Justin Minaya and South Carolina lose a late lead to LSU (video)
Minaya finished with a double double in a game USC led for nearly 35 minutes.
South Carolina had to have felt as though they let one slip away when they traveled to Baton Rouge in mid-January. LSU was hot coming into this one, with a 9-2 record and 4-1 mark in the SEC, while the Gamecocks were battling through a variety of issues related to COVID-19.
USC was without three of its coaches, including head man Frank Martin, who were all missing due to the virus. And while it was just mid-January, South Carolina had already either cancelled or had a game suspended due to the pandemic on eight occasions.
This was a very talented LSU team. The Tigers would eventually fall in the SEC championship by a point, and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament where they lost to Michigan. Will Wade boasted superstar freshman Cam Thomas (who was drafted in the first round last week by Brooklyn), as well as all-SEC talent in Trendon Watford and Javonte Smart. The 6’9, 240 pound Watford was a top 25 player in the class of 2019, while the 6’4 Smart was a top 40 player in his own right.
Providence transfer Justin Minaya would get turns at both Watford and Smart on the defensive end.
Minaya struggled to find the range on his jumper in this one, missing his first five three point attempts (including an airball), but that didn’t slow a South Carolina attack that saw them rush out to a 17-6 advantage early, and lead by double digits for much of the game.
USC led this game for 34 minutes before falling apart late. They missed 11 consecutive shots, and saw LSU go on a 20-4 spurt to pull out the victory.
While Minaya struggled with his jump shot (1-6 from deep), he finished with 12 points, ten rebounds, and a pair of assists. Perhaps even more noteworthy for a Providence team that struggled to defend a year ago, the 6’6, 215 pound Minaya spent a considerable amount of time defending the bigger Watford. He also blocked a baseline jumper by Thomas, and kept Smart in front of him and forced a difficult shot off of a drive attempt.
Minaya isn’t a plus athlete, but he defends and rebounds with guile and positioning. Pretty consistently on tape we see Minaya sneaking his way into good position for offensive rebounds, and he was more than willing to take on the larger and more athletic big men of the SEC. He hit the floor on consecutive defensive possessions in the second half of this one.
USC tried switching to zone with about 6-7 minutes left after LSU had gotten hot, but by that point the damage had been done. Minaya started, and played all 40 minutes, shooting 5-10 from the field, while committed two fouls with two turnovers on the night.