South Carolina Basketball: The Gamecocks' biggest transfer portal needs this offseason
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina basketball just finished up an unexpectedly great season. The 2023-2024 version of the Gamecocks was picked last in the preseason SEC standings but finished the regular season at 25-6, finishing tied for 2nd in the conference and setting a new program record for regular season wins. The final 26-8 record tied the program's all-time wins record set during the team's 2016-2017 Final Four run.
In what became one of the best seasons in the history of South Carolina basketball, several transfer portal additions played huge roles for Lamont Paris' group. Starting point guard Ta'Lon Cooper was excellent on both ends of the floor, BJ Mack provided some inside-outside scoring punch from a forward spot, Myles Stute brought some length and shooting to the perimeter, and Stephen Clark held things down in the starting lineup until freshman Collin Murray-Boyles was ready after dealing with mononucleosis.
Cooper, Mack, and Clark will graduate and move on from the program, leaving three scholarship vacancies. Incoming freshmen Okku Federiko (4-star versatile forward who could play any of the three frontcourt spots in certain situations) and Trent Noah (elite shooting wing who has enough size to play multiple positions) will take up two of those spots.
That would leave the Gamecocks with just one scholarship opening to play with in the transfer portal, but it seems reasonable to expect in the day and age of the transfer portal that one or two more spots could open up on the roster.
Assuming that a major contributor does not leave the program, what should South Carolina basketball fans expect their favorite team to do to upgrade the roster through the portal?
Until the dust settles from player's roster decisions (Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk and Ebrima Dibba's graduation decisions, Meechie Johnson's pro potential, and possible transfer portal defections), it will be impossible to know exactly how many players the Gamecocks will add this offseason, but there are three clear needs this team has heading into next year as things stand today.
This article will take a look at those three potential team needs that can be met through the transfer portal (pending the scholarship limit) starting with the most pressing.