South Carolina Basketball: Transfer portal player announces commitment

South Carolina basketball is in the process of undergoing an extreme roster makeover for the second offseason in a row. However, the 2023 offseason has been much kinder to the Gamecocks than the 2022 offseason was. One unfortunate loss for Lamont Paris’ squad, though, was freshman forward Daniel Hankins-Sanford’s departure through the transfer portal.

As a Gamecock, Hankins-Sanford played sparingly. He battled injuries, a person situation, and being buried out of the rotation at different times last season. He showed flashes of promise as a high-effort rebounder with some shooting touch from outside, but he never regularly contributed, both due to his performance and due to his inconsistent role.

Hankins-Sanford originally committed to South Carolina when Frank Martin was the head coach in Columbia, and he saw his commitment through by enrolling at the University of South Carolina even after Martin’s dismissal. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out for the talented forward in garnet and black, and he entered his name into the transfer portal.

On Thursday, Hankins-Sanford announced his commitment.

Perhaps in unsurprising fashion, Hankins-Sanford committed to playing for Frank Martin once again, this time with the UMass Minutemen. He will have three more years of eligibility.

Martin’s UMass squad started off the 2022-2023 season strong at 7-1 but faltered tremendously down the stretch to finish a very disappointing 15-16 on the year after an 8-15 stretch to end the campaign. Martin enters the 2023-2024 season already on the hot seat despite only being in Amherst for one season as many around the program do not feel as if Martin’s effort level has been up to the standards of a Division-1 head basketball coach, a criticism thrown his way often during the end of his Carolina tenure.

Hankins-Sanford is the third Gamecock transfer to announce his new home, joining Chico Carter, Jr. and Tre-Vaughn Minnot in making their future plans public.