South Carolina Basketball: 4-star in-state prospect schedules official visit

Cam Scott is the #1 recruit in-state for the class of 2024. The Lexington High School is a 5-star prospect according to some recruiting services and is deciding between the best-of-the-best in college basketball as his offer list is made up of over 20 big-time programs. According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, the South Carolina basketball program is the favorite to land Scott, but his recruitment is far from over.

The second-ranked prospect in South Carolina for the ’24 cycle is Legacy Early College (Greenville) standout Elijah Crawford. Crawford is a 4-star recruit according to On3 and ESPN and is a major target for South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris. According to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine, the Gamecocks are the leading suitors for Crawford at this point in his recruitment. The top-100 national prospect is a point guard who can score the basketball and has enough size at 6’2″ and 190 pounds to hold up on defense against off-ball guards, as well.

Crawford is originally from Augusta, Georgia, so he has always been within an hour and a half or so of the University of South Carolina’s campus. He told On3’s Jamie Shaw that he hears from Coach Paris and his South Carolina basketball staff multiple times a week and will take an official visit to Columbia on June 25th.

The Gamecocks’ only commitment so far in the ’24 class is Finland’s Okku Federiko, a 6’9″ versatile forward who is long enough and athletic enough to play any spot in the frontcourt. South Carolina is expected to take another large class between the portal and the high school ranks as there will be at least five players moving on as five players (Ebrima Dibba, Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk, BJ Mack, Stephen Clark, and Ta’Lon Cooper) are out of eligibility and three more (Josh Gray, Meechie Johnson, Myles Stute) are entering their fourth college seasons.

Landing one or both of Scott and Crawford would be a big deal for a rebuilding South Carolina basketball program. In-state recruiting largely suffered during the Frank Martin tenure in Columbia, and Lamont Paris must reverse that trend if he is to succeed as the coach of the Gamecocks.

Whether it was BJ McKie (Irmo) and Melvin Watson (Charleston) in the late ’90s or Sindarius Thornwell (Lancaster) and PJ Dozier (Columbia) for the Final Four team in 2016-2017, recent good South Carolina basketball teams have been led by players from the state of South Carolina. Coach Paris recognizes this reality and is making every effort to keep Carolina kids at home.