South Carolina basketball recently lost signee Trent Noah as the Kentucky native was released from his signed letter of intent to the University of South Carolina so that he could sign with the Wildcats and new head coach Mark Pope.
The additional scholarship has Gamecock fans wondering who head coach Lamont Paris would bring in to join Nick Pringle (transfer portal, Alabama Crimson Tide), Jordan Butler (transfer portal, Missouri Tigers), Jamarii Thomas (transfer portal, Norfolk State Spartans), Cam Scott (4-star wing, class of 2024), and Okku Federiko (4-star forward, class of 2024) as newcomers to the South Carolina basketball program.
One option that has come to light is class of 2024 power forward/center Jamie Vinson. The former Vanderbilt Commodores signee was released from his letter of intent after Vandy fired head coach Jerry Stackhouse and is interested in Carolina. This week, Vinson was in Columbia for a visit.
According to a report from SportsTalk's Phil Kornblut, Vinson's high school coach (Yerrick Stoneman of Oak Hill Academy) said the visit went well, but it will not be Vinson's final visit. The talented post player will visit the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and Kentucky Wildcats over the next week.
As a player, Vinson is a long and athletic post player who has enough offensive versatility to stretch the floor. A skilled shooter, Vinson can get off a clean jump shot at almost any point thanks to his 6'11" height and 7'4"+ wingspan. As a late-bloomer in terms of his height, Vinson has some background as a guard, as well, meaning he is comfortable dribbling the basketball and making decisions with the ball in his hands.
Vinson is thin and likely needs some time to physically develop before he reaches his full potential, but he has a huge upside as a player who could become a star at the college level if things go well for him.
You can watch some of his film here.