Gamecocks ready to put past SEC struggles behind them as conference play begins
It is no secret that the Gamecocks struggled in the 2022-2023 season. After finishing 11-21 (4-14 SEC), South Carolina found itself at the bottom of almost all preseason SEC rankings this season.
South Carolina had a different mindset going into this year with something to prove as the underdogs. As they enter a tough 18-game SEC stretch with a 12-1 record, that mindset remains the same.
“Day in and day out the SEC is a gauntlet and it’s definitely a marathon not a sprint,” forward Myles Stute said. “One of the main things we’ve been harping on is just taking it day by day, practice by practice, game by game and not looking too far ahead of things.”
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Stute brings an interesting perspective to the new and improved Gamecocks. He played them last season as an SEC opponent at Vanderbilt. Last season, the Gamecocks lost to Vanderbilt twice.
“I think playing against South Carolina last year at Vanderbilt I could kind of just tell they weren’t all the way there together as a group fully at this stage in the season,” Stute said. “I think as a group here this year we’re so much further ahead than the group last year in terms of chemistry.”
Much of the team’s improvements in chemistry, maturity and dependability are thanks to the family atmosphere developed by Lamont Paris.
“This group is genuine. On and off the court we really truly love each other and compete for each other everyday,” Stute said. “We’re texting and communicating off the court, ‘You guys want to get in the gym? You guys want to do this together? You guys want to get some food together?’ This is a group that really likes each other.”
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Last season, South Carolina averaged 64.3 points per game, the lowest since the 2011-2012 season. So far in 2023, South Carolina has averaged 75.5 points per game, the highest since 2015-2016.
Guard Meechie Johnson has served as a veteran in the locker room, preparing new players for the hard road ahead. He was here when times were toughest last year. A new mentality has also helped South Carolina slow down and focus on winning one game at a time.
“We really just stay together, we focused on every single game, we haven’t got too caught up in what the team has done or what the record looks like,” Johnson said. We just try to take it game by game and stay together.”
The difference for South Carolina going into conference play this year is an increase in its confidence level.
“A lot of confidence, a lot has to do with the winning record too, being 12-1 and having a great non-conference. You come into conference play as a top three team in the conference we’re just really excited,” Johnson said. “As far as where we are at and confidence, I feel like everyone knows their roles and stuff like that so we’re just really happy as to where we are at as a team right now.”
