JUST IN: South Carolina MBB has two top transfer portal targets. This is what we know.
As South Carolina men’s basketball continued to dominate this season, fans wanted to discover the secret.
Nobody goes from 11 wins one year to nearly winning the SEC regular-season championship and cruising into the NCAA Tournament the following. Is it all because of Coach Lamont Paris? Was it the in-your-face defense? What about the 3-point shooting success? The truth is, it was a combination of everything. But you must admit that Paris and his team hit a home run with the transfer portal.
Meechie Johnson, the starting point guard, transferred in from Ohio State in 2022. Guard Ta’Lon Cooper, the Gamecocks’ best 3-point shooter, transferred from Minnesota this past offseason. The biggest transfer win was starting forward BJ Mack, who arrived from Wofford.
All three of those guys have left. Cooper and Mack’s eligibility expired, and Johnson chose to return to Ohio State, an uncommon transfer.
The Gamecocks’ quest for reinforcements began just over a week ago, when four-star Lexington High product Cam Scott flipped from Texas to South Carolina, a versatile 6-foot-5 wing who can start right away. A few days later, USC brought in Missouri transfer Jordan Butler, a 7-foot big man from Greenville who played sparingly as a college freshman but gives the Gamecocks immediate depth in the front-court.
The Gamecocks will be hosting La Salle transfer Jhamir Brickus this week to replace Johnson at point guard, according to The State. As a senior at La Salle, the 5-11, 205-pound Pennsylvania native averaged roughly 14 points and five assists per game while shooting 40% from three-point range.
South Carolina’s top target in the transfer portal this offseason is Alabama forward Nick Pringle, according to a program source.
A native of Seabrook, South Carolina, Pringle began his college career at Wofford in 2020 before spending a season at Dodge City Community College in Kansas.
He was ranked as the No. 2 junior college prospect when he signed with Alabama and coach Nate Oats in 2022. He was a role player his first year in Tuscaloosa, playing just over eight minutes a game, but he turned into one of the Tide’s most-important pieces as they won 25 games this past season and advanced to the Final Four.
In 2023-24, the 6-10, 230-pound forward averaged nearly seven points and five rebounds per game, shooting 62% from the field and starting roughly half of the Tide’s games.
According to The State, Pringle will be in Columbia from Friday to Sunday on an official visit. The same insider stated that Pringle wants to make his decision “really soon” and that he plans to visit Kansas State and Florida State. Pringle might easily add or drop a visit due to the transfer portal’s flexibility.
If Pringle does commit to the Gamecocks, it would give South Carolina one of the best front-courts in the SEC. He’d likely start at center, with sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles — who blossomed into an elite big man toward the end of conference play — starting at forward and Butler able to rotate for either one of them.
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