South Carolina has a 'superstar talent' in sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles

South Carolina has yet to win a game in the Southeastern Conference this season. The Gamecocks are 0-9 in league play (10-12 overall), losing by an average of 11.3 points per outing.

But head coach Lamont Paris has come close multiple times at pulling off major upsets. South Carolina came up short 66-63 against No. 1 Auburn at home on Jan. 11. The Gamecocks suffered another loss by the same score to Vanderbilt the very next game. They then lost by a single point to No. 6 Florida on Jan. 22, following that up with an overtime loss to No. 22 Mississippi State a few days after. It was just this past Saturday that South Carolina nearly knocked off No. 10 Texas A&M before falling by a final score of 76-72.

There is no in-between with this Gamecocks crew. It’s either a close loss or a blowout defeat. South Carolina lost by 35 in its first matchup against Mississippi State, by 20 to Alabama, by 20 to Oklahoma, and by 11 to Georgia. Kentucky fans will be hoping for the latter when the two teams go head-to-head at Rupp Arena on Saturday, but this season has felt unpredictable.

“It’s interesting. You see, in this league, there’s some teams that really struggle, and then all of a sudden they’re winning, and some teams that are winning, all of a sudden they struggle,” Kentucky head coach Mark Pope said Thursday. “And it’s because it’s close. Because there’s a lot of good teams in this league, and (South Carolina is) certainly one of them. They have superstar talent. They’re really well-coached. They got toughness and discipline. They had every good team in this league on the ropes. They had Auburn on the ropes. They had Florida on the ropes. So a good team, well-coached, just like every single team in this league.”

South Carolina has the size to stay competitive against better SEC teams but has lacked the depth of talent to pull off these potential upsets. Paris’ team ranks last in the SEC in offense and turnover percentage. They aren’t much better on defense. Only two Gamecock players average double-figures in scoring. That being said, one of them is a future NBA player — and he’s the one making all these games so tight down the stretch.

That would be 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles, who has quickly developed himself into a major draft prospect. ESPN’s latest Mock Draft projects Murray-Boyles to the Brooklyn Nets with the 19th pick in this year’s draft. Pope is familiar with the native of South Carolina, who finished his high school career in Utah before returning home for college.

“He’s awesome. Like he’s really, really skilled,” Pope said of the star sophomore. “He’s got unbelievable hands. He uses his body really well. He’s got a great touch around the rim. But I think his hands and his feet are really special. You see him kinda play with the ball and it’s pretty fun. Him passing out of the post is actually really fun.”

Murray-Boyles leads South Carolina in scoring with 15.5 points per outing. He tacks on 8.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.4 blocks in his 30.7 minutes per game. His 59.7 field goal percentage is tops in the entire SEC. Those numbers have dipped only slightly during conference play, but Murray-Boyles has become South Carolina’s go-to option this season and it’s a role he’s filled well in spite of his team’s lack of success. He’s also an agile and active defender who can effectively defend multiple positions.

“Most of us are — for a lack of a better way to say it — doing the game,” Pope added. “We’re trying to do what we’re supposed to do in the game. And then there’s some guys you watch like oh he’s playing. Like (Murray-Boyles is) playing. He’s actually teasing the game. He’s trying to move all the pieces. He’s a terrific player.”

Priorities one, two, and three for Kentucky will be to slow down Murray-Boyles as much as possible.