Arden Conyers gets his ‘welcome-to-the-SEC moment’ at South Carolina. Here’s how it went
Redshirt freshman Arden Conyers had spent most of this South Carolina basketball season as a spectator. He finally got his opportunity.
Conyers played 18 minutes in Wednesday’s 88-68 home loss to No. 5 Alabama. He had played just 16 minutes total prior across 14 games this season.
“It was a welcome-to-the-SEC moment,” Conyers said. “This is definitely my first time getting significant minutes. And I felt like I did good in those minutes.”
He scored two points, his only points this season except for a 3-pointer late in a November blowout win over Towson.
It wasn’t flashy, but it was meaningful. With starter Myles Stute sidelined indefinitely due to a blood clot, South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris needed someone to step up. And Conyers, along with sophomore transfer Jordan Butler, made their case in practice.
Conyers hasn’t had much of chance to play mainly due to a shortage of minutes to go around. With each starter averaging at least 24 minutes of play time, plus Zach Davis also playing starter minutes (22.4), it makes it hard for some of the younger players to get on the court.
Paris could’ve leaned on his starters, pushing them closer to 35-40 minutes a game. But that’s a recipe for burnout, not sustainability. Instead, he looked to Conyers, whose versatility and effort enticed Paris to give him an extended look.
Conyers starred locally at Westwood High School. And he fits one of the prime archetypes in Paris’ system: tall, long and athletic wing, with the tools to do a little bit of everything on the court. Think of him as a Swiss army knife in a team full of specialized tools — always handy, even if he’s not the star of the set.
“He’s got a little more versatility in terms of how many positions he can play and who he can defend,” Paris said. “I thought he did a good job defensively on the ball. I think the best thing he does is guard the ball while he’s guarding his man.”
Conyers didn’t light up the scoreboard against Alabama, going 1 of 6 from the field, but he stayed on the court. For Paris, effort matters more than how well his guys shoot the ball. It’s not about making the highlight reel — it’s about winning the hustle plays. And that’s exactly what Conyers was doing in practice to get Paris’ attention and get some of those spare minutes.
Plus, Conyers has shown he can be a flamethrower in the past, like when he dropped 16 points in an exhibition game against Wooster. And while that version of Conyers hasn’t shown up much in practice or games, Paris has seen enough flashes to keep the green light on for him.
They’ll need it. Stute was arguably the team’s best 3-point shooter. And with him sidelined, it leaves a gaping hole in what South Carolina (10-5, 0-2 SEC) can do on the outside, already sitting toward the bottom of the SEC in 3-point shooting.
Conyers wasn’t shy about letting it fly against Alabama either.
“It was a good experience — I learned a lot,” Conyers said. “I definitely got welcomed. I feel like it was good for me, and I’m gonna grow as a player.”
