Lamont Paris: SEC program offered Collin Murray-Boyles $2.5 million to enter transfer portal

Collin Murray-Boyles has been a phenomenal piece of Lamont Paris’ South Carolina team over the past two seasons. Evidently, another program in the SEC has taken notice, and they’re trying to poach the forward away from Columbia.

During an appearance on SEC This Morning with Peter Burns, Paris revealed there’s been some tampering going on regarding Murray-Boyles. According to the Gamecocks leader, “There’s a school in the SEC that was in the tournament that offered Collin Murray-Boyles $2.5M to play for them next year,” Paris proclaimed.

That’s a bombshell from the South Carolina head coach. Unfortunately, the SEC had a record 14 bids in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, so it’s difficult to narrow down which team is guilty of courting Murray-Boyles. The Gamecocks and LSU were the only teams to miss the dance, so the Tigers are innocent, at least.

While the idea of a rival team attempting to bring Murray-Boyles into the fold while he’s committed to South Carolina sounds like something that could be punishable, Paris relented that there might not be any repercussions. It’s simply an unfortunate ripple-effect of what NIL combined with the NCAA Transfer Portal has created.

“I think, one, is there any teeth to any potential repercussions for doing that? Probably not,” Paris continued, via SEC This Morning. “Is it provable? Would we have to subpoena records to say, the phone call happened at this time. I don’t think it’s enforceable.”

All told, Murray-Boyles was tremendous for South Carolina during the 2024-25 season. The forward averaged 16.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists. That’s a stark improvement from his 2023-24 numbers. The Gamecocks would love to keep him, but he could turn his attention to the NBA Draft later in 2025.

On3’s James Fletcher III ranked as the No. 7 overall prospect during his NBA Draft Big Board 2.0: “After choosing not to enter his name last year, Collin Murray-Boyles immediately became one of the most intriguing players in this class,” Fletcher III stated.

“He has done nothing but build hype around him since, even as one of the class’s most controversial prospects. He brings elite defensive tools and versatility, showing offensive growth, but requires plenty projection given his current role and what NBA teams will likely ask him to do.”

Time will tell what the future holds for Collin Murray-Boyles. Regardless, it’s evident he’s been something special on the court, and he’ll be loyal to South Carolina to the end.