South Carolina Basketball’s Greatest Point Guard of All-Time:
John Roche
John Roche (1968-1971) was a bad man in the best sense of the phrase. A tough-as-nails New Yorker, Roche was part of Frank McGuire’s New York to Columbia pipeline and was the best of the bunch. An elite scorer who averaged over 21 points per game each of his three years in Columbia, #11 also was known as a good passer, though his official assist numbers are unknown.
Competing during an era in which freshmen were not allowed to play, Roche spent three years in garnet and black and dominated every second of it. He was selected as an All-American by at least one publication all three seasons in Columbia and was a two-time ACC Player of the Year.
The baby-faced assassin would pull up from anywhere on the court, and his all-out offensive style of play was often compared to his contemporary from LSU Pete Maravich.
The best player on some of the best teams in South Carolina basketball history, John Roche is revered by Gamecock fans, and rightfully so. Roche’s Gamecocks went 69-16 during his three seasons and won the only ACC title in program history.
Roche’s 56-point explosion against Furman is a school record, and he sits 2nd all-time in free throws. Roche owns the 5th, 6th, and 7th most prolific scoring seasons in Carolina history, and he accomplished this in an era without a 3-point line and one in which the “four corners defense” was utilized by some teams in the ACC, keeping scoring much lower than other time periods.
It was no shock when Roche was taken in the first round of the 1971 NBA Draft. He went on to a 13-year professional career and became the first-ever player to make 7 3-pointers in one quarter.