Gamecocks losing a team leader to transfer portal
South Carolina senior guard Erik Stevenson has entered the transfer portal, a team spokesperson confirmed to The State.
Stevenson is the first Gamecock to enter his name in the portal since the firing of Frank Martin on March 14. USC’s board of trustees is expected to approve the hiring of Chattanooga’s Lamont Paris as the program’s next head coach on Thursday afternoon.
A two-time transfer who played at Wichita State and Washington before arriving to Columbia, Stevenson quickly established himself as a team leader for USC alongside fellow transfer James Reese. Stevenson was the only player to start all 31 games for the Gamecocks.
He finished second on the team with 11.6 points per game, tied for the team lead with 4.7 rebounds per game and led the Gamecocks with 60 3-pointers on the season.
Stevenson enters the portal as a graduate transfer. Entering the portal does not guarantee that Stevenson will leave, however. The portal enables him to talk with other schools and explore his options, but he does still have the option to return to USC if he chooses. Last offseason, Stevenson was among six players to transfer into the program, while seven transferred out. With a coaching change, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more departures. Verbal Commits has reported that more than 700 Division I players have already entered their names in the portal.
Among USC’s players, only Reese and A.J. Wilson have exhausted their college eligibility. Veterans Keyshawn Bryant and Jermaine Couisnard are likely to explore their professional options after both dabbled in the NBA Draft process last year.
Incoming coach Paris is no stranger to the transfer portal himself, with eight transfers on this year’s NCAA tournament-bound Mocs team.
This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 5:54 PM.
