defensive versatility by playing at the top of the zone.
South Carolina, fresh off of a Final Four appearance a year prior, narrowly won this game, 85-84, mainly due to their physical dominance inside. Chris Silva (a New Jersey product, like Minaya) pummeled Ole Miss inside to the tune of 20 free throw attempts. Ole Miss was led by a former Providence recruit in guard Breein Tyree.
Minaya had earned Frank Martin’s trust as a freshman, starting 30 of the 32 games he played in.