Justin Minaya and South Carolina versus Houston (video)
The future Friar led South Carolina with 13 points (and three 3-pointers) in a December trip to Houston.
If ever South Carolina was going to upset Houston in the 2020-21 season, their meeting in early December would have been it.
Houston, ranked #10 in the nation heading into this one, was without head coach Kelvin Sampson due to COVID-19 contact tracing, as well as leading scorer Marcus Sasser when they hosted the Gamecocks in their fourth game of the season.
This Houston bunch eventually finished the season 28-4, reaching the Final Four for the first time since Hakeem Olajuwon tormented opponents on the interior in the mid-80s.
Through one half against South Carolina, Houston looked anything but world beaters. Frank Martin’s group led 35-31 at the half, thanks to a stretch in which Houston made just one of 14 field goal attempts.
Eventually, poor free throw shooting and the stellar play of star guard Quentin Grimes were too much for the visitors. Grimes scored 19 of his team high 23 points after the break to lead Houston to a 77-67 victory. South Carolina shot just 19-27 from the free throw line, and still hung around this one until a key sequence midway through the second half, which involved a future Friar.
Of course, we are taking a look at this game to delve a bit deeper into Justin Minaya, a graduate transfer forward who will suit up for Providence this winter. Minaya is a 6’6 left hander who was a four year starter at South Carolina. He rebounds well for his for size, and ideally his experience will allow him to provide solid minutes for Ed Cooley from the start of the season.
Against Houston, we saw more from Minaya offensively than on the glass.
South Carolina entered this game 1-1 on the season, with Minaya struggling to connect from downtown (1-8). That would not be the case on this night, as Minaya shot 4-6 from the field and knocked down each of the three 3-pointers he attempted.
He also had a bit of bad luck. After Minaya blocked a shot in the first half, South Carolina was whistled for a goaltend when a Houston player grabbed the net and pulled down the rim in the process.
Even more costly, Minaya was whistled for a questionable flagrant foul midway through the second half with Houston up 53-49. That turned into a four point possession, and sent Minaya to the bench in the process with four fouls. He returned with five minutes to play, but Houston held a comfortable double digit lead at that point.
Minaya moved methodically on offense in this one, rarely taking his man off of the dribble, but also without turning the ball over once in 27 minutes. His 13 points led South Carolina. His three rebounds were half of his season’s average.
He averaged 9.2 points per game on the season, shooting .384 from the field and 23% from three. Minaya’s three 3-pointers were a season high, and he connected on two 3-pointers in four other games last season. He shot the three ball better as a freshman (36% on 3.3 attempts per game), connecting on three or more 3-pointers in five games. Minaya took a medical redshirt his sophomore year, playing in just five games due to a knee injury, and his three point percentages never approached those of his freshman campaign.
This is the first in a series of articles on Minaya that will include video and observations.