South Carolina MBB has one open roster spot ... just in case CMB comes back
Lamont Paris knows he’s asking for the weatherman to be wrong. Asking for the the predictions and mock drafts and information to just be a little off. Asking for Collin Murray-Boyles to have some change of heart after the NBA Combine.
Paris, the Gamecocks’ head basketball coach, has almost completely overhauled South Carolina’s roster. Of the 13 scholarship players from last year’s USC squad, only three — Cam Scott, Jordan Butler and Myles Stute — are slated to return.
But there’s still one roster spot, still one scholarship, available.
Paris’ hope is that vacancy is filled by Murray-Boyles. That, of course, is a long shot. But until it’s a completely impossible options, USC is going to keep the safety net open.
“There was just no way I was ever going to try and construct a team where there wasn’t a place for Collin Murray-Boyles to come back,” Paris said. “You wanna talk about DNA of a player syncing up with the DNA of the coach in terms of just who is as an everyday guy, an everyday defender and everyday teammate.”
After a sophomore season at South Carolina where he averaged nearly 17 points and eight rebounds a game, the Columbia native entered the NBA Draft. But that doesn’t mean he actually has to go to the NBA Draft. It means that he can test the waters and decide from there.
That process begins on May 11 at the NBA Combine, a week-long event in Chicago that will include 75 players. It will be a chance for NBA teams to watch Murray-Boyles, evaluate him, talk with him and arm him with information that will guide his future.
He is almost assuredly a first-rounder, but mock drafts have him all over the place. ESPN lists him as the 11th-best player in the draft, while The Ringer doesn’t have him getting picked until No. 20. The difference between the 11th and 20th pick is over $1.5 annually on a rookie contract — meaning that staying in school is not always a poor financial decision.
“I think he is a viable first-round draft pick, almost any way you slice it,” Paris said. “But some guys wanna be selected in a certain area, wanna be in the lottery (Top-14 picks) maybe.”
Paris noted that he’s been communicating with Murray-Boyles but also trying to give him space. Of course, he would love for CMB to return, but Paris doesn’t want to influence his star’s decision.
It’s not a cut-and-dry choice. As long as Murray-Boyles goes down the path he wants, “it can’t turn out poorly,” Paris said.
Paris is putting the sophomore in charge. Murray-Boyles will make his choice. Everything else will follow.
“I told him there’s a solar system that’s around him, and he is the sun in that solar system,” Paris said. “I am in orbit around him, not the other way around. And so anything I can do to help him with his decision is what my role is.”
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 2:39 PM.
