It’s been something of a roller coaster for South Carolina under Lamont Paris these last four years, though the recent results are all too familiar. The Gamecocks shocked many by finishing 2nd in the SEC and making the NCAA Tournament in 2024, but they followed that up with a last place finish and last year wasn’t much better. South Carolina finished just 13-19 last season and aren’t exactly returning a host of talent from that team.
A veteran lineup took the court for the Gamecocks last season and we won’t be seeing Meechie Johnson, Kobe Knox, or Mike Sharavjamts again. South Carolina lost a few notable faces into the transfer portal as well, including freshman guard Eli Ellis to Charleston. The cupboard wasn’t completely bare, but the best returning player is Grant Polk, a rising sophomore who put up just under 4 points a game last season.
A great combination of transfers, freshmen, and international pieces has the roster looking much more promising. The Gamecocks are really hoping for big things from 6-10 forward Aleksas Bieliauskas, a decent contributor as a freshman at Wisconsin. They grabbed a nice scoring guard in Shane Blakeney from Drexel and plenty of other depth, including former Texas forward Camden Heide among that group.
The player we’re definitely keeping our eyes on is Kory Mincy. A 6-1 combo guard originally from East Point, Georgia, he put up great numbers as a starting guard at Presbyterian and George Mason the last two seasons. He spent a pair of years at Presbyterian and did great in the Big South before putting up great numbers as a sophomore with the Patriots. Mincy averaged 14.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists as the leading scorer on a 23-win team, claiming Second Team All-A-10 honors.
With this many moving pieces, South Carolina really needs some sort of leadership and stability. Mincy will be one of those important players leading the charge for this new-look Gamecocks squad. He’s shown the ability to play minutes at both backcourt spots and has been a reliable scorer the last two seasons. It remains to be seen how his game will specifically translate into the SEC, but he’ll be sorely needed if South Carolina is going to crawl out of the conference basement.
There’s honestly a lot that needs to go right here for the Gamecocks to have a bounce back season, and one that might save Paris’s job. They need players like Bieliauskas and Polk to take major steps forward as sophomores and for the rotation to really come together early and often. Mincy sure looks like someone who’ll be the top scorer and it’ll be interesting to see what happens with him taking charge.
Add us as a preferred source on Google