A third South Carolina men’s basketball player enters the transfer portal
South Carolina guard Ford Cooper Jr. is entering the transfer the portal, the school confirmed Wednesday.
Cooper is the third player to enter the portal from Lamont Paris’ Gamecocks, following Ja’Von Benson’s and Tre-Vaughn Minott’s announcements on the first day of portal activity. This was the first week the NCAA transfer portal officially opened again. It’s open for 60 days.
A three-year player for the Gamecocks, Cooper initially transferred from Missouri State to play for Frank Martin as a walk-on and appeared in just one game in two years. The 6-foot-3 guard was pressed into action this season though, due to a rash of injuries and an overall lack of depth from USC in Year 1 under Paris.
Cooper appeared in 18 games and played 131 minutes this season, making five of 23 field-goal attempts. Paris would often insert Cooper into games when turnovers mounted, and the guard provided stability with his steady ball-handling.
