South Carolina Basketball: Gamecock signee released from NLI, likely heading to UK

When sharpshooting wing Trent Noah committed to the South Carolina basketball program in the fall, everyone knew that the Harlan Country, Kentucky native was an underrated talent and a much better player than his recruiting rankings indicated.

His pledge to the Gamecocks came with many in both the Palmetto State and the Bluegrass State asking the same question, "Why wasn't UK after this kid?" Former Wildcat head coach John Calipari had made a serious blunder in not trying to bring in the 6'6" Noah.

It appears that new Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope is not going to make the same mistake.

On Tuesday, Noah announced that he had requested and been granted a release from his signed NLI (national letter of intent) and that he would not be joining the South Carolina basketball program after all.

In his post on social media, Noah thanked Lamont Paris and the Gamecocks but revealed he would be looking for "basketball opportunities closer to home." Nothing has been finalized at the time of this writing, but based on rumblings around the Wildcats, it appears that Coach Pope is going to be getting a tremendous offensive player to join his program.

Losing a player like Noah hurts the Gamecocks as he is a special shooter with the type of upside that could mean he turns into an all-around offensive weapon on the wing. He wasn't likely to start in his first year in Columbia, but he could have carved out a nice role this season to use as a launch point for further success in the program.

If Noah, indeed, does wind up with the rival Kentucky Wildcats, the Gamecocks will have to play against him every season.

For South Carolina basketball coach Lamont Paris, Noah's decision to decommit leaves a hole that he will try to fill through the transfer portal or another player like Noah who does not have a finalized home from the class of 2024. The Gamecocks don't have a huge need for another wing from a positional standpoint, so Paris will have some flexibility in which player he targets.

While Noah's loss is a big one, Gamecock fans have plenty of reason for optimism as Coach Paris has shown a knack for bringing talented players to Columbia from both the transfer portal and the high school ranks.