By MIKE McCURRY
South Carolina’s 8-0 start and No. 18 ranking in the USA Today Coaches Poll is largely a product of do-it-all senior guard Sindarius Thornwell, who leads the team in points (18.7), rebounds (6.7), and assists (4.3) per game.
But the Gamecocks will again be without Thornwell for Monday’s game against Seton Hall at Madison Square Garden due to suspension, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.
Thornwell was originally suspended indefinitely by head coach Frank Martin last Sunday and was forced to sit out South Carolina’s 70-54 win over Florida International later that day.
“Sindarius is one of my favorite guys I’ve ever come across,” Martin said on Thursday via his call-in radio show, per The Big Spur, USC’s 247Sports site. “He messed up and it is what it is. He’s like a son to me. He messed up and he’s owned up to his mess up.”
“Our job is to prepare our team to play, we don’t prepare individual players to play,” Martin continued. “It’s no different to someone rolling an ankle. We’re down because of a bad decision. We’ll be fine.”
In the meantime, Thornwell is still allowed to practice and travel with the team.
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