South Carolina Basketball's 2024-2025 Roster Breakdown:
Point Guard Jamarii Thomas
Jamarii Thomas caused almost as big of a social media uproar as Cam Scott when the former announced his transfer portal commitment to USC, flipping from the VCU Rams. VCU fans online (and even a staffer) lost their cool, but the Rams' loss was the Gamecocks' gain.
Thomas was the MEAC Player of the Year last season at Norfolk State as he averaged about 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. He also shot 38% from the 3-point line and 81% from the charity stripe. On the other end of the floor, Thomas was an All-Defensive selection in the MEAC, as well.
Thomas is the big favorite to start at the point guard position this year. His two-way ability will allow him to fit well into the Ta'Lon Cooper role from last year. Thomas is not as big as Cooper (he's listed under 6'0" compared to Cooper's 6'4" height), but he is an aggressive rebounder from the perimeter, has more consistent scoring ability than Cooper, and is a legitimate two-way threat just like last season's starter.
Thomas' ability to shoot and defend will allow the Gamecocks to experiment with their lineup. He is capable of playing next to any type of shooting guard, and he can operate off-ball when Coach Paris runs actions with the secondary ballhandler. Last year, with Cooper and fellow ballhandling guard Meechie Johnson on the court together, Paris would allow Johnson to facilitate at times, often running plays to get Cooper open in the corner off of a Johnson dribble drive. That could work again this year with Thomas filling the Cooper role and other guards taking Johnson's duties.
Thomas is not the assist-to-turnover ratio maestro that Ta'Lon Cooper was, so it wouldn't be in the Gamecocks' best interest to play a high-turnover guard alongside him. However, as non-point guards like Zach Davis and Collin Murray-Boyles showed major improvement as passers down the stretch last year, the facilitation load could be lighter on the point guard position during the 2024-2025 campaign.