South Carolina Basketball: 5 March Madness storylines to watch for the Gamecocks
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Basketball's 5 March Madness Storylines
An old friend has become an enemy
Jermaine Couisnard played for four seasons (three active) in Columbia under previous head coach Frank Martin, but when Martin was relieved of his duties, Couisnard elected to leave the program, as well. The combo guard wound up in Eugene, Oregon, and he is in his 2nd year with the Ducks.
The 6th-year senior is one of the leaders of his Oregon squad. Much like during his Carolina days, Couisnard is not an efficient scorer (shooting under 40% from the field), but he does everything else well as he leads his team. He can pass and run the offense (21-4 assist-turnover ratio in the final three games of the Pac-12 Tournament), he can help out on the glass (averaged over 5 boards per contest in the Pac-12 Tourney), and if he gets hot, he can hurt an opponent from outside (4-8 from 3 in the upset of Arizona).
Couisnard is a solid defender, too, and he is sure to be assigned with guarding either Ta'Lon Cooper or Meechie Johnson on Thursday. The long-armed Couisnard could create problems for the Gamecock guards if he is allowed by the officials to play with physicality.
Jacobi Wright and Josh Gray both played with Couisnard for one season in Columbia (2021-2022), so there is some familiarity on the side of Lamont Paris' team. However, with two seasons in Dana Altman's system, Couisnard is not the exact same player he was under Frank Martin.
"The former Gamecock" is sure to be said at least 10242904 times during the broadcast of this game, but South Carolina basketball fans hope that it won't be paired with many positives on Thursday.