South Carolina Basketball: Gamecock announce first 2024 recruit signing

South Carolina basketball picked up two 2024 commitments on the same day back in April when a pair of teammates from Finland announced their intentions to join the Gamecocks. Guard Morris Ugusuk and forward Okku Federiko both played for Club Omnia Academy and the U-19 Finnish national champions and pledged their services to USC.

However, shortly after news broke of the commitments, it also came out that Ugusuk would not be part of the class. Instead, the long-armed guard decided to reclassify to the ’23 class and enroll in the University of South Carolina almost immediately as part of a large class of newcomers.

Ugusuk, who had planned to redshirt, has been good enough this offseason to be part of the rotation during the Gamecocks’ first game and the offseason exhibitions.

Now, with the early signing period beginning on Wednesday, Federiko has officially joined Ugusuk with the Gamecocks. South Carolina basketball’s official Twitter account announced Federiko’s signing with the program.

As a player, the 6’9″ Federiko is a versatile forward who has experience playing all three frontcourt positions. He is probably most naturally an athletic power forward, but he has enough length to play the 5-spot in certain situations and enough functional quickness to play the 3 in big lineups.

Federiko excels at working downhill to get to the basket, utilizing his length and his ambidexterity to finish on either side of the basket. He has a workable jump shot that could become even better in a system like Lamont Paris’ that empowers big men to shoot the basketball. His ballhandling is good enough to cause problems when defended by bigger players.

Federiko has been a very good defender during his high school/club career. His plus-athleticism and wingspan have resulted in lots of blocked shots, but he also also has quick hands that can snatch loose dribbles and sloppy passes.

Sharpshooting Kentucky native Trent Noah is also committed to the South Carolina basketball program in the class of 2024, but only Federiko has officially signed his paperwork to this point.

You can watch a short clip of his highlights here.