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

South Carolina Basketball's 2024-2025 Roster Breakdown:
Power Forward/Center Jordan Butler

Jordan Butler is one of eight Palmetto State natives on the roster heading into the 2024-2025 season. He played his freshman year with the Missouri Tigers but returned home via the transfer portal to play at the same University where his mom had played over 20 years earlier.

Butler is the tallest player on the roster, standing 7'0" and having a wingspan even longer than that. Despite being that tall, though, Butler is not a true center. He can play the spot thanks to his size, but his best role is as a stretch power forward who plays next to a more physical center.

The numbers during his freshman year at Mizzou weren't great, but Butler has good touch from outside. Being as tall as he is, he is able to get off clean looks from the outside with just a little bit of space. Much like BJ Mack did in the 2023-2024 season, fans can expect to see Butler operate as the screener in the pick-and-pop game if he rediscovers his shooting stroke.

A part-time starter a year ago, Butler will come off the bench for the Gamecocks. In just 11 minutes per game, he averaged almost a block per contest, so he will provide some much-needed rim protection behind expected starters Collin Murray-Boyles and Nick Pringle.

Butler will battle with incoming freshman Okku Federiko and sixth-year player (and law school student) Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk for the reserve post minutes and could turn into a very important part of the Gamecock rotation in his first year in garnet and black, especially if he can shoot the ball up to his capabilities.