South Carolina Basketball: 5-star set to make decision before high school season
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina basketball is in on several big-time prospects in the class of 2024. 4-star in-state point guard Elijah Crawford is toward the top of the Gamecocks’ recruiting board, but Lamont Paris and his staff are also in on 4-star Georgia forward Derrion Reid and Columbia native guard KJ Greene. All three of those names are 4-star recruits, and the Gamecocks are heavily involved.
The longest-pursued Gamecock target is Lexington High School’s Cam Scott. The #1 prospect in the state, Scott has been on the national scene since he was starting for the Wildcats as an 8th grader. He had previously released a top-6 list of South Carolina, Florida State, Auburn, Kansas, Texas, and Tennessee but has recently implied he is open to other schools, as well.
Over the weekend, Scott told Jamie Shaw of On3 that he was hoping to make a decision before his high school season begins in November. Scott has taken official visits already to South Carolina, Auburn, Texas, and Oregon and plans to revisit them all and take first-time trips to Alabama, Ole Miss, and Southern Cal.
The 6’5″ wing has no intention of announcing a small group of finalists before announcing his commitment later this year.
As a player, Scott is a shotmaking wing who can realistically play the 2 or the 3 in Lamont Paris’ offensive scheme if he were to end up at South Carolina. He has an elite ability to get to his spots on the floor and uses his above-average wingspan to rise up above defenders to get off clean looks with his jump shot.
A potentially elite offensive player at the next level, Scott is a really confident athlete who showed off his leaping ability with several big dunks during his time earning the MVP at the Pangos All-American Showcase a couple of weeks ago.
The South Carolina basketball program is right in the thick of things with Scott, and Gamecock fans everywhere hope the Lexington native chooses to stay home. In the last 40 years (post-Frank McGuire era), the best South Carolina basketball teams have been led by in-state guards.
All-time great Gamecocks like Sindarius Thornwell, PJ Dozier, BJ McKie, Melvin Watson, Larry Davis, and Jo Jo English all were lead guards on 20-win teams for the Gamecocks and hailed from the state of South Carolina. Cam Scott is the type of talent that could continue the trend.