NCAA Basketball: Ranking the 7 options for transfer guard Jermaine Couisnard
While all of the attention is rightfully surrounding the top stars currently in the NCAA Basketball portal, there are also a bunch of quality double-digit scoring contributors that will have an impact at their respective new locations. One of those players to watch is Jermaine Couisnard, a career 11.6 ppg and 3.2 rpg in three seasons at South Carolina.
After redshirting his redshirt season, Couisnard started 16 of 30 games as a sophomore, producing a career-high 12.1 ppg on 39% shooting from the field and 29% from three-point range. Those numbers remained consistent for the next couple of seasons, averaging 10.1 ppg as a junior and 12.0 ppg this past season.
Efficiency and overall consistency have limited the impact that Couisnard has on the court but when he’s on, the 6’4 combo guard can takeover games. In the final five regular-season games, he averaged 21.4 ppg, including a career-high 33 points against LSU.
South Carolina transfer Jermaine Couisnard has cut his list down to DePaul, Oregon, Maryland, UMass, Houston, Ohio State, and Gonzaga.
— PortalUpdates (@portal_updates) April 11, 2022
Couisnard, a 6’4” junior averaged 12 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game this season.
Teams have been interested in Couisnard ever since head coach Frank Martin was fired at South Carolina and he entered the portal. And now, we have seven programs in the running for the senior guard. Here’s how I would rank the teams in terms of best fits.
7. UMass Minutemen
The option to follow Coach Martin to UMass makes a little sense if the relationship is that strong and Couisnard could dominate the Atlantic 10. Plus, a backcourt pairing of him and returning leading scorer Noah Fernandes would be a quality match. The Minutemen have already added a couple of South Carolina players in forward Wildens Leveque and rising freshman TaQuan Woodley.
The problem would be that even with this Gamecock joining UMass, would still be behind on paper the likes of Saint Louis and Dayton in a league that provides 2-3 max to the NCAA Tournament. Compared to the other options, it’s hard to envision Couisnard going down a level to not likely make the NCAA Tournament.