South Carolina basketball: ranking the jobs in the SEC from best to worst
By Jacob Elsey
So, what’s it all mean, and can South Carolina basketball improve?
Essentially, Goodman and the SEC coaches see South Carolina as one of the toughest jobs in the league. Frank Martin did a nice job of putting the Gamecocks back on the college basketball map, but even he hasn’t been able to achieve sustained success on the court or recruiting trail following the program’s first ever Final Four.
South Carolina, prior to this COVID affected season, had won the third-most SEC games over the last five seasons with 51, trailing only Kentucky (69) and Florida (54), the top two destinations from Goodman’s rankings. Still, those five years resulted in just one NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017 and an early exit from the NIT in 2016.
There’s room for improvement, though, for a couple of reasons. It’s nearly impossible to replace Kentucky atop the leaderboards, but most other SEC schools emphasize football success over basketball. The league doesn’t have the same national standing as the ACC or Big Ten, and fluctuation between the No. 2 and No. 14 spots changes with each season. A little extra department spending could provide a rather quick path to the top half of the league.
Outside of the Wildcats, only two other SEC programs have won a national title, so it’s not as if the league is booming with basketball tradition. The Gamecocks scored highest, according to Goodman’s ratings, in atmosphere and support, showing that fans will come out to see a good product and that the athletic department may be willing to put a bit more money into the program’s future.
The keys on improvement really seem to hinge around the ability to convince high profile players to come play for the school. It’s not impossible, as the Gamecocks have brought in four- and five-star players like PJ Dozier, Sindarius Thornwell, and AJ Lawson over the last decade, but it’s definitely a tall task.
Bringing in quality players builds depth and long term success, if done correctly. Frank Martin, or whoever replaces him, must do a solid job of identifying top talent, and the administration must be willing to keep the pocketbook open for basketball recruiting expenses, particularly when noting that the Gamecocks will have to go out of state if they want to land program changing prospects on a consistent basis.
The fan support and facilities are there. If the on-court product can improve, South Carolina presents all of the qualities to become one of the more desired coaching jobs in the SEC.