How these USC seniors played unique roles in Gamecocks’ historic regular season
One year. That’s all the time these three had. The culmination of 17 home games during the 2023-24 season ended Wednesday night for BJ Mack, Stephen Clark and Ta’Lon Cooper.
South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris brought in a handful of transfers for his second season leading the program. He wanted maturity in this lineup, players who had a plethora of college basketball experience. When Paris reached out, Mack, Cooper and Clark all said yes.
“It’s amazing how close you can get to some of these guys and being around them for one year,” Paris said. “Actually, less than probably a calendar year.”
Mack, Clark and Cooper were honored for senior night before Wednesday’s game against No. 4 Tennessee. All three had their own roles to fill, but they shared Paris’ goal: prove everyone who doubted No. 17 South Carolina wrong.
For Mack, he took on the role of a high-scoring, big-time forward. He’s averaged 13.2 points per game, scoring as high as 27 points against Grand Canyon in November. Coming from Wofford College, Mack was given a chance to use his physical playing style in the paint to his advantage on a higher level.
Mack is one of three Gamecocks to have played every game, and he’s started in every one. He bared the weight of being the offensive leader during the games Meechie Johnson wasn’t as strong.
“It can be challenging, but it really boils down to, that’s why relationships are so important,” Paris said of Mack’s recruiting process. “This whole process, they look at it at face value, what are they looking for? And what is my opportunity? I think that probably is the first thing when you’re talking about trying to sell a vision of what winning will look like.”
Clark’s seen limited minutes throughout the second half of conference play, but he took over a starting job while freshman Collin Murray-Boyles was out with mono. Though he didn’t score too often, Clark brought yet another experienced body onto the court while USC was developing its identity early in the season.
Clark was the one to turn to Paris once Murray-Boyles was ready for increased playing time. The Citadel transfer brought the proposition to Paris, giving up his starting role for the betterment of the team as conference play began.
Cooper’s been dubbed the “coach on the court” by his parents from Day 1, but the starting point guard has played the most minutes on the team and is one of the most vocal players, too.
Cooper has averaged 9.8 points per game and is fourth in the SEC in assists (4.4 per game) and second for his assist-to-turnover ratio (3.43). His role revolved around giving South Carolina a true offensive director on the court, giving the other four Gamecocks an ability to score from elsewhere on the court.
He helped take some leadership responsibilities off Johnson, too, making USC’s ball movement stronger.
“This is a moment that I didn’t want to see come,” Cooper said. “But it’s here now. What a perfect way to end it, to see where I end my high school career in the same gym. So just a bittersweet moment.”
But doing all this in one season seems difficult, right? Not to Paris or Johnson. They believed USC was just a few mature players away from having this exact season.
“It’s about putting them first,” Johnson said. “Most fun times I’ve ever played in my life playing basketball.”
It happened. The Gamecocks (24-5, 12-4 SEC) were fighting for first place in the SEC in their final home game of the season — and just two weeks away from a run in March Madness.
“Nobody thought that this team would be as successful as we are today,” Cooper said. “Just very thankful for the opportunity, I had to come back home and play the home state.”
This story was originally published March 6, 2024 at 7:25 PM.
