South Carolina Basketball: P.J. Dozier hires agent, officially off to NBA
By Taylor Sturm
Sophomore South Carolina Gamecocks’ guard P.J. Dozier has hired an agent and will officially enter the 2017 NBA Draft.
The South Carolina Gamecocks manufactured one of the greatest NCAA Tournament runs of all time, as they navigated past the No. 3 seeded Baylor Bears, No. 2 seeded Duke Blue Devils, and No. 4 seeded Florida Gators en route to a spot in the 2017 Final Four.
Despite losing to the Gonzaga Bulldogs with a chance to go to the National Championship on the line, Frank Martin’s team defied expectations all season long and carried a chip on their shoulder into the postseason. This success was not a fluke, but a culmination of recruiting, player development, and coaching that should continue to develop down the road.
Unfortunately for the Gamecocks, several players who had an impact on the 2016-17 Final Four run will no longer be with the team heading into 2017-18.
P.J. Dozier, who was second on the team in scoring, has signed an agent and officially will be a part of the 2017 NBA Draft. Many mock drafts do not have Dozier predicted to be drafted at all, but I would expect that to change after his declaration and teams watch a little but more of him. Dozier did a little bit of everything for South Carolina, averaging 13.9 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game, 2.8 assists per game, and 1.7 steals per game – which is exceptionally impressive on a team dominated by a college basketball superstar like Sindarius Thornwell.
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South Carolina will likely spend next season towards the bottom of the SEC, but Gamecocks’ fans should not worry about it too much. Martin has this team on the right track, and one or two more years of solid recruiting should lead this team to a permanent place on the NCAA Tournament bubble year in and year out.