South Carolina Basketball: How did Cam Scott's commitment affect recruiting rankings?

South Carolina basketball landed one of its top-rated commitments of the modern recruiting era this week when Lexington High School star guard Cam Scott was released from this signed NLI from the Texas Longhorns and pledged his services instead to the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Scott was once ranked as a 5-star prospect, but he dropped a bit as a senior. He is still a top-52 player in the country according to every recruiting outlet, and he ranks in the top-34 in three of them.

Depending on which outlet one checks, that ranks Scott as the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th-best prospect to commit to the Gamecocks in the modern recruiting era. GG Jackson was a consensus 5-star prospect, while Scott, PJ Dozier, and Sindarius Thornwell all carried similar prospect ratings.

According to 247Sports' composite team recruiting rankings, the Scott commitment pushes the Gamecocks inside the top-20 in the national rankings. Currently listed at 17th, USC is ahead of perennial recruiting powers like the Villanova Wildcats, Texas Longhorns (this one was a double-whammy for UT), UConn Huskies, Southern Cal Trojans, Ohio State Buckeyes, and Kentucky Wildcats. And, yes, they are ahead of the rival Clemson Tigers.

Only three SEC teams are ranked ahead of Carolina as the Missouri Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide, and LSU Tigers are positioned inside the top-11. Of teams with at least 3 commitments, Lamont Paris has his Gamecocks ranked 13th nationally. The team ranking likely will finish the '24 cycle as the highest for South Carolina basketball since the 2015 class in which PJ Dozier signed with the 'Cocks.

In 247Sports' individual rankings, all three Gamecock commits (Cam Scott, Trent Noah, and Okku Federiko) are rated inside the top-160 national prospects. That number jumps up to the top-130 according to On3.

As a player, Scott is an offensive dynamo who can score from any level and plays with aggression and big-time athleticism on that end of the floor. If he reaches his full potential on the defensive end, as well (he is the all-time leader in steals at LHS and has flashed real ability there), he could be a superstar at the college level who easily finds himself in the NBA sooner rather than later.

Scott also fills a need for the Gamecocks as a starting-caliber shooting guard was not on the roster (though, Jacobi Wright is a solid rotation player). Even as a freshman, Scott should be a major contributor and a potential starter for a team that is looking to make its first back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament since the '90s.