South Carolina basketball: projecting the starting lineup

Predicting the depth chart for the ’21 season.

Small forward – Keyshawn Bryant / James Reese

This may be the Gamecocks’ strongest position group on the team. One of the top players from last year’s team comes back, while South Carolina adds a talented transfer, too.

Keyshawn Bryant returns after scoring 14.4 points and 5.4 boards a game last season. Both were career highs. After missing some time with COVID early in the year, Bryant came on as one of the Gamecocks’ top scoring options in SEC play. He notched double figures in all but two conference games, averaging 15.8 points per contest. He factors in as an immediate starter in 2021.

Behind him comes senior transfer James Reese. Reese was a part of North Texas’s NCAA Tournament team last season, helping the Mean Green knock off Purdue in the opening round. The Palmetto State native scored double figures in both of North Texas’s NCAAT games against the Boilermakers and Villanova, and averaged 10.9 points on the season. He was also a member of Buffalo’s NCAA Tournament team as a freshman, briefly seeing the floor in the Bulls’ first round upset of Arizona. Hopefully, some of that postseason magic will follow him to Columbia.

Power forward – AJ Wilson / Ja’Von Benson / Ta’Quan Woodley

AJ Wilson comes to South Carolina after leaving George Mason as the program’s all-time leading shot blocker. He started 50 games over the past two years, and is one of the most experienced players on the roster. Wilson has been a member of the A-10’s all-defensive team, while also earning the league’s Most Improved Player honor as a junior. He should shore up South Carolina’s frontcourt on the defensive end of the floor.

Ja’Von Benson and Ta’Quan Woodley will provide quality depth. Benson was a freshman last season, seeing action in three contests. He notched six points and six rebounds in his rookie year. Woodley will be entering his first season in Columbia and may have a chance to see early playing time.

Center – Wildens Leveque / Tre-Vaughn Minott / Josh Gray

This is maybe the most unknown position on the floor. We gave Leveque the nod, here, due to experience, but Minott and Gray will factor heavily into the rotation, too.

Leveque enters year three in Columbia after scoring 6.1 points and snagging 4.8 boards over 21 appearances last season. The big man started 15 of those matchups and is looking to build upon those totals in 2021.

He’ll have to hold off Minott, who joined the roster midway through last year, as well as incoming transfer Josh Gray. Minott saw an uptick in playing time towards the end of last year, and has been praised by head coach Frank Martin for his work ethic over the Summer. Rather than going home to Canada, Minott improved his fitness and it could pay major dividends next year.

Gray comes to South Carolina after a brief stint with LSU. He saw action in 10 contests, scoring a total of eight points. He also hauled in 12 rebounds. Gray was originally recruited by the Gamecocks for the class of 2020, but they finished runner-up for the big man’s services. Now, he gets a second chance to play for South Carolina, and coach Martin believes that he’s much better suited for his scheme and style of play. He could be a surprise player when all is said and done.