South Carolina basketball has had big men in the middle who have come in all shapes and sizes and who have played the game in all manners of different ways. Dominant rebounders, defensive shot blockers, stretch bigs, and low-post scorers have all come through the Gamecock program. But which of these centers had the best Gamecock careers?
Honorable Mention
Mike Brittain: Mike Brittain (1981-1985) was a long-armed shot blocker who played down low for coach Bill Foster. The 7-footer was a good fit next to Linwood Moye in ’84-’85 with his length and decent shooting touch. He was also one of the best-ever Gamecock bigs from the free throw line. His top performance came in a 22-point, 15-rebound explosion in a win over rival Clemson. He went on to a three-year NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs.
Laimonas Chatkevicius: An offensive force when engaged and in shape, Laimonas Chatkevicius (2012-2016) was one of two Lithuanian big men to come to South Carolina in the 2012 recruiting class along with Mindaugas Kacinas. “Big Chat” had some solid post moves and an excellent touch around the basket. That touch eventually allowed him to stretch out to the three-point line.
A very efficient offensive player (over 51% from the field for his career), Chatkevicius did not consistently score enough for the Gamecocks because he could not stay on the court. Conditioning and foul trouble were bugaboos for the 7-footer for most of his career. He showcased his potential with a 30-point barrage in the 2016 NIT, but emblematic of his inconsistent career, he delivered a 9-point, 0-rebound performance in his final game later that same week.
Jeff Roulston: Jeff Roulston (1988-1992) was a solid center for some up-and-down Gamecock basketball squads coached by George Felton and Steve Newton. He famously battled Shaquille O’Neal better than almost any other player in the 1991-1992 season as he logged a double-double and missed just three shots (all 3 misses were blocks by O’Neal).
Marius Petravicius: One of several Lithuanian big men to come through the Carolina basketball program, Marius Petravicius (1999-2003) was a solid player who was productive when he could stay on the court. Unfortunately, between injuries and conditioning, the European center was never able to play more than 20 minutes per game. He made the All-SEC team as a sophomore.
Tony Kitchings: Tony Kitchings (1998-2003) was Marius Petravicius’ running mate at center for the Gamecocks. Between foul trouble, injuries, and conditioning, neither player could stay on the court as much as Gamecock fans would have liked, but, like Petravicius, Kitchings was very productive when he was on the floor.
Kitchings had some of his best games in the biggest games, logging all of his career double-doubles in SEC play and postseason play and 3 of his 4 career 20-point games in rivalry matchups.
Jim Strickland: A two-year player at the end of the Frank McGuire era in Columbia, Jim Strickland (1978-1980) was an extremely dependable big man. Averaging almost 10 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, the 6’11” center was a good shot blocker and excelled at taking advantage of smaller players down low. The former Furman Paladin had a brief NBA career after his successful transfer to South Carolina.
Jimmy Graziano: Jimmy Graziano (1976-1980) was a hugely impactful young player for coach Frank McGuire as he averaged over 10 points and 7 rebounds per game as a freshman and sophomore. His production waned as injuries and the emergence of other big men like Cedric Hordges and Jim Strickland cut into Graziano’s playing time. Despite the fall-off, he was still drafted into the NBA where he had a brief career with the Denver Nuggets.
South Carolina Basketball’s No. 12 Greatest Center of All-Time:
Tom Boswell
Only at South Carolina for one year, Tom Boswell (1974-1975) transferred in from South Carolina State. Boswell was very good for the Gamecocks, averaging a near double-double at 17.2 points and 8.8 rebounds. He scored at least 12 points in all but four games of his career. If Boswell were a Gamecock for more than just one season, he would surely be higher on this list.
Partnered with Alex English and Nate Davis, Boswell was part of the greatest frontline in South Carolina basketball history in a 19-9 season under coach Frank McGuire. Boswell parlayed his successful one year in Columbia into a six-year professional career with the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, and Utah Jazz.
South Carolina Basketball’s No. 11 Greatest Center of All-Time:
Maik Kotsar
Maik Kotsar (2016-2020) was one of the best defensive centers in Carolina history. The big Estonian was capable of switching onto smaller players and was an elite help-side defender without being a big-time shot blocker. His defensive acumen led Kotsar to be a starter for four seasons, but he also developed into a useful offensive player.
Kotsar’s signature shot was his midrange jumper, and some of his biggest moments came as a freshman knocking down midrangers in the NCAA Tournament on the way to the Final Four. Kotsar was also a gifted ballhandler for a big man and utilized that to become an offensive engine as a senior who averaged almost 12 points per game and around 2.5 assists per contest while anchoring the defense for coach Frank Martin.
South Carolina Basketball’s No. 10 Greatest Center of All-Time:
Darryl Martin
Part of a huge frontcourt for the mid-late 1980s Gamecocks, Darryl Martin (1985-1988) was actually the shortest member of the group. His toughness and rebounding acumen allowed him to play as the man in the middle next to players like Linwood Moye, Terry and Perry Dozier, and John Hudson despite being just 6’7″. Because of the nature of college basketball, Martin was often listed as a forward, but #44 was actually a very good 5-man.
A junior college transfer, Martin made an All-Metro Conference team as a junior in his second year in the program, but his production took a step back as a senior when the entire Gamecock team struggled in the first year of Steve Newton. Even with the drop off in his final year, Martin still managed to average over 12 points and almost 9 rebounds per game in his Gamecock career before heading overseas to continue playing.
Despite being a very solid player, Martin might be most famous for being involved in a brawl that resulted in enough free throws to allow Louisville to erase a 14-point deficit in the game’s final minute and a half. The Gamecocks would lose the game in overtime.
South Carolina Basketball’s No. 9 Greatest Center of All-Time:
Sam Muldrow
Sam Muldrow (2007-2011) is the all-time leader in blocks at the University of South Carolina. The long-armed Florence native was a defensive stalwart for some bad Gamecock teams (sans 2008-2009). He cleaned up a lot of mess at the rim allowed by some poor perimeter defense in front of him.
Muldrow was quick enough to hold his own on switches against smaller players, but he was at his best as a help-side shot alterer. His shot-blocking prowess was on display best when he logged the program’s second-ever triple-double with 16 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 blocks in a win against Vanderbilt.
Muldrow was not much of an offensive threat when he first arrived on campus in Columbia, but he developed into a 10.4 and 11.4 points per game scorer in his junior and senior years, respectively. Combined with his improved offensive game, Muldrow’s elite defense (two All-SEC All-Defensive teams and an SEC Defensive Player of the Year award) made him one of the most valuable forwards in the conference and propelled him to a long international pro career.
South Carolina Basketball’s No. 8 Greatest Center of All-Time:
Jim Fox
A two-year player for the Gamecocks, Jim Fox (1963-1965) had one of the best big man seasons in program history as a senior. Fox scored 17.8 points per game and pulled down 13.6 rebounds per game in the 1964-1965 season, but he did not receive any postseason accolades because the Gamecocks were terrible in Frank McGuire’s first season in Columbia.
Fox’s talent was noticed, though, as he was drafted by the Cincinnati Royals. He was offered more money to play in Europe, however, so he spent two years overseas before coming to the NBA. A ten-year career followed in which he averaged a double-double in the 1968-1969 season for the Phoenix Suns.
South Carolina Basketball’s No. 7 Greatest Center of All-Time:
Jim Slaughter
Jim Slaughter (1947-1951) was the first great Gamecock center. Playing in an era in which accurate statistics are hard to find, Slaughter averaged around 20 points per night during his career. At 6’9″, he was billed as the biggest man in the Southern Conference in the late 1940s, and the smaller opponents couldn’t stop him.
The Roanoke, Virginia native made an All-American squad and two All-Southern Conference teams in his four years as a Gamecock, and he turned that collegiate success into a brief professional career. In the 1951 NBA Draft, Slaughter went to the Baltimore Bullets and played for two seasons with the Bullets and the Washington Capitols.
South Carolina Basketball’s No. 6 Greatest Center of All-Time:
Mike Callahan
The smallest center on this list, Mike Callahan (1957-1960) was listed at just 6’6″ tall. He was an extremely tough rebounder and was adept at putting the ball back into the basket off of a miss for second-chance points. Like most players of his era, he was not an efficient scorer, but Callahan still managed to average 13 points per game for his Gamecock career.
Callahan also put up a double-double almost every night, doing so in 55 of his 74 career games. Playing alongside fellow Gamecock great Art Whisnant, the New Jersey native made his way to two All-ACC teams. Callahan had his best game in an ACC matchup with Wake Forest when he scored 34 points on a remarkable 14 of 15 shooting.
South Carolina Basketball’s No. 5 Greatest Center of All-Time:
Danny Traylor
Danny Traylor (1970-1973) was a true 7’0″ tall All-American high school center from Winston-Salem, North Carolina who spurned the Wake Forest Demon Deacons to play for the Gamecocks. Traylor didn’t play much in his first year in the program as Tom Owens and Tom Riker were both still on campus, but after Owens’ graduation in 1971, Traylor stepped up in a big way as he put up double-double averages as a junior and senior and made an All-South Independent team.
His final season in garnet and black was a defensive masterclass as he played alongside four of the best offensive players in school history (Alex English, Kevin Joyce, Brian Winters, and Mike Dunleavy). Traylor averaged about 4 blocks per game while still averaging a double-double. It was the only season of his career that blocks were closely calculated, but had they been tallied for the rest of his time in Columbia, Traylor may have been the program’s all-time leader in the statistic.
South Carolina Basketball’s No. 4 Greatest Center of All-Time:
Jimmy Foster
A beast down low for Bill Foster’s Gamecocks (no relation), Jimmy Foster (1980-1984) took almost two years off from basketball before joining the South Carolina basketball squad as a freshman. He showed no signs of rust as he became a starter before the season opened and was an impact player immediately, averaging a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double as a freshman.
Foster continued his strong play as he made the All-South Independent team as a sophomore and junior. His third year in Columbia saw the Gamecocks win 22 games (Bill Foster’s high water mark as the Gamecocks’ headman), but their Independent status kept them out of the NCAA Tournament. Carolina joined the up-and-coming Metro Conference the following season where Foster made the All-Metro Conference team.
Foster finished his career as a very efficient 60% shooter from the field, and he owns four of the top ten field goal percentage seasons in Carolina history. He ranks 6th all-time in points scored and fifth in total rebounds with 1000 boards. He is also one of just two players (along with Michael Carrera) to lead the Gamecocks in rebounding for four seasons.
Unfortunately, Foster’s great play on the court is not what is most known by many Gamecock fans. Foster got caught up in an NCAA investigation into the basketball program regarding impermissible benefits granted to Foster and other players on the team. The investigation resulted in sanctions against the team.
South Carolina Basketball’s No. 3 Greatest Center of All-Time:
Lee Collins
Lee Collins (1952-1956) is the top rebounder in the history of Gamecock basketball. The 6’6″ center was undersized for the position but was strong and active in the paint, allowing him to rebound the basketball better than players who were significantly taller than he was. For his career, Collins averaged 12.5 rebounds per game despite playing a reserve role as a freshman. In his three years as a starter, that number jumped up to 14.6 boards per game.
Collins was not much of a scorer early in his career as the majority of his points came from the free throw line and on putbacks after offensive rebounds. However, his game developed, and he became an 18-point scorer as a senior. His best game came in a 29-point, 33-rebound explosion against The Citadel.
Collins’ dominance on the glass allowed the Gamecocks to stay in many games despite the team’s dearth of useful guards. Collins played a season alongside All-American forward Gary Gregor and three years next to good rebounder Joe Smith, but he still stands out as a rebounding machine. The Gamecocks didn’t win much during this era, but it wasn’t because of Collins and the frontcourt.
South Carolina Basketball’s No. 2 Greatest Center of All-Time:
Tom Riker
Arriving on campus a year after Tom Owens, Tom Riker (1969-1972) proved to be too good to keep off the floor. Frank McGuire employed an unconventional lineup that included two points guards (John Roche and Kevin Joyce) and two centers (Tom Riker and Tom Owens), but the Gamecocks became one of the top teams in all of college basketball.
Despite playing in an era of low scoring and playing alongside some of the best players in school history, Riker still managed to score over 15 points per game for his career (including over 19 points per contest as a senior) and pulled down over 9 rebounds each night. The Gamecocks’ twin towers of Riker and Owens averaged almost 30 points per game and over 20 rebounds per game while playing together, and both big men made All-ACC and All-American teams.
Riker was even better after Owens graduated. As a senior, #51 averaged a 19-point double-double on 56% shooting from the field and added a block per game. That season, he put up more points, grabbed more rebounds, and scored more efficiently than any other year of his career. The NBA’s New York Knicks took notice and picked Riker in the first round of the 1971 NBA Draft. He played with New York for three years.
South Carolina Basketball’s Greatest Center of All-Time:
Tom Owens
Tom Owens (1968-1971) was a high school teammate of John Roche, and, as the story goes, the dynamic duo only ended up at South Carolina because Frank McGuire was willing to take both of them, a double scholarship offer that was not given by any other program. It worked out well for the Gamecocks and the La Salle Academy alumni as they became two of the best to ever don the garnet and black, led Carolina to its most successful stretch of all-time, and made it to the NBA.
Owens was a big-time player immediately upon his arrival in Columbia as he made the All-ACC team all three of his seasons at Carolina. He made an All-American squad, as well, and averaged a double-double each season with 15 points and 12.9 rebounds being his lowest production as a Gamecock.
Big #24 was 6’10” in an era when not many players were, but McGuire brought in another 6’10” big man in Tom Riker the year after Owens got to campus. Both players were true centers, but they were also too talented to keep off the floor, so the two Toms played as twin towers on the block. Even with another All-American center on the floor at the same time, Owens still put together career averages of 15.8 points and 13.3 rebounds across three seasons.
After dominating for three years in the ACC, Owens went on to a 12-year NBA career. He averaged a double-double one season for the ABA’s Spirits of St. Louis and had some nice years for the Portland Trail Blazers.