South Carolina basketball freshman Patrick Iriel he is no longer with the team, according to a source familiar with the situation. Iriel was in her first semester with the program after enrolling in August to begin autumn practice. He will withdraw from school.
Iriel signed with Gamecocks for offers from Boston College, Butler, Cincinnati, Southern Cal and several others. AC Flora High School’s product chose to stay close to home and play for Gamecocks and head coach Frank Martin.
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The 1.80 m tall, 248-pounder averaged 13 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and two steals as a senior at AC Flora and was part of a Falcons team that reached the 4A Lower State Championship in your senior season. He was also selected to play in the Carolina Classic All-Star game.
Iriel chose Gamecocks in August of last season, a few months before signing his National Letter of Intent.
“First of all, it is so close to home,” Iriel told TheBigSpur.com at the time. “The entire coaching staff has seen me evolve as a player since I was in ninth grade. Because they were so close, they had a better chance of being at the gym with me than with all the other coaches, so they saw me grow. I just think South Carolina gives me the best chance of being a great player on and off the court ”.
While Gamecocks have undergone training in the weight room and on the courts since their arrival in August, players have undergone team training for just a few weeks. Iriel made a quick impression on Martin in the work he did.
“Pat is strong as an ox. He runs, ”said Martin recently.
“He made a great move in training on Saturday, where he overtook everyone on the court. There was a very competitive game and he was on the defense. He did the defensive rotation to stop a basket, turned around and overtook everyone on the court and took a difficult pass to a tray. All the experienced guys jumped on him because they know what he did. It is an impressive move for someone so young. “
Gamecocks have only one signer in the 2020 recruiting class, another local product, post player Ja’Von Benson, who played with Iriel over the summer for the Upward Stars SE team.
With the departure of Iriel, Gamecocks are reduced to four traditional men – Benson, sophomores Jalyn McCreary and Wildens Leveque together with the junior Alanzo Frink.