The scope of Gamecocks’ rebuild is coming into focus. Lamont Paris has work to do
Departures were inevitable. With modern transfer portal rules allowing players ultimate freedom, the South Carolina men’s basketball team was bound to see players come and go — with or without a coaching change.
But in the days since the Gamecocks introduced Chattanooga’s Lamont Paris as their 33rd head coach, six players have entered their names in the portal, and more departures could be on the way.
The Gamecocks also appear likely to lose walk-on Brandon Martin — son of fired coach Frank Martin — and senior Keyshawn Bryant, who has both professional options and the portal at his disposal. Neither player has made a public decision yet.
Should they leave, along with the departures of graduate seniors James Reese and A.J. Wilson, the Gamecocks project to lose 10 players from this year’s roster. That equates to 85% of the team’s scoring production and 82% of the team’s minutes.
By comparison, the Gamecocks lost seven players to the transfer portal last offseason and lost roughly 66% of the team’s minutes. Maintaining starters Jermaine Couisnard, Bryant and Wildens Leveque gave the 2021-22 team a core on which to build.
There’s no such core for Paris’ first USC team.
Starters Couisnard, Leveque and Erik Stevenson all entered the portal, and Bryant is a likely candidate to leave. Promising freshmen Devin Carter and Ta’Quan Woodley, two fixtures in USC’s rotation, are also in the portal. Carter played 18.7 minutes per game as a freshman, scored 9 points per contest and had the makings of a future anchor.
If Bryant and Martin leave, the Gamecocks would have just enough players left to field a starting lineup. It would look something like this:
Point guard: Jacobi Wright (freshman)
Shooting guard: Chico Carter Jr. (junior)
Small forward: Ja’Von Benson (sophomore)
Power foward: Josh Gray (sophomore)
Center: Tre-Vaughn Minott (sophomore)
Bench: Ford Cooper (junior walk-on)
That’s not an experienced group. Wright, Gray and Minott have each shown flashes on the court in their time in Columbia, but none of the three is an established starter.
Of course, Paris is already at work trying to bring in his own players and add his own stamp to the roster, and he has experience building teams through the transfer portal. This year’s NCAA tournament-bound Chattanooga team featured eight transfer players, and it’s possible next year’s Gamecocks could carry a similar number. As of now, recruits Daniel Hankins-Sanford and Zachary Davis remain signed with the school, but Paris could opt to add or tweak to that class as he hits the recruiting trail.
During last week’s introductory press conference, Paris said that he understood players might choose to leave the program and that he was planning to have one-on-one conversations with every member of the team.
It’s important to note that just because a player enters the portal doesn’t mean they’re guaranteed to leave. Paris can still make his own pitch while the players in the portal examine their other options.
“Some guys are just going to not like me, period, just because I’m a new guy,” Paris said. “I’m not the guy that recruited them. That happens sometimes. And then some guys are going to get a chance to know me, and they’re going to say, ‘Wow, this is a fresh start.’”
“... I’m looking forward to having those conversations and figuring that out. But what I won’t do, I won’t try to strong-arm a young man into staying here. If it’s not the best thing for him, I won’t do it.”
Gamecocks in the transfer portal
Mike Green (March 28)
Devin Carter (March 28)
Wildens Leveque (March 27)
Ta’Quan Woodley (March 26)
Jermaine Couisnard (March 25)
Erik Stevenson (March 24)
This story was originally published March 29, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
