South Carolina star guard Jermaine Couisnard enters transfer portal
South Carolina junior guard Jermaine Couisnard has entered the transfer portal, The State has confirmed.
He is the second USC player to enter the portal this week after senior guard Erik Stevenson entered his name. Couisnard posted on Twitter later on Friday noon.
“My time as a current basketball player for the University of South Carolina has come to an end,” Couisnard posted to Twitter on Friday afternoon.
A native of East Chicago, Indiana, Couisnard established himself as a key player on Frank Martin’s Gamecocks teams beginning with his breakout redshirt freshman season in 2019-20.
Couisnard struggled in his sophomore year after learning just before the season that one of his childhood friends in East Chicago died due to gun violence. Couisnard told The State he considered not returning to the Gamecocks this past season after his mother, Raven Merkerson, was diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
After struggling through nagging injuries early in the season, Couisnard went on a hot streak late in the year and finished as USC’s leading scorer with 12 points per game. He shot 39.6% from the field and 32.3% from the free-throw line.
The Gamecocks fired 10-year head coach Frank Martin on March 14, replacing him with Chattanooga’s Lamont Paris.
Said Couisnard in his statement, “The departure is bittersweet, because not only did I chose to attend the University of South Carolina but most importantly I chose to play basketball for Coach Frank Martin.”
Couisnard also dabbled in the NBA Draft process a year ago but has decided to go the transfer route this offseason. A source close to the team told The State that more transfers are on the way — not a surprise for a team in the midst of a coaching change.
In his introductory press conference, Paris said that one-on-one meetings with current players would start soon but he also said he wouldn’t “strong-arm” any Gamecocks into staying on the roster. Paris is already on the recruiting trail and has experience using the transfer portal with eight transfers on this year’s NCAA tournament Mocs team.
Jermaine Couisnard statement
“After deep consideration and consulting with my family, I have decided that my time as a current basketball player for the University of South Carolina has come to an end.
Effective immediately, I am entering the Transfer Portal and exploring all opportunities to grow my career professionally.
The departure is bittersweet, because not only did I chose to attend the University of South Carolina but most importantly I chose to play basketball for Coach Frank Martin.
I want to genuinely thank Coach Frank Martin for believing in me, giving me a chance to live out my dreams as a College Basketball Player, and literally saving my life from the dangerous streets in my hometown. Frank Martin was not only a Coach but a hero who became apart of my family.
To the Gamecock Nation, my teammates, my coaches, trainers and professors I want to Thank You for the love shown to me while at USC. This is not the end, but the beginning of the next chapter of my life.”
This story was originally published March 25, 2022 at 12:02 PM.
