Clemson contacts former USC forward

On Monday, Clemson assistant coach Earl Grant placed a phone call to Anthony Gill, who was recently granted permission to leave the South Carolina basketball team.

PF Anthony Gill Profile

The Gamecocks’ new coach, Frank Martin, has allowed the rising sophomore power forward to seek other options, with no restrictions.

Grant made the Tigers’ initial contact before Gill placed a phone call to head coach Brad Brownell on Monday night.

“They were saying what they had to offer as a whole at Clemson. Just what all they were bringing in, what all they were going to lose when I was coming in and their style of play,” Gill said in an interview with CUTigers on Tuesday.

The current Clemson staff didn’t have a shot at Gill when he was coming out of Charlotte Christian in 2011. Scout.com listed him as the No. 19 power forward in the 2011 class and rated with four stars.

“By the time the new staff got in, I was committed to South Carolina,” Gill said.

His first and only trip to Clemson was this past season when the Gamecocks played at Littlejohn Coliseum.

“It was a cool arena. It was kind of small and everybody was real close. It was real loud in there. I liked the atmosphere,” Gill said.

He started 26 games as a freshman at South Carolina, averaging 7.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists. He led the team in offensive rebounds.

Virginia, Virginia Tech, Ohio State and North Carolina have also made contact. A trip to Virginia is up this weekend. For the moment, he has no other visits scheduled.

Gill’s former high school teammate, Patrick Rooks, is committed to Clemson’s lone commitment for the 2013 class.

“He hasn’t tried to talk to me about it yet, but I’m sure he will in the next couple of days,” Gill said.

Several areas will be considered as he goes through the recruiting process for a second time.

“Commitment on both ends, as far as me being committed to them and them being committed to me, also, just a winning program. I’m looking for consistency and guys that want to win,” he said.

Gill is unsure of how long he’ll continue through the process.

“I’m just trying to take it one day at a time,” he said.