South Carolina Basketball: Transfer Portal priority target announces finalists

The South Carolina basketball team is undergoing some major roster changes this offseason. Graduation, transfers, and a possible NBA defection have opened five spots on the Carolina roster. Head Coach Lamont Paris and his coaching staff have been in contact with several players who have entered their names into the transfer portal. Among these names is Wofford transfer BJ Mack.

Mack is a 6’8″, 250-pound forward who can play down low and shoot the basketball from outside. The big man teased over the weekend that he had some news coming on Tuesday, leading many to speculate he was ready to make his college decision. Instead, Mack has decided to take things a bit slower. On Tuesday morning, the Charlotte, North Carolina native announced the top-ten finalists for his services. The South Carolina basketball team was among those ten teams.

The nine finalists joining the Gamecocks are the LSU Tigers, Florida Gators, Arkansas Razorbacks, Iowa Hawkeyes, Butler Bulldogs, Xavier Musketeers, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Vanderbilt Commodores, and Michigan Wolverines.

This past season, Mack averaged more points (16.6 points per game) than any Gamecock player, rebounded similarly to the Gamecocks’ top three forwards (5.6 rebounds per game), and shot as well from three (34%) as any returning Gamecock.

If South Carolina were to land the big man, they would likely be getting a starting forward (a position the Gamecocks need multiple players) that would complement Josh Gray well. Both players can rebound, but Mack adds more scoring ability and a presence away from the basket on offense that Gray cannot. Mack is not an elite defender down low, but Gray came on strong as a defender during the second half of last season.

In addition to the team’s need for more forwards, the Gamecocks need more scoring, especially in the form of outside shooting. The weekend decision from Chico Carter to enter the transfer portal only exacerbates this problem. Meechie Johnson is a good shooter and has stretches where he’s deadly. Jacobi Wright played better and shot better at the end of the year. Outside of those two, the Gamecocks have no players Paris and his staff can have confidence in to make a jump shot.

If Mack were to end up in Columbia, his size and outside touch would go a long way in addressing these issues. There are only six players (for now) from last season’s team set to return next year, and none of them combine size and shooting touch. Zachary Davis shot 17% from outside, and Josh Gray and Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk went a combined 0-1 on the season. The other three players (Meechie Johnson, Jacobi Wright, and walk-on Eli Sparkman) are 6’2″ or shorter. The 6’6″ Ebrima Dibba did not play last year due to an Achilles injury.

Mack should be considered an extremely important transfer portal target for South Carolina. There are other players out there that the Gamecocks can and should be talking to, but there are not many that are already an hour away from campus. Hopefully for the Gamecock faithful, Mack will end up as one of several portal pickups that help the men’s basketball program return to form.

Mack has one more year of eligibility.