South Carolina basketball fans were disappointed back in August that Lexington High School standout Cam Scott committed to the Texas Longhorns over the hometown Gamecocks.
However, Scott's decision was based on some valid concerns about the USC program at the time. The Gamecocks had just come off of a program record-tying 21 losses the season before, and Lamont Paris' team was being picked to finish dead last in the SEC in the 2023-2024 season. Though Scott had always made it clear he loved the Gamecocks, he made a decision he thought would be best for his future.
However, after Paris led a remarkable turnaround for the program, South Carolina basketball was suddenly back on Cam Scott's radar. In the last handful of days, he has asked for (and been granted) his release from his signed NLI to the Texas Longhorns, citing that he wanted to be closer to his family as he takes the next steps of his basketball career.
Gamecock fans went wild with hopeful excitement about what this might mean for Scott and the garnet and black. As it turned out, the Carolina Faithful had good reason to be excited.
On Tuesday, in an announcement he made on 107.5 The Game, Cam Scott revealed that he was going to join the South Carolina Gamecocks after all. He told Bill Gunter, Preston Thorne, and Jen Jensen that "I am a Carolina Gamecock...and I look forward to making big things happen in the SEC."
The local kid is staying home, officially joining 4-star forward Okku Federiko and sharpshooting wing Trent Noah in the class. He is the top-ranked player in the class and the Gamecocks' second highest-ranked player since PJ Dozier (GG Jackson was the only one ranked higher).
After teasing that he was ready to make his decision by posting an hourglass emoji to his Twitter/X account on Tuesday, Scott didn't take long to announce his Gamecock commitment with the radio announcement. Scott's commitment marks the third year in a row that the best prospect from South Carolina signed with the Gamecocks (GG Jackson in the 2022 class and Collin Murray-Boyles* in the 2023 cycle).
*Collin Murray-Boyles played his final year in Utah, and top-ranked South Carolina recruit Coen Carr was from Georgia but played his final year in Greenville, South Carolina. CMB was the highest-rated prospect actually from the state of South Carolina.
As a player, Scott brings offensive firepower, length, and aggressive athleticism to the table for the Gamecocks. A 6'5" shooting guard who also can play the small forward, Scott can score from all three levels and is not shy about throwing down thunderous dunks.
His length and athleticism should translate to positive results on the defensive end of the floor, as well, especially as he gets the chance to work with the defensive-minded Lamont Paris.
The Gamecocks are becoming more "positionless" and versatile with roster construction, too, and the addition of Scott only adds to that. Players like Scott, Zach Davis, Myles Stute, Collin Murray-Boyles, Okku Federiko, Trent Noah, and Arden Conyers can play 2 or 3 positions in Coach Paris' system, and even 6th man Jacobi Wright and backup point guard Morris Ugusuk can slide over to play either guard spot in certain situations.
If the Gamecocks can find a starting-caliber point guard in the portal (they are in the running for several) and can find the right transfer big to partner with Collin Murray-Boyles, Josh Gray, and Federiko, there is a real chance that USC can make it to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments for the first time since the late 1990s.
You can watch some of his film here.