NCAA Basketball: Top 10 players to wear jersey No. 5 in 2023-24 season

7. Meechie Johnson Jr. (South Carolina)

After getting very little playing time in two seasons at Ohio State, Johnson made the decision to transfer to South Carolina in 2022. He joined new head coach Lamont Paris at a Gamecocks program that hadn’t exactly been known for recent basketball success. Fast forward two seasons and we’ve seen Johnson develop into a talented all-around player at South Carolina, fresh off quite the junior year for both him and the school.

Johnson averaged 14.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in another fine effort with the Gamecocks, with the best shooting and scoring numbers of his career. The numbers don’t jump off the page, but he was named Second Team All-SEC as the leading scorer on a Gamecocks team that had a massive revival. South Carolina won 26 games, finished 2nd in the SEC, and returned to the Big Dance, with Johnson certainly being a big part of those accomplishments.

Johnson helped key a hot start to the season for the Gamecocks, scoring 29 against Notre Dame and 26 in a tough battle with rival Clemson. Among his notable efforts in league play was a 24-point outing in a win over Mississippi State and dropping 25 on Florida late in the year. While their time in the Big Dance was short-lived, Johnson did have 24 points in the season-ending loss to Oregon and will now look to replicate that success as he transfers back to Ohio State for next year.