Shocking NCAA Tournament Snub! South Carolina Basketball gamecocks Left Out of Early Projections.
South Carolina basketball coach Lamont Paris led his team on the country’s most impressive turnaround during the 2023-2024 season as the 11-21 Gamecocks (tying a program record for losses) shocked the college basketball world with a 26-8 finish last year (tying a program record for wins).
The Gamecocks lost six players from last year’s roster as Ta’Lon Cooper, BJ Mack, and Stephen Clark graduated and Meechie Johnson, Ebrima Dibba, and Josh Gray left in the transfer portal. Paris has replaced those scholarship spots with impact transfers Nick P school prospects Cam Scott, Trent Noah, and Okku Federiko. With one scholarship left, USC is expected to add a good transfer portal point guard to the mix, as well
Despite great hopes in Columbia with six months until the season begins, the national media appears to be doubting Coach Paris and his South Carolina basketball team.
Earlier this week, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein released his “Rothstein 45” rankings, and the Gamecocks were nowhere to be found. Shortly after that, ESPN’s bracketologist Joe Lunardi revealed his way-too-early mock NCAA Tournament field, and, once again, there were no Gamecocks in the projection.
Lunardi’s exclusion of the Gamecocks is odd. Unless he believes Carolina won’t add a point guard (they will), there is no doubt that Paris will put another good product on the floor again this season.
The Gamecocks return their best player in sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles and expect him to take a nice jump with a fully healthy, non-mononucleosis-affected fall. They also are bringing in their most talented perimeter player of the Paris era in Columbia in freshman Cam Scott, and they finally have a center who can play big minutes and hold up on both ends of the floor as a strong and athletic big in Nick Pringle.
Losing Ta’Lon Cooper and BJ Mack’s offensive versatility is unfortunate, but if Murray-Boyles begins shooting jumpers as projected and Paris finds a quality point guard replacement, USC fans may expect their roles in the offense to be filled. Cam Scott’s overall production should be comparable to Meechie Johnson’s from a year ago.
The two transfer bigs should fill Mack and Gray’s duties, albeit in a somewhat different fashion. Nick Pringle should play Josh Gray, but with Mack minutes, and Jordan Butler should play BJ Mack, but with Gray minutes. Pringle and Butler also contribute more athleticism and useful length than Mack and Gray. These two newcomers, who will join Murray-Boyles as the top three post players in garnet and black, should be more than capable.
Paris’ tenacious defense and rebounding, as well as his unique style of disciplined offense, make South Carolina a difficult opponent to prepare for, especially during the brief windows of a season. If things go right during the 2024-2025 season, the Gamecocks will be serious contenders for another NCAA Tournament appearance, even if commentators like Rothstein and Lunardi don’t see it yet.
Coach Paris’ message to his squad, opponents, and the media will be straightforward, as it was last season: “If they like us, they like us.” If not, they will bear the consequence.
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