South Carolina Basketball: Another big enters the Transfer Portal
By Kevin Miller
On Monday, during the first day of underclassmen transfer portal activity, the South Carolina basketball team saw reserve big man Tre-Vaughn Minnot enter his name into the portal as an announcement that he intends to continue his career elsewhere. It did not take long before another name joined him.
Power forward Ja’Von Benson also intends to transfer. Like Minnot, he was in his third season as a Gamecock. Benson did not receive another offer from a school in a power conference. He did not see the floor much during his Carolina career as he saw game action just 15 times over three seasons. As of now, it is unclear if the Columbia product has a destination in mind for his transfer.
The losses of Minnot and Benson limit South Carolina’s end-of-bench depth, but neither player was in the rotation during Lamont Paris’ first season in Columbia. With forwards Arden Conyers and Collin Murray-Boyles joining the team as part of the 2023 recruiting class, the senior big men may have their roles filled by the young freshmen. However, Benson and Minnot are not the only forwards to leave the program this offseason as Hayden Brown has graduated, and GG Jackson is likely to leave the program for the NBA.
Coach Paris and his staff will be in the market for transfer portal forwards of all shapes and sizes. Benson and Minnot were more traditional bigs, while Brown and Jackson were combo forwards, so even with the addition of the two freshmen, there is a need for more talent at forward.
The Gamecocks have been linked to The Citadel graduate transfer Stephen Clark and Wofford’s BJ Mack. Clark, a 6’9″ combo forward would be an ideal fit to slide into one of the roles left by Jackson or his former Citadel teammate Brown, while Mack, a 6’8 and 250-pound bruiser, could play a more traditional low post game alongside returning big Josh Gray. The Gamecocks need inside scoring and rebounding with the departures of Brown and Jackson, so fans should not be surprised to see the Gamecocks pursue players like Clark and Mack.
Moving deeper into the offseason, Lamont Paris will likely reach out to some wings in the portal, as well. Both Jackson and Brown played some on the perimeter, and the Gamecocks have virtually no shooting coming back on next year’s team other than from small guards. A long athlete with shooting touch from outside would be an impactful add if the Gamecocks can make the scholarship numbers work. Conyers is a combo forward to can play on the wing and shoot the ball, but relying on a true freshman to fill that role by himself is risky.
Assuming GG Jackson does officially declare for the NBA Draft, the Gamecocks would have five scholarships available with two being allocated for the incoming freshmen. This would mean, theoretically, that South Carolina would have three more spots open for bringing in transfer players.