Transfer impact: How such additions have fared with the Gamecocks under Frank Martin
Even with college basketball shut down, the start of the traditional transfer season is in full swing.
And Frank Martin’s South Carolina program appears to be kicking a few tires.
Yale grad transfer and Columbia product Jordan Bruner said he was set to speak to Martin, and reports had the Gamecocks at least reaching out to Virginia Tech’s Landers Nolley and Pitt’s Trey McGowens, both now in the transfer portal.
At the moment South Carolina is, in theory, one scholarship over the limit, assuming the plan to put Seventh Woods on scholarship remains on track. But the Gamecocks have also seen an average of more than three non-seniors leave in each the past three offseasons.
A year ago, the team was recruiting several players, including four-star Jalyn McCreary with a full roster. Center Jason Cudd left and McCreary came on board.
Martin is holding his end-of-season meetings in the coming days and will speak publicly about the season Monday.
There’s often an allure in transfers, a hope that builds with someone who has something eye-catching on the resume.
With all that in mind, it’s worth looking back at what transfers have been able to do in the Martin era.
Traditional transfer
LaShay Page: A productive player at Southern Miss and a Dillon High School product, he joined the team in Martin’s first season. He averaged 11.7 points per game, a team-high, but only played nine games as an academic issue ended his season early.
Tyrone Johnson: Formerly a reserve at Villanova, he sat out Martin’s first season on campus. He played only 16 games in his first eligible season, as a foot injury ended things early. As a senior, he started 33 games and was third on the team in points and minutes.
Kory Holden: He averaged 17.7 points and 4.2 assists as a sophomore at Delaware before transferring, and held the promise of being a lead guard for South Carolina in 2017-18. He never got settled, never getting more than 16 minutes in a game, and was nagged by injuries. After 14 games, he left before the season ended. He played his last year at South Alabama, where he averaged 10.4 points and shot 46.7% from 3-point range.
Jair Bolden: A double-digit scorer at George Washington, Bolden’s first season in Columbia had some highs but a lot of inconsistency. When he was on, he could give the Gamecocks some of their best offensive firepower, leading the team from 3 at 41.2% and often hitting barrages of difficult shots. But when he was off he sometimes struggled for minutes with a bit of a cavalier style.
Seventh Woods: The former four-star Columbia recruit spent three years at North Carolina. A viral sensation and top prospect at a young age, he will look to jump-start a career that never really got going in Chapel Hill. He will become eligible next year.
Grad transfers
Frank Booker: Probably the most impactful transfer of the Martin era, the former Oklahoma and Florida Atlantic sharpshooter led the team in minutes, hit the third-most 3s of any Gamecock in a season and settled in as a consistent off-ball presence in a backcourt that had a rotating cast at point guard. He also was a heady defender who excelled in taking charges.
Wesley Meyers: A former high-scoring guard at Maine (he also played at Niagara), Meyers had moments of brilliance but never quite settled in as a consistent presence at the point. A late add to the roster (he committed in August), he memorably hit 5 3-pointers in an upset of Florida, but he also saw his minutes and scoring fluctuate wildly through the season.
Tre Campbell: A bus accident played into his transfer from Georgetown, and he ended up filling a role at USC but not exactly a lead one in his first season. He was expected to step in as a starting point guard, but freshman A.J. Lawson’s emergence and Hassani Gravett taking a step as a senior made Campbell more of a table-setter and secondary option. That said, he still ranked third on the team in minutes, hit 37% of his 4.2 3s a game (he struggled a bit inside the arc) and ranked second on the team in assists per game.
Micaiah Henry: Expected to shore up the frontcourt, Henry played sparingly after transferring from Tennessee Tech. Maik Kotsar asserted himself as a top big, and a set of younger players and tall wings held down the other frontcourt spot. He averaged 3.9 minutes in nine games.
Junior college transfer
Hassani Gravett: An addition after the backcourt was hit hard following an incident involving BB guns, he was in the top seven of the rotation on the Final Four team his first year. He struggled with consistency and with Frank Martin’s coaching as he tried to play the point the next season. But as a senior, he moved to the off-guard spot and ended up the team’s third-leading scorer and assist man, while shooting just short of 40% from 3.
Ran Tut: Added after a BB gun incident robbed USC of depth, he scored 12 points in 12 games, only twice topping eight minutes. He played two games after the start of February and left after the season.
