Chris Silva commits to South Carolina

Chris Silva committed to South Carolina on Friday afternoon, becoming the first member of the 2015 Gamecock basketball recruiting class.  Like another famous Gamecock, he did so on his 18th birthday.

"It's a great school with great coaches," Silva said at his press conference.

Frank Martin's late recruiting paid huge dividends.  Silva visited South Carolina on Saturday to take in the football team's 38-35 victory over Georgia, and that ultimately led to his commitment.

The 6'8", 215 lb. player rates as the 106th-best player in the nation according to the 247Sports.com composite ratings, which makes him the third-highest rated recruit to commit to Frank Martin at South Carolina, behind Sindarius Thornwell and Demetrius Henry.  His addition also likely helps the Gamecocks in their pursuit of two top-100 recruits from the state of South Carolina that don't play in the post, but might like to join talented players that do - Perry Dozier, Jr. of Spring Valley (Columbia, S.C.) and Tevin Mack of Dreher (Columbia, S.C.).

Silva, from New Jersey, represents an extremely capable power forward that would fit in terrifically with the Gamecocks, particularly given their need to build up a post presence thanks to the recent departure of Desmond Ringer, which leaves Carolina with just four post players in the 2014-15 season, all of whom will be upper-classmen when Silva steps onto campus in the fall of 2015.

Here's the current scholarship breakdown for the Gamecocks:

Of course, the Gamecocks still have an entire season to play before Silva joins the squad, which begins on November 14 against North Florida.

Some highlights for Silva can be found in this video: