Meechie Johnson, Ta'Lon Cooper share why they worked so well together in South Carolina's backcourt
Meechie Johnson didn’t recall where it happened, but he remembered what they talked about when they first met.
Last summer, Johnson met his new teammate Ta’Lon Cooper for the first time. And almost immediately, they had hit it off.
“I remember the first time that we had met, we talked just about what we were going to do,” Johnson told GamecockCentral. “I mean, we said it in the locker room, we talked about this. Obviously, we came up short, but we talked about this.”
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“This” referring to change. Turning the tide. Making South Carolina men’s basketball a respectable program. Helping the Gamecocks get back to the postseason. They did that and more.
In just one season together, the two guards helped South Carolina win 26 games and get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. Though their time together has come to an end, they ended up both making each other better players on the court.
But how did two players, with almost complete opposite personalities and play styles, make it work?
“Well, Meechie’s really aggressive. I’m more of just a pass-first type of guy,” Cooper told GamecockCentral. “Meechie’s always in there telling me, ‘Ta’Lon, you’ve got to be more aggressive, you’ve got to be more aggressive.’ Just trying to add a little more aggression to my game, trying to find my shots here and there. But that’s how he helped me.”
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Cooper put up 9.7 points per game on a career-best 47.5 percent shooting. He also shot 45.3 percent from three-point range, more than six percent better than what he shot for his entire career.
Meanwhile, Johnson struggled at times to find his shot. But he still ended up with a career-best 14.1 points per game on 39.9 percent shooting.
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“Even times where I was probably not confident in myself, like I’d miss four or five in a row, he was able to be there to tell me to keep shooting, keep being aggressive,” Johnson said. “I’d say we’re probably the best backcourt in the SEC, to me. We obviously finished second in the conference, came up short here. But when you look at it all, two players who was all second team conference, could’ve been first team, honestly. It’s just a blessing to be able to share those moments with him on the court.”
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There were plenty of good times that the two shared together as backcourt mates. It was hard for either of them to pinpoint a specific one that stood out. But for Johnson, the upset win over Kentucky back on Jan. 23 will always stand out.
In that game, Johnson shot 5-of-10 from the field with 14 points. But it was Cooper who had the big game, finishing with a season-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
“Honestly, a lot of memories from the Kentucky game,” Johnson said. “Seeing him go off that game was my favorite memory. Seeing him his some crazy shots, that was amazing.”
Though Cooper’s time in Columbia is over, there’s a chance Johnson will return for another year. But either way, this is the end of an important yet short run together at South Carolina.
“It was fun, it was extremely fun,” Cooper said. “I mean, he’s one of a kind. He’s a great guy. He loves basketball, stays in the gym, a hard-working person. Just being in that backcourt, it was extremely blessing to be able to play with Meechie.”
