3 Christmas wishes for the South Carolina men’s basketball team
The time of gifts and giving is here, and the Gamecocks could use some extra love.
South Carolina men’s basketball is 8-4 this season following Monday’s 95-70 win against S.C. State (1-13). The Gamecocks are one game back from their 9-3 record at the holiday break last season and are 0-4 against top-100 NET opponents. It’s been an up-and-down start, but there’s plenty of season (and quality SEC opponents) left to be played.
Here are three things USC is wishing for this holiday to help bring a merrier second half of the season:
End the slump, whatever it takes
USC has been in a shooting slump from long range. Over the last six games, the Gamecocks have shot over 30% on 3-point attempts once (44% against Stetson on Dec. 6) and shot 15% or less twice (15% against Clemson on Dec. 16 and 13% against The Citadel on Dec. 13).
The Gamecocks’ 29.8% 3-point percentage is second-worst in the SEC so far this season despite shooting a sixth-most 27.75 3-point attempts per game.
This problem leaves one of two solutions: Either USC starts shooting with greater efficiency, or it cuts the volume of its 3-point attempts in order to keep the low efficiency from taking the Gamecocks out of the game early. The team did shoot almost 60% overall in the win over S.C. State.
With how intent head coach Lamont Paris seems on shooting 3s, it looks like the option might be more realistic, even for a Christmas wish.
“Our team was constructed in a way where we thought that we would be able to withstand off shooting nights, just on the volume of guys that are capable of shooting,” Paris said after USC’s 68-61 loss to Clemson. “And so just trying to get to the root of why, on the days we shoot well, it seems like as if everyone shoots a pretty high percentage, and the days that we don’t, it seems like no one is able to shoot on those days.”
Resume boosters
USC has struggled against quality opponents so far this season, but its schedule will only become more daunting as the season rolls on. The Gamecocks have one more “buy game” against Albany on Dec. 30 before SEC play begins. In conference play, the Gamecocks are pitted against Quadrant 1 or 2 opponents nearly every game.
While a greater strength of schedule makes wins harder to come by, the sheer quality of opponents can boost an otherwise lackluster resume. If USC is able to put together something of a miraculous run in conference play and get near a .500 SEC record (nine wins), it could be enough to sway the opinions of some NCAA selection committee members.
Ultimately, it’s up to USC whether it can play to the level needed to beat those quality SEC opponents, but there’s no doubt the Gamecocks could use the boost that would come with doing so.
Secondary offense
Something has to give. If USC isn’t going to cut back on its shooting volume, and if the 3-point percentage doesn’t improve, then the Gamecocks better wish that another offensive wrinkle gets added to its game. Is it even possible?
Well, there’s certainly room for improvement. The Gamecocks currently rank third from the bottom in the SEC for field-goal attempts per game (58.3). This means that outside of the high 3-point volume, the Gamecocks don’t get very many shots up overall.
This leaves room for USC to either speed up its offense — don’t change the distribution of shots, just get them up earlier in the possession in order to have more possessions overall and take (plus, hopefully make) more 3s. Former NBA coach Mike D’Antoni popularized this approach in stints with the Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets.
USC could also cut its 3-point volume in favor of trying to cut and drive to find shots at the rim. The Gamecocks did this with some efficiency against Clemson, as senior guards Mike Sharavjamnts and Kobe Knox combined for 26 points despite making just one 3-pointer between the two.
“Coach Paris keeps emphasizing us to keep attacking on the rim, because once we attack the rim, we’re going to create open more open shots for the guys, and not have to take more contested shots,” Knox said.
There’s also rebounding. USC is dead last in the SEC with 9.7 offensive boards per game this season. If the Gamecocks were able to somehow overcome a lack of size and improved their offensive rebounding, they could score in droves off of second-chance points. This, however, is a much bigger wish to ask than the first two fixes.
South Carolina men’s basketball upcoming schedule
- Tuesday: vs. Albany, 6 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Saturday, Jan. 3: vs. Vanderbilt, 2 p.m. (ESPNU)
- Tuesday, Jan. 6: at LSU, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
- Saturday, Jan. 10: vs. Georgia, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
This story was originally published December 24, 2025 at 7:01 AM.
