South Carolina Basketball: Ranking the top-12 shooting guards in Gamecock history
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Basketball’s No. 3 Greatest Shooting Guard of All-Time:
Zam Fredrick
The father of another Carolina great, Zam Fredrick, Sr. (1977-1981) was a tremendous story of hard work and perseverance. Fredrick played a lot his first three years on campus but saw his minutes fluctuate as he struggled to perform consistently, especially with his shooting efficiency. Safe to say, though, the Calhoun County native figured it out as a senior.
In the 1980-1981 season, Zam Fredrick led the nation in scoring. Under new head coach Bill Foster, #20 was given the reins to the offense and rewarded his coach with the most efficient (and most explosive) season from a Gamecock guard since John Roche and Kevin Joyce dominated in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He scored an astounding 28.9 points per game, good for the second-best number in South Carolina basketball history.
An easy choice as an All-American, Fredrick almost won the John R. Wooden Award given to the nation’s top player but was edged out by BYU’s Danny Ainge. Fredrick was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers but became a legend playing overseas in Italy where he played as a rival to Joe “Jelly Bean” Bryant, father of NBA legend Kobe Bryant. After his career, he returned to coach high school ball in South Carolina and became one of the best to ever coach in the Palmetto State.