What ails South Carolina men’s basketball team? AD Jeremiah Donati pinpoints key concern
In a college basketball landscape where the SEC has become arguably the nation’s toughest conference, keeping up with the competition is no easy task and survival of the fittest is the name of the game.
Someone who understands that well is new South Carolina athletic director Jeremiah Donati, who previously held the same role at TCU, a program that competed in the powerhouse Big 12 for several years.
Donati acknowledged USC’s struggles in SEC play and pointed to roster depth as a key concern for coach Lamont Paris’ team in a radio interview Tuesday with 107.5 FM.
“Do we have a talent gap? That’s something he and I really have to talk about,” Donati said in the radio interview. “We clearly probably didn’t have the depth that we needed to compete night in and night out. We’re seeing that in real time.”
South Carolina has struggled to keep pace with the SEC’s ascension this season, starting conference play 0-8 — last in the league.
Donati said he plans to meet with Paris next week to discuss roster construction for next season, anticipating that the SEC will remain just as competitive. One of their main topics will be how NIL and the addition of revenue-sharing impact roster building.
Despite the team’s struggles, Donati reaffirmed his support for Paris, who is in his third season at USC.
“The question came up — it’s not a matter of if Lamont’s coming back,” Donati said, “it’s how can we better support him.”
USC lost to Top 15 teams No. 2 Auburn, No. 5 Florida and No. 14 Mississippi State by a combined nine points. Donati said that shows that he’s the right guy in the job, even with USC’s woes this year.
“I think Lamont can really coach,” Donati said in the radio interview. “I think that his brand of basketball really gives some of the best teams in the country everything they can handle. Probably could have, should have won those games. That’s encouraging, if you’re a Gamecock fan.”
USC’s roster limitations
Paris hinted that he agrees with Donati on the need for more depth.
“Roster limitations and execution probably go hand in hand,” Paris said Tuesday after the road loss to Georgia. “Certainly, it comes down to personnel’s ability to execute at times.”
That depth took a hit last offseason. Three of the Gamecocks’ top four scorers departed from last year’s 26-win, NCAA Tournament team — Ta’Lon Cooper, Meechie Johnson and BJ Mack. Paris attempted to reload with transfers Nick Pringle (Alabama), Jamarii Thomas (Norfolk State) and Jordan Butler (Missouri), as well as four-star freshman Cam Scott.
So far, those roster changes haven’t translated into conference wins.
Paris acknowledged that replacing key players was always going to be a challenge, but he believed in the veterans returning from last year’s success, as well as the incoming transfers.
“Some of it happens through growth and opportunity, and then some of it happens through recruiting a new face like Jamarii,” Paris said. “... But guys have to step up and play better.”
This story was originally published January 30, 2025 at 9:42 AM.
