Gamecocks guard to leave as grad transfer
South Carolina men’s basketball entered the offseason one over the 13-scholarship limit.
They are now at that limit as guard Jair Bolden is transferring, the school confirmed. Stadium’s Jeff Goodman first reported the news. Bolden committed to the Gamecocks as a transfer from George Washington in June 2018, and this past season was his first on the court at USC.
The fourth-year junior was the team’s best 3-point shooter at 41.2%. He averaged 8.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 21.4 minutes a game. He played in 30 contests, starting 15.
Bolden played hero in the team’s 79-59 road upset of No. 10 Virginia with 22 points on 13 shots.
In his lone season played for the Gamecocks he was capable of some high-end offensive performances, but was inconsistent and at times had issues on the defensive end. He didn’t play in the team’s upset of SEC champion Kentucky in Columbia.
Bolden had been a double-digit scorer at GW and was projected to fit a variety of backcourt roles during his year sitting out. He ended up settling in as a shooting guard, often alongside a point guard and AJ Lawson in a de facto small forward role.
South Carolina was in a bit of a bind as it had promised former Hammond star and UNC transfer Seventh Woods a scholarship and added a pair of signees. (Woods walked on for the 2019-20 season. He sat out per NCAA transfer rules.) There had been a sense through much of last offseason that Lawson would go pro, but after not taking the step many expected, his plans are less clear.
The Gamecocks have reached out to several transfer and grad transfers, but there would need to be another departure to free up a scholarship for that to happen.
South Carolina currently has Jermaine Couisnard, Lawson, Trae Hannibal and TJ Moss as backcourt options. The current scholarship situation is as follows.
▪ Seniors: Seventh Woods (redshirt)
▪ Juniors: Justin Minaya (redshirt), Keyshawn Bryant, Alanzo Frink, A.J. Lawson
▪ Sophomores: T.J. Moss (redshirt), Trae Hannibal, Jermaine Couisnard (redshirt), Jalyn McCreary, Trey Anderson, Wildens Leveque
▪ Freshmen: Ja’Von Benson, Patrick Iriel
This story was originally published April 8, 2020 at 3:30 PM.
