Good news for lone USC basketball signee not on campus

South Carolina basketball signee Jermaine Couisnard is the only member of Frank Martin’s 2018 recruiting class not yet on campus.

He says he’ll be there and join the Gamecocks soon.

The 6-foot-4 guard from East Chicago, Ind. who played at Montverde Academy in Florida last season, had to clear an extra academic hurdle to become eligible for this season, but he said Tuesday night he has done just that. Couisnard said the SAT people flagged his original test score, so he took the ACT on July 14 and has gotten the news that he has a qualifying score.

Couisnard was at South Carolina for a week in June to help with camp but he never enrolled in school. He plans to return to Columbia later this month in time for the start of classes Aug 23.

Couisnard, who played four years of high school ball outside Chicago, has been a late riser on the recruiting scene. The 6-foot-4, 185-pounder took an official visit to USC for the Missouri game on Jan. 3, and later received scholarship offers from the likes of Louisville, Virginia Tech and Illinois. Kansas, Ohio State and West Virginia counted among other programs that expressed interest in Couisnard.

WVU coach Bob Huggins visited him just before he committed.

Couisnard averaged 29.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists during his senior season at East Chicago Central High School. He’s averaging 23 points, six assists and seven rebounds for Montverde this season.

This story was originally published August 8, 2018 at 8:18 AM.