South Carolina basketball: 2017-18 preview for the Gamecocks

Key Reserves

This is where Felder’s absence really hurts the team. He could’ve started as well as been a sixth man, but now there’s little to no proven offense off the bench. The freshmen expected to contribute each are ranked outside of 300 for the class of 2017 per 247 Sports Composite but are still raw in terms of basketball.

FR Justin Minaya

The 6’7 forward was a great rebounder at his position in high school, averaging over 11 boards a night. Being under 200 pounds, however, makes him more of a wing at the Division I level until his body grows out more.

FR Felipe Haase

The Chilean forward averaged 19.3 ppg and 12.5 rpg at Miami Christian High School. At 250 pounds, Hase should be one of the primary backups for the starting bigs.

SR Frank Booker

Originally starting at Oklahoma, Booker averaged just under six points a game at Florida Atlantic University before coming to South Carolina via grad transfer. He might have the better size to start at the three but is he talented enough to warrant more minutes over the younger guys?

SO Khadim Gueye

Another departure from last year’s team was Seede Keita, who transferred out to find more playing time. He had around ten minutes played a night, which will likely go to Gueye. The seven footer should have his minutes increase from seven minutes last season to at least double digits as long as he progresses.