South Carolina basketball has been in transfer portal news a lot this offseason with five players electing to leave the program (including three scholarship forwards and their leading 3-point shooter). This week, the Gamecocks have finally added a player to their future roster through the portal.
Minnesota transfer point guard Ta’Lon Cooper has committed to the South Carolina basketball program. The seventh-leading assist man in college basketball a season ago, Cooper averaged over 6 dimes per contest for the Golden Gophers. He began his career at Morehead State after being somewhat lightly recruited out of in-state Dorman High School but will now be a Gamecock.
Cooper was a first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference selection while at Morehead State and has been listed as a “point guard,” “shooting guard,” and “guard” during his career. His ability to run an offense and facilitate the basketball means he will likely come in as the Gamecocks’ starting point guard for the 2023-2024 season. Last year’s point guard Meechie Johnson is more comfortable focusing on scoring but will make a nice secondary ball handler for Lamont Paris’ squad next season.
After putting his name into the transfer portal, Cooper also entered his name into the 2023 NBA Draft but still maintained his eligibility moving forward. He chose to return to his home state despite offers from some big-time programs.
The Gamecocks are still actively looking for transfer portal help, especially at forward. With five forwards gone from last year’s roster in the three transfers, Hayden Brown (graduation), and GG Jackson (NBA), at least two forwards are likely to be part of South Carolina’s 2023 transfer portal class. Lamont Paris and his staff have hosted numerous portal players in recent weeks, but it is unclear if another commitment is on the horizon.
Two local targets, Wofford’s BJ Mack and The Citadel’s Stephen Clark, are among Carolina’s top forward targets in the transfer portal. Two incoming freshmen forwards in Arden Conyers and Collin Murray-Boyles could factor into next year’s rotation, as well.