South Carolina basketball: All-time starting five
By Jacob Elsey
The starting 5
BJ MCKIE
McKie is the Gamecocks’ all-time leading scorer, amassing an incredible 2,119 points in his four-year stay in Columbia. McKie finished among the conference’s top five scorers in three separate seasons, including leading the league in scoring as a junior. He’s also made the second-most free throws in SEC history at 672, ranking behind only Pete Maravich.
McKie twice led the Gamecocks to the NCAA tournament, and was the starting point guard on the program’s only team to win the SEC’s regular season crown. He averaged over 17 points per game for his career.
ALEX ENGLISH
English is a legend at both the college and professional levels, having a storied career with the Gamecocks before moving on to the NBA. At South Carolina, English scored 1,972 points, good for second-most in program history.
He twice averaged double-doubles, both as a freshman and senior. His senior season, in particular, was astonishing, as he totaled 22.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He helped lead the Gamecocks to two NCAA tournaments, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 1973.
The Columbia native would go on to a 15-year NBA career, where he was an eight-time all-star, highlighted by his ’83 season where he led the league in scoring. English was inducted into the Hall of Fame and ranks No. 20 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. ESPN ranked him as the 67th best player in NBA history.
JOHN ROCHE
Roche played three seasons with the Gamecocks between 1968-1971. All three years, he averaged more than 20 points per game. He ranks fourth on the program’s all-time scoring list, totaling 1,910 points in 85 games.
He was a member of the 1971 basketball team that won the ACC conference tournament, defeating North Carolina 52-51 in the championship game. That was the program’s last year in the league.
Roche was twice named the ACC’s player of the year, before being drafted in the first round of both the NBA and ABA drafts.
TOM OWENS
Owens played three seasons in Columbia, and averaged a double-double in each. For his career, he totaled a mark of 15.8 points and 13.3 rebounds per game. Owens was also a member of that ACC tournament champion team, and actually scored the game-winning basket over the Tar Heels as time expired.
Owens is one of five Gamecocks to record 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds over a career, but he’s the only to do it in just three seasons. He led the ACC in rebounding all three years, twice being named first-team all-conference.
He’d go on to a 12-year professional career in both the NBA and ABA.
SINDARIUS THORNWELL
Thornwell was the best player on South Carolina’s only Final Four team back in 2017. He ranks third all-time on the Gamecock scoring list, totaling 1,941 points over his four-year career.
As a senior, the Lancaster native averaged 21.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game on his way to being named the SEC player of the year. He led the conference in both scoring and steals, and paced the Gamecocks in points, steals, rebounds, and assists.
Thornwell was named to the all-region team following his performance in the NCAA tournament, where he averaged 23.6 points per game as the Gamecocks took down Marquette, Duke, Baylor, and Florida.
He was originally drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2017 NBA draft, and recently signed a contract to play with the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2020 season.