South Carolina Basketball: Third forward hits Transfer Portal
By Kevin Miller
On Thursday, a third post player announced his intention to transfer from Lamont Paris’ program. Following the announcements of Tre-Vaughn Minnot and Ja’Von Benson earlier in the week, freshman big Daniel Hankins-Sanford made public his move to the portal. South Carolina basketball now has five open scholarship spots after the three defections, Hayden Brown’s graduation, and GG Jackson’s likely NBA move.
Incoming freshmen Collin Murray-Boyles and Arden Conyers will take up two of the five spots on next year’s roster. The Gamecocks will likely add talent from the portal to fill the missing holes on the roster.
The Citadel transfer Stephen Clark and Wofford transfer BJ Mack are two players that have been linked to Carolina. At 6’9″ and 6’8″ respectively, the two forwards fit the bill for what the Gamecocks need. Josh Gray and Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk are the only returning forwards who got minutes on last year’s team (assuming Jackson does, indeed, go pro). Bigger forwards, especially ones who can score and/or space the floor, would be a tremendous help to the 2023-2024 version of the Gamecocks.
The Gamecocks could also be in the market for a taller wing who can shoot the basketball. Zachary Davis is the only taller wing player returning for next year’s team, but, while he did show some promise that Coach Paris and his staff hope to build on, he did not show much offensive consistency this year. Meechie Johnson, Jacobi Wright, and Chico Carter all plan to return next year, but they are all 6’2″.
Ebrima Dibba is a name to watch next season. Dibba missed the entire 2022-2023 season with an Achilles injury but could slot in anywhere from 1-4 on the floor next year. The versatile transfer from Coastal Carolina actually joined the program last offseason but was unable to play due to his injury.
Other portal names to keep an eye on include former Vanderbilt Commodore Myles Stute (combo forward who can shoot), St. Francis transfer Josh Cohen (scoring forward with some guard skills), Wofford defection Jackson Paveletzke (dynamic scoring guard), former Temple Owl Jamille Reynolds (big-bodied post player), Butler wing Jayden Taylor (big guard who can do it all), and University of Illinois-Chicago transfer Jace Carter (a wing who plays above his size).
It is important to note that the Gamecocks are in contact with more players, as well, and the transfer portal is an ever-changing landscape. The Gamecocks might end up with multiple guys from this list or none at all.