6-9 Justin Caldwell has not been able to play on the summer circuit since early May because of a bone injury in an ankle. However, he did enough in early open sessions to impress recruiters, especially South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris and assistant coach Eddie Shannon. They hosted him for an unofficial visit on June 17th and are looking for more in-person contact with him.
“Coach Shannon said they’re still pretty hard on me,” Caldwell said. “It doesn’t really affect their recruitment. They’ve seen enough, and I’m definitely grateful for that. He said he was going to talk to Coach Paris about getting an official visit set up. Definitely looking forward to that. Me and Coach Paris talked like once or twice since the visit. I’ve been talking to Coach Shannon pretty recently and texting him every now and then.”
The Gamecocks had an All-SEC forward and first-round NBA draft pick last season in Collin Murray-Boyes. Caldwell is taller than CMB, but the Gamecock coaches apparently see a guy who could fill that same role for them in two seasons. That’s the message Caldwell has been getting from Paris and Shannon.
“That I fit in their system well,” Caldwell said. “They had a kid this past year, Murray-Boyles, that of course got drafted, and coach said he sees a lot of me in him, and I just would fit in their system really well.”
Not only did Caldwell visit USC in June, he also was in for a game last season at Colonial Life Arena.
“It’s a nice campus,” he said. “I went to a game last year, and it was very energetic. The fans were definitely into it. I definitely liked that about them. It’s just a great atmosphere to be in.”
Caldwell has three official visits scheduled with Georgetown September 12th, Mississippi State also in September and Ohio State November 1st. He is working on his date for the official visit to South Carolina.