South Carolina Basketball: Three thumbs up, three thumbs down from last night’s Wofford exhibition

. South Carolina Gamecocks. SHOOTING WOES . Thumbs Down. <p>The Gamecocks had one of the worst shooting periods a team could have in the first half. Carolina shot just 20% from the floor and under 10% from long range as they scored just 17 points in the first 20 minutes of basketball. The second half was better but still nothing spectacular as the team shot 43% after halftime. Coach Paris’ team had several really poor individual shooting performances as Meechie Johnson (0-8), Myles Stute (3-11), Ta’Lon Cooper (3-10), Jacobi Wright (1-7), and Stephen Clark (1-4) all shot 30% or worse from the field. Morris Ugusuk also made just 1 of 3 free throws after getting fouled on a deep jump shot.</p>

Thumbs Down. South Carolina should never get outrebounded by a smaller mid-major opponent. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday as the Terriers finished the game with a 42-38 advantage on the glass. Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk provided a lot of effort on the boards (leading to a lot of rebounds for wing players Myles Stute and Zach Davis), but other than BBV, the rest of the Gamecock bigs did not put in enough work to secure rebounds. BJ Mack snatched seven rebounds but it seemed like he should have had more, and Stephen Clark and Josh Gray combined for just 3 in 21 minutes. Rebounding must improve moving forward if the Gamecocks are to have a successful season.. . South Carolina Gamecocks. REBOUNDING EFFORT

Thumbs Down. Highly touted freshman Collin Murray-Boyles was out for the exhibition (he also missed the Garnet and Black Madness kickoff). Word came out earlier in the week that CMB’s absence could be an extended one as he has contracted mononucleosis. A full recovery from mono takes weeks, and it drains the body of energy, so it is likely that the forward rotation will be without his services for a while as he recovers and then has to work to get back in game shape.. . South Carolina Gamecocks. COLLIN MURRAY-BOYLES IS OUT FOR A WHILE

Related Story. South Carolina Basketball overcomes huge halftime deficit to defeat Wofford Terriers. light