South Carolina Basketball: Breaking down the Gamecock roster for the 2024-2025 season

South Carolina Basketball's 2024-2025 Roster Breakdown:
Guard Morris Ugusuk

Last year, the Gamecocks picked up a spring commitment from a rangy, athletic point guard from Finland named Morris Ugusuk. The plan for the skinny, 6'4" freshman was for him to take a redshirt so that he could develop physically and spend the year learning from veteran guards Ta'Lon Cooper and Meechie Johnson.

Instead, he showed enough in the preseason that he made the active roster. Ugusuk still has work to do to get ready from a strength standpoint, but word from inside the program is that he is up to nearly 180 pounds and should hold up better against physical SEC guards this season.

Even with his small frame, Ugusuk showed some flashes on last year's team. Other than a poor start to SEC play, he shot the ball pretty well from the perimeter, and he showcased some defensive ability. His long arms allow him to be disruptive to ballhandlers and guards trying to finish in the lane, and his quickness will serve him well on both ends of the court.

However, ballhandling was not a strength for the Gamecocks' reserve point guard. He struggled against on-ball pressure, and he didn't always seem confident in his handle or his passing ability. Those things must improve if his role is to increase as a sophomore.

Ugusuk has a lot of potential to develop into a good player (and even a great defender) if things go well for him. It probably would be unfair to expect him to be a finished product just yet, but he will have some opportunities to show if he's ready to be part of the rotation consistently. He could get some reserve point guard minutes or see bench action at 2-guard if he is shooting the ball well.