South Carolina Basketball: 5 biggest “musts” entering the offseason

South Carolina basketball fans are hungry for the men’s program to adopt the winning ways of their lady counterparts. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

South Carolina Basketball Must Win Back the Fanbase

South Carolina athletics has some of the best fans in the country. For the most part, Gamecock Nation is not made up of fair-weather or disagreeable fans. However, as every good fanbase does, South Carolina basketball fans demand competitiveness. In recent seasons when the Gamecocks were at least “NIT-good,” Colonial Life Arena would be pretty full most nights. The women’s team has shown what success can do to galvanize basketball fans in Columbia.

Winning cures almost everything for fans, and putting a competitive team on the court will put butts back in seats. Improving the gameday experience (something that is part of the “Stadium Project” for Gamecock athletics and will involve the basketball facilities) could go a long way in this regard.

Fans can be fickle, but they aren’t complicated. Win some games and make intentional efforts to make fans happy, and they will show up and create a great atmosphere for every home game. The women’s basketball program, football team, and baseball team all experience this, and the men’s team has seen this in effect in the not-so-distant past. For the betterment of the program’s future, South Carolina basketball has to return to that level of fan support.