South Carolina Basketball: The Gamecocks' biggest transfer portal needs this offseason

South Carolina Basketball's Offseason Transfer Portal Needs:
3-and-D wing

South Carolina has a number of players expected to contribute to next year's team who can play on the wing. Zach Davis and Myles Stute combined to start every game at the 3-spot this winter, and smaller guards like Meechie Johnson and Jacobi Wright will get a lot of minutes as the secondary ballhandler next year. Even young players like Arden Conyers (redshirt freshman), Trent Noah (freshman), and Okku Federiko (freshman) could get some minutes.

What next year's team needs, though, is a player who can be a reliable catch-and-shoot option on one end of the floor and a versatile defender on the other.

Zach Davis was a really good defender for most of this year, and Myles Stute was the 2nd-best outside shooter on the team. Having a third option who can do both will allow the Gamecocks to play with more versatility.

As it stands, Carolina can't afford to play many minutes with both Davis and Stute on the floor together because if they both need a break at the same time, the team loses a valuable defender and a valuable shooter. Having a player who can fill both voids solves that problem, allowing Lamont Paris to play 2 wings with length at a time whenever he chooses.

Some of the Gamecocks' most intriguing lineups this season were when they went small. Having Collin Murray-Boyles play the 5 with either Stute or Davis playing the small-ball 4 allowed them to do some more exotic things on offense. However, the lack of size hurt the team defensively and on the glass as those lineups often included three guards who stood 6'4" or shorter. With another legitimate wing in the fold instead of a guard, the "small" lineup gets a little bigger.

It is possible that Zach Davis grows into a more reliable jump shooter or that Myles Stute gets 100% healthy and a step quicker, lessening the Gamecocks' need for a wing who can both defend and shoot the basketball. However, versatile defenders who can shoot have a role on every roster in the world of basketball, so Carolina should still look into adding that type of player if they can get one.