Meechie Johnson doesn’t miss a beat in return to the Gamecocks, win over NC A&T
The night before Meechie Johnson was set to make his return to Colonial Life Area, he sat in the gym with his dog.
“I was just sitting there, like, soaking it all in. Like, we really back,” he said. “What was it gonna be like, the energy?”
Tuesday night against North Carolina A&T, those visions became a long-awaited reality. Johnson ran out of the tunnel and was introduced as a South Carolina Gamecock for the first time in front of the USC home crowd since March 6, 2024. He was met with applause as fans welcomed him back to Columbia.
“I never thought I’d be back in this position,” he said. “You know, to play for this crowd, these fans, the city again, it was everything that I felt like I dreamed of last night.”
Meechie Johnson’s college basketball journey
Johnson’s collegiate journey has been nothing short of unique. Once a four-star recruit and early enrollee at Ohio State, he spent a season and a half with the Buckeyes before transferring to USC ahead of the 2022-23 season. He posted his best career averages in two seasons with Gamecocks before returning to Columbus to play under longtime Buckeyes assistant and newly-named head coach Jake Diebler.
But the return to his home state didn’t go as planned. Johnson played just 10 games in the 2024-25 season with OSU before mental health struggles prompted him to leave the program for the remainder of the season.
Heading into this past offseason, Johnson had one more year of eligibility to finally see through his college basketball career, which had gone astray. With offers from Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and more, it would’ve been easy for Johnson to wipe a clean slate and start fresh. But his path led to something unheard of: a return to his second home in Columbia.
“When I heard him call my name, all I can think about is all the stuff I went through this past year, and to be able to run out there ... This is a great time to be back in here with everybody,” Johnson said.
A return to the Gamecocks
Johnson didn’t miss a step in his return debut with the Gamecocks, a 91-72 win over the Aggies. He put up 14 points, four assists and five rebounds — almost eerily similar to his 2023-24 season with USC, when he averaged 14.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists on the way to All-SEC second team honors and an NCAA Tournament bid.
USC coach Lamont Paris said it was “critical” to bring Johnson back to the Gamecocks, not just because of his production on the court, but for his familiarity with the program as a whole. USC brought in 11 new players between the transfer portal and freshman signing class this season, making Johnson one of just four players on the roster to have played in Paris’ system before this season.
“The real value of him ... instantaneously, you have a couple of guys that just speak your language,” Paris said. “Right away, he understands what you say. He can finish some of your sentences. He gets your jokes you’ve told him before. ... I think just his presence has been very important and refreshing.”
Johnson’s winding path through the sport is unlike any other and, rightfully so, will be talked about as such at length. But with no more stops left on his path, that journey ends in Columbia, and he’s all about making the most of it.
“This team really loves to play with each other, really loves to share the ball, as you can see, and we just get excited, man, we get excited for one another,” Johnson said. “I think this is a very, very special group.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2025 at 1:35 PM.
