Everything Shane Beamer said at halftime of South Carolina-Mississippi State men's basketball game

Shane Beamer spoke to the media during halftime of the South Carolina men’s basketball team’s game against Mississippi State on Saturday. Here’s everything he had to say.

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On Beamer’s contract extension

“(I’m) extremely fortunate, very blessed, so thankful to something Coach (Ray) Tanner started working on back at the end of the season. It’s been a process. I appreciate Coach Tanner, and then (Athletics Director) Jeremiah (Donati) coming in and jumping in, as well – and (University President) Dr. (Michael) Amiridis and (Board of Trustees Chair) Thad Westbrook and the Board of Trustees. (I’m) beyond grateful for their trust in me.

“Emily and my family, we love living here, love this state, love this community, love being a Gamecock. And (I’m) just really, really excited about that and excited about the future, as well.”

On whether Beamer envisioned himself making $8 million as football coach

“No, I didn’t. But this has been a thing where I love what I do. It doesn’t feel like a job, and I certainly never thought that. It’s surreal, but again, it goes back to how much I love what I do. And it’s not a job. I love being here, and I don’t feel like I’ve ever worked a day in my life.”

On tentative dates for the start of spring practice and the Garnet and Black Spring Game

“The spring game is actually going to be on Friday, April 18. Just the way the calendar fell, we’re going to do a Friday night game this year. That’s also Easter weekend, so, again, before people complain, we tried to do it on Friday night. I get stuff every year about having it the same weekend of the (RBC) Heritage down in Hilton Head. So, now, you can go to the spring game on Friday night, and you can go to Hilton Head on Saturday and Sunday.

“[We’re] just trying to match it up with the transfer portal in the springtime. We have spring recruiting, as well [and] the off-season program. Just the way the calendar fell this year with classes starting and when classes finish, that felt like that was the best time to do it. So, we’re going to do it Friday, April 18.

“As far as a start day [for spring practice], I’m not sure the exact day. It’s the middle of March on a Wednesday, I think is what we’re doing. (Senior Associate Athletics Director for Communications and Public Relations) Steve Fink says it’s the 19th, so Steve knows.”

On building momentum for 2025 by showing trophies to Colonial Life Arena crowd

“Anytime you can come out there, and the crowd’s excited, and you can take three trophies out on the court with you that you won this season, it’s a good thing. We’ve got a lot of recruits that are on campus today that, as soon as I leave this game, we’ll get back to visiting with over at the facility, that I’ve been with all morning. I’ve been on the road, been super busy since the bowl game and out on the road recruiting. We’ve got one more week on the road. But being on the road recruiting in high schools, there’s a lot of excitement and energy. And then, seeing that today in here, as well, is another example of that.”

On how Beamer handles success

“You learn from everyone that you’ve been around. And for us, it’s just going to be to continue to work. Last year, at this time, not many people had high expectations for us. Probably not many people thought we’d be sitting here talking about the things that we’re talking about right now.

“But you also understand that every year is different. Certainly, we want to continue to build on the momentum of last year, but understand that, also, it’s a new year, and it’s starting over, and we have to replace a lot. So, as far as handling success, it’s not being complacent, just continuing to work, and understanding that every year is a new year.

“I mean, life comes at you fast. One of you guys in this huddle right here wrote an article last summer about, ‘Can we even be competitive in the new SEC?’ And then, the same guy two weeks ago did the predictions for 2025 and has us going 10-2. So, it’s just one of those things that life comes at you fast, and you’ve got to understand that humility is a week away. And we’re just trying to continue to work.”

[Win tickets: South Carolina-Texas A&M MBB]

On Bam Martin-Scott deciding to declare for the NFL Draft

“Yeah, Bam (Martin-Scott) certainly wanted to kind of pursue [an additional year of eligibility]. That’s something that we talked about down at the bowl game, and we wanted to pursue that. And then, the more we looked into it, realized it was going to be an uphill battle. We felt like there was a chance, but with classes having already started here when the NCAA was going to make a decision, the timing was getting more and more complicated.

“I think he’s going to have a chance to play the next level. He knew that he wanted to come back, but I think he just said, ‘You know what, I’m kind of tired of dealing with it. Let’s just move on and get ready for the NFL.'”

On how communicative the NCAA was about Martin-Scott’s eligibility status

“I think they were good. It’s a better question for compliance. I wasn’t really in constant communication with the NCAA – compliance was handling that. But I think they were good. It’s hard to keep up with a lot of stuff with the NCAA right now. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. Just, recruiting calendars, it’s constantly changing, but I had a couple of other head coaches in college that reached out to me who have players in the same situation as Bam. I think we were all on the same page and kind of hearing the same thing.”

On whether Nyck Harbor is focusing on football or indoor track

“He’s solely focusing on football right now. And that was Nyck (Harbor)‘s decision. That was something that he talked to us about. We had some conversations around the bowl, after the bowl, within the last couple of weeks as far as what he wanted to do. I think he realized that he did a lot of really good things in track last year. But missing spring practice – I don’t want to say, set him back. But it was more of a challenge to be ready for the season.

“I think he just wanted to really focus on football. Not that track’s over, but, right now, that’s where his focus is – it’s just football. And, again, that was his decision. That wasn’t anything we told him.”

On whether Harbor will rejoin the track team during outdoor season

“I don’t know that right now. He’s wanting to focus on spring practice and football and developing there. That’s kind of where we are right now.”

On how much Harbor’s late-season success on gridiron factored into that decision

“I think a lot. He certainly played really well and made some big plays as the year went on and got better as the year went on – there’s no question about it. And I think he realizes he has a big upside, big future in football, if he can continue to progress. But he also understands that there’s a small window of time before your college career is over, as well, and he wants to capitalize on that.”

On whether Beamer has talked with Illinois head coach Bret Bielema after Citrus Bowl

“We have. It was fine. We had a conversation, and it was very cordial. (We) agreed to disagree on a couple of things, but it was good. (Bowl games aren’t supposed to be snippy like that) – they’re not. That’s in the past, and (I) got a lot of respect for their program and him. They had a great season, won 10 games.

“To his credit, he reached out to me a week or so after the game. We had a good conversation and kept that between us. But, again, (we) agreed on some things and agreed to disagree on some things, as well.”

On general managers in college football

“It’s complicated because everybody’s like, ‘Hire a GM, just like the NFL.’ Well, the GM in the NFL is in charge of everything – like, the whole program – and the head coach coaches. GM’s in college, it’s basically NIL, transfer portal and recruiting. Well, that’s what (Director of Player Personnel and Recruiting) Darren (Uscher) does. So, in my mind, yeah – he maybe doesn’t have the title of GM, (but he’s) the GM.

“I talked to a GM in the NFL today about something. They’re worried about a lot of stuff, not just what a GM in college does, if that makes sense. So yes, to answer your question, probably by title, that’s what he does. But I think people are sometimes quick to throw out the word ‘GM’ and think it’s just like the NFL. And it’s not like the NFL.”

[Win tickets: South Carolina-Auburn WBB]

On how South Carolina performed in early transfer portal period

“I think we did a good job of it. We were very targeted as far as what we were going to try and do. You guys know this, we lost our top four defensive tackles, if you throw (DeAndre) Jules in that. We lost our center; we lost both guards. (And) we have great confidence in the young men that are in our program. But that’s the heart of your offense and defense that left, so we knew that we needed to increase the depth at all those positions.

“At, really, every position, we were looking to add if they were the right fit. And I like the guys we brought in. I think we brought in guys that have upside, guys that love football. We were willing to walk away from some guys that I don’t think quite fit what we were going to be about, and we figured that out during the process of trying to recruit them. But I like where we are.

“I like the freshman class. A lot of these decisions that we made in regards to the portal as far as positions that we didn’t pursue heavily were because of freshmen that we have on our team. Every receiver that went the portal, my first question to (wide receivers coach) Mike Furrey was, ‘Do you feel like this guy is going to be better than the freshman we have, or better by the end of the season than the guys we have in our program?’ And if the answer was, ‘No, I don’t think he will be,’ then we didn’t even pursue them. We have a lot of excitement, a lot of belief in the young freshmen that we have that fueled our decisions when it comes to the portal in a lot of ways.

“I like where we are. I think we’re at 84 (scholarships) right now if, I’m not mistaken. We’ll see what happens after spring practice and all that, as well. But a lot of the decisions that we made in regards to the portal in the last month were, ‘Let’s give these guys on our team an opportunity here in spring practice, see where we are.’ And then, we have a better idea with some flexibility at the end of spring practice as far as what we do next.”

On whether Beamer likes seeing South Carolina in “way-too-early” top 25 rankings

“It beats seeing my name on hot seat lists and not ranked. I’ll be honest, you do. It’s one of those [things where] you want to be at a place with high expectations. You want to be at a place where there’s momentum and confidence in the team each and every year. But also understanding that none of that matters because all these projections that people do, that you guys do, it’s based on how the season went before – and, usually, ‘Do they return their quarterback?’ So, everybody thought we were going to stink this year because we lost our quarterback, and we went 5-7 in ’23. Now, everybody thinks we’re going to be really good, and we have a chance to be, because we return our quarterback, and we won nine games in the regular season.

“So, no, I do like that. But it’s also understanding that it’s a lot of new faces. We lost a lot of really good players, but you always want to be in those preseason rankings each and every year. But also, and we’ve talked about it as a team, just understanding that, I went back and just showed the guys a couple of weeks ago in a team meeting literally all the projections from last year. Very few of them were very good about us, as well. Just understanding that (we) worry about what we can control, and that’s just our guys working really really hard each and every day to be the best team we can be.”

On competition in South Carolina’s running back room

“Every position we have, there’s a competition. I’ve told our players this; I’ve told the transfers, recruits. No one has been promised anything except the opportunity to compete.

“When I watched Rahsul (Faison), l love his story. I know a lot of you guys know his story. The journey he’s been on to get here – it’s pretty impressive. I’m excited for all you guys to meet these new guys soon.

“So, I liked his story. I like what he’s about as a person. And then, when you watch the tape, I thought he played really, really well against some of the best teams that Utah State played last year. (Against) Utah, Southern Cal, he played really well; (against) Boise (State), he played really well in those games. I think he brings a threat out of the backfield. I think we’ve got to do a better job this year with running backs in the passing game, in my opinion. He brings an ability to not just run with physicality and maybe run you over, but also make you miss out in space. So, yeah, he’s got a lot of upside.

“We’re really fired up about Oscar (Adaway). He did some nice things in that bowl game. That run that he had on that fourth down was a really, really good run. He did some nice things out of the backfield. We’re really fired up about Jawarn Howell. You guys saw some of that in the bowl game, as well. And then, Matthew Fuller – a young guy that we think has a big upside, as well. So, that’s a group.

“You guys have probably heard me say it before – you need more than one, you need more than two, you need more than three. I was coaching at Virginia Tech one year, and we lost our top four running backs to season-ending injuries by the end of the season. So, that’s just a position that has a lot of wear and tear, and we want to continue to increase the competition at. I like that entire group, and I’m really excited about Rahsul being here.”

On ensuring a miscommunication issue like that of Nick Emmanwori doesn’t happen again

“I haven’t really dug deep on it. If I did, I probably wouldn’t tell you. I thought we had done a good job of it leading into the game. And we clearly didn’t do a good enough job from a communication standpoint because there was a breakdown in there somewhere.

“But, again, I appreciate all he (Nick Emmanwori) did for our program and the plays that he made for us this season. If everybody had to do it all over again, I think both sides would probably handle it a little bit differently than what happened.”

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