Small forward Justin Minaya commits to South Carolina

Old Tappan (N.J) small forward Justin Minaya announced Wednesday night that he has committed to play basketball for the South Carolina Gamecocks. The 6-foot-7, 190 pound Westwood, NJ standout made his announcement just a week after making an official visit to Columbia on May 2.

While he was being recruited by Illinois, Seton Hall, Temple and others, The State reported earlier this week that Minaya’s decision had primarily come down to either South Carolina or Brewster Academy, a prep school in New Hampshire with a nationally recognized basketball program.

For Frank Martin, Minaya is a big addition to the 2017 class. Following the departures of Sindarius Thornwell, Duane Notice and P.J. Dozier, the Gamecocks will likely be forced to rely on contributions from their freshmen. Martin told Minaya during his official visit that he would like him to play as an oversized guard, similar to the role Dozier filled during his two years at USC.

Minaya, the son of former New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya, joins David Beatty, Ibrahim Doumbia, Felipe Haase and Jason Cudd as the fifth member of Martin’s 2017 class of commits.

Beatty, a four star guard out of Philadelphia, is so far the highlight of the class. With a .9247 score from 247 Sports Composite, he is ranked as the No. 7 combo guard in the nation and the No. 7 overall prospect out of Pennsylvania.