USC basketball coach Frank Martin offered 6-9 Langston Wilson of Georgia Highlands JC earlier this week, and he can thank his newly hired assistant Will Bailey for bringing the two sides together. Bailey had offered Wilson while he was an assistant at Saint Louis, and one of the first things he did when he went to work for Martin was to show him film of Wilson.
The Gamecocks are one of over 30 offers for Wilson, and Bailey’s presence on the staff will give them a good shot with him.
“I always appreciated me and Coach Bailey having that connection with each other and always building that relationship,” Wilson said. “I feel really high about South Carolina. They don’t have a whole lot of history of recruiting JUCO guys. Them just reaching out to me and seeing my potential and what kind of player I could grow to become, and them recognizing and feeling I could play and produce on that level, it’s just a blessing.”
Wilson has a great backstory. He did not play high school basketball because of a medical condition that has since been controlled. His only court action came in the summer leagues and in pick up games. He went to Georgia Highlands to refine his game and make his name, and he has done just that. And he feels he would give the Gamecocks a piece Martin doesn’t have on his current roster.
“A lot of their bigs are 250 pounds, bruisers, back to the basket, really bully-ball type of guys,” Wilson said. “They have long, athletic guys, but they are all like 6-4, 6-5. He said he was looking for somebody at that four man, that 4-3 kind of position, a hybrid forward position, that’s 6-9, a little more agile and bouncy, somewhat that can make plays not just in the post, but make plays for other people. Passing and being able to knock down open jump shots and things like that as well.”
Though Wilson likes USC, he likes a lot of other schools, too. He’s a far piece from getting his list down to a smaller group, though he does expect that one of his official visits, when they are allowed, will be with the Gamecocks.
“Every school that’s been recruiting me, I’ve been talking to all of them because I don’t really have a set place where I want to go, or I’m not really set on a level I want to be at,” Wilson said. “In my mind, Division One is Division One, whether it’s at low major, HBCU, high major, mid-major, that doesn’t exist in my mind set. I just want to go somewhere where I know I’ll be taken care of and developed into the best player I can be. I’m not necessarily leaning toward anybody. I haven’t really gotten around to breaking my list down. I’m not at that point. I’m still trying to figure everything out and listen to everybody soaking up the whole recruiting process.”
Some of the other offers Wilson has on his list are Alabama, Ole Miss, Wichita State, Tulsa, Oregon, UAB, SMU, East Carolina, VCU, Maryland, Saint Louis and Murray State.
Last season Wilson averaged 10 points and 8 rebounds per game.
