In-state basketball standout reacts to Gamecocks offer
The South Carolina basketball coaching staff had never contacted 6-foot-9 Noah Clowney of Dorman High School until assistant coach Will Bailey placed a phone call to him Wednesday. And that was a big call.
Bailey informed Clowney he had an offer from head coach Frank Martin and the Gamecocks.
“He was telling me a little bit about the program and then he offered me,” Clowney said. “He said the guy who used to recruit in the state (Bruce Shingler) had left. He had just taken the position (of in-state recruiting) and he knew who I was, and he recommended me to the head coach. He likes that my game is versatile.”
Clowney had not yet talked to Martin as of Thursday night, but the two have communicated through social media.
“He DM’d me on Twitter one time, and he was just congratulating me,” Clowney said. “He was basically saying he was stingy with offers. It was nice (to get the offer). Any offer, it doesn’t matter how big the school is, I just need to make sure I fit the school. If I go and I don’t play and I don’t look good, it doesn’t matter where I’m at.”
Clowney has never visited USC for a game or a recruiting trip, but he plans to set up something soon to meet the coaches and see the campus.
Clemson offered Clowney a few weeks ago, and the Tigers, according to Clowney, have picked up the recruiting intensity.
“Clemson recently picked up the recruitment a lot,” Clowney said. “They’ve been talking to me a whole lot recently, in like the past week. I’ve been hearing from them a lot, a lot of different coaches from there.”
One card the Tigers can play with Clowney is the presence of his former teammate, P.J. Hall, in the program. The idea of the two of them being paired again has been a point of conversation.
“I would love to play with P.J. again,” Clowney said. “They were telling me how they think we would play well together because he’s more of a back-to-the-basket type of guy, and they would have me as the four-man.”
Clowney’s only visit to this point was an unofficial trip to Georgia earlier this month. He said he will take an official visit to Indiana at some point, and he will set up unofficial visits to Clemson, USC and Tennessee. He’s also been talking with Florida, Kansas and Gonzaga.
Clowney averaged 10 points and nine rebounds per game last season. He’s rated a three-star, the No. 88 prospect nationally in his class and the No. 4 prospect in South Carolina by 247Sports.
