South Carolina Gamecocks

2023-24 Result: 26-8 (13-5 SEC), NCAA Tournament Appearance

Key Additions

Jamarii Thomas (Norfolk State)

Nick Pringle (Alabama)

Cam Scott

Losing 2023 1st Team All-SEC player Meechie Johnson to the portal is a huge blow. Also losing B.J. Mack, who averaged just under 14 points per game, and Ta’Lon Cooper, who was right around 9 points per game, might prove to be significant in Columbia. Lamont Paris, coming off a surprising season in which South Carolina was picked dead last in the SEC and wound up making the NCAA Tournament, won coach of the year in the SEC last year. To replace the talent lost, he brought in Jamarii Thomas from Norfolk State, Nick Pringle from Alabama, and Cam Scott as a 4-star high school recruit. They also return Collin Murray-Broyles, who had a nice impact in the frontcourt for the Gamecocks last season.

Defensively, I don’t expect much out of this Gamecocks team this season. Pringle is coming over from Alabama to play in the frontcourt, but he isn’t much of a rim protector. Nor is Murray-Broyles. They are going to need their backcourt to hold it down on the defensive end, but they lack major playing time experience there. Jacobi Wright and Zachary Davis are going to need to step up in a major way unless freshman Cam Scott can come in and make an impact on both ends right away. This defense is not one other SEC teams are going to be afraid of.

Offensively, there are a lot of question marks for South Carolina. Who will be the go-to scorer? Based on points per game from last year, it looks like it will be Jamarii Thomas. His downfall is his lack of efficiency, and the defense in the SEC is only going to be more difficult on him than it was at Norfolk State, especially with the lack of talent on the team. Collin Murray-Broyles is probably the next option offensively, but he isn’t a true go-to guy. For this team to compete in the SEC, they are going to need some breakout players on the offensive end in Jacobi Wright and Zachary Davis, or aforementioned 4-star recruit, Cam Scott. Otherwise, it will likely be a long season in Columbia after such a promising season last year.

South Carolina appears primed for significant regression from last season as they lost their best player and 3 of their top 4 scorers. The lack of big game experience is concerning on this roster as well. With so much needing to go right for them in order to be at the top of such a deep SEC, expect the Gamecocks to follow up last season with a bottom of the SEC finish in 2024-25.