Sindarius Thornwell leads South Carolina in everything

NEW YORK — Baylor has watched three solid hours of film on just Sindarius Thornwell, senior guard Ishmail Wainright said Thursday, a day before his Bears will face South Carolina for a trip to the Elite Eight.

“You're not going to stop a guy like that,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “What you do is you just try to make everything as difficult as possible — and hope that he doesn't have 44 points.”

This was not the only time Baylor has shown an extensive package of film of an individual, highlighting the importance of a specific person to an opposing team’s success. But it takes on new meaning considering just how crucial Thornwell is to the Gamecocks’ success — he was the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year after all — and how well he’s been playing lately.

Baylor basketball looks to inspire school amid continuing scandal

Eight clutch players who could be game-changers and lead Sweet 16 victories

North Carolina players stay patient, stick with program in quest for titles

Because, to put it simply, he does everything. And leads his team in everything. Points, rebounds, assists, steals … literally everything.

“He’s really unique. He leads their team in everything,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said prior to South Carolina upsetting the second-seeded Blue Devils, adding that Thornwell was “the best unheralded great player in the United States.”

Perhaps no longer.

In his first two NCAA tournament games, Thornwell averaged 26.5 points and 8.5 rebounds, helping No. 7 South Carolina to reach the Sweet 16 and become its most surprising participant.

BRACKET:  Track the tournament

For Frank Martin, who has worked hard to build South Carolina up to this point, it’s somewhat impossible to separate the program’s success and his 6-5 star senior’s individual success; they go hand-in-hand.

“I got the phone call from him telling me, ‘I want to do this with you,’ when he could have gone to some of the blue bloods — but he wanted to help us build,” Martin said Thursday. "He wanted to surround his heart with the state name that means so much to him and his family's name on the back of his jersey. And that's powerful. When you have a young man that wants to take on that moment, that responsibility — and he's done it. He never ran away when we didn't win games. His sophomore year … he wouldn't even take a play off in practice when the tendinitis in his knees was so bad. I threatened to suspend him that year to force him not to play; he wouldn't let me. And that's the kind of courage that he has.

“He’s had an unbelievable year, and then to be able to have the same performance that he's had all year on the big stage last weekend, I'm really happy. I'm proud of him regardless of whether he plays well or not. But I'm really happy for him, because he's always given of himself for everyone else. I'm happy he's getting the recognition he deserves.”

MEET THE SWEET 16 TEAMS