South Carolina announced the junior striker Alanzo Frink will miss the rest of the 2020-21 season due to medical reasons. Frink played three games for the Gamecocks this season, the last time he played against Houston on December 5. He averaged 3.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in 18.4 minutes per game.
“He’s in a great mood. He’s around us every day,” said coach Frank Martin in a call from Zoom shortly after the news. “He is very grateful, as am I, for having a medical team and a coach in Mark Rodger who are very careful and very cautious and very protective of the health of all our boys. He is in a very good mood because of the care the university supplies. He has a cap like me and is out there spending a lot of time with (the newcomer) Tre-Vaughn Minott, teaching him. “
Martin declined to elaborate on what will keep Frink out for the rest of the season, but noted that he will be fine in the long run and has not indicated that this is not considered an end of career condition.
“Everything is so raw now that he and his family are going to keep things private now,” said Martin. “I know what they are comfortable sharing with me is that he doesn’t want to do this about him, a soap opera of regret. At the same time, he wants to make sure that other people out there are going through this, make sure are being checked. This is real and not something to play with. It is not a common cold that you have and are ready to continue. There are many details and boxes that need to be checked. “
Although Frink’s news hurts the 2020-21 team, Martin gave good news to the second-year striker Jalyn McCreary was released to return to the training ground after losing the last three games due to the health and safety protocols of COVID-19.
“Jalyn practiced yesterday and looked good,” said Martin. “The expectation is that he will train today and play tomorrow. He has gone through all the mandatory medical tests and things like that when you come back from a stoppage. I don’t know how productive he can be. He trains three times since December 7th. difficult to ask someone who’s been in competitive training three times in eight weeks to succeed as a player when you’re trying to figure out the conditioning part of it against a high level opponent in the SEC. “
Gamecocks (3-5, 1-3) will host Georgia on Wednesday at 7pm on ESPN2.
Frink Season 2019-20 (second year)
– Watched the action in 30 games with 12 starts in the year, averaging 5.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 14.3 minutes per game
– In SEC competitions, averaged 4.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in 17 games
– Had seven double-digit scoring games during the second year and a double game
– Posted six games over 2 blocks and led or shared team leadership in blocks seven times
– Scored 10 points with seven rebounds in the win over Wyoming (November 10), before receiving his double-double in his first career with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Cleveland State (November 15)
– Scored eight points with six rebounds in the road victory at Clemson (December 15)
– Scored 13 points in 11 minutes in the home win over Vanderbilt (25 January), hitting a perfect 5 out of 5 on the free throw line
– The best of his career was matched with three blocks in the home win against Texas A&M (February 8)
– Caught nine rebounds in road victory in Georgia (February 12)
– Scored the best career mark 22 points behind a performance of 8 out of 10 on the floor and 6 out of 9 on the free-throw line, and equaled his career high with three blocks in his home win over Georgia (26 February)
Frink Season 2018-19 (first year)
– Watched the action in 24 games, scoring 2.7 points and 1.8 rebounds per game
– missed the first six games of the season due to a knee injury; also lost the North Greenville game due to an ankle injury
– Marked the first points of his university career with a pair of baskets in Wyoming (December 5)
– Also added four points in the road competition at No. 5 Michigan (December 8)
– Achieved the record of the season with nine points, hitting 4 out of 8 attempts on the field, against No. 5 of Virginia (December 19); also set a record for the season with nine rebounds against the Cavaliers
– Scored eight points with seven rebounds in a 24-minute season record against Clemson (December 22)
– Recorded a SEC season record of seven points in the home win over Missouri (Jan. 13)
– Scored six points in the return win over Ole Miss (February 19)