Morris Ugusuk: 'It felt like I belong' at South Carolina
Even though he was being recruited by schools thousands of miles and a literal ocean away, Morris Ugusuk always knew what he was looking for in a college. He found that in South Carolina.
The Gamecocks’ consistency and approach to his recruitment was always the big thing, and ultimately that won out.
Ugusuk committed late last week with the plan of enrolling over the summer as part of the 2023 recruiting class.
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“The relationship had with the staff,” Ugusuk told GamecockCentral. “And that it felt like I belong there.”
On3 rates Ugusuk as a three-star prospect and the No. 18 combo guard in the 2024 class. South Carolina is looking at him as a point guard with the hopes of him running the team during his career with the Gamecocks.
He’ll join a South Carolina staff returning a few key pieces from last season. And a group bringing in an older, more experienced transfer portal class.
“I hope I can help the team and build on what they are building and achieve their goals,” Ugusuk said.
Last season (21 games), Ugusuk averaged 12.3 points and 4.6 assists per game. He shot 44.1 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from three. He hauled in 3.9 rebounds and picked up 1.4 steals with 2.5 turnovers per game.
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Ugusuk enrolls trying to learn from older, veteran players like Ta’Lon Cooper, Jacobi Wright, Meechie Johnson and others.
He hopes to redshirt in 2023 to be ready for 2024, getting his body right and ready to play a major role as a redshirt freshman.
“I think my strengths are my unselfishness,” Ugusuk said, “and my playmaking abilities.
Ugusuk plays with Omnia Basketball Academy and committed to South Carolina last week with his teammate Okku Federiko.
Federiko–a forward who averaged 10 points and 8.9 rebounds for Omnia in nine games last year–will stay in the 2024 class and enroll next summer.
On3 considers him a three-star prospect and the No. 137 player for his class.
“Love it. I love playing with Okku. (He’s) like my brother,” Ugusuk said. “This the first year we played together and I can’t wait to play with him again.”
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South Carolina also has a 2023 recruiting class that includes two more enrolling freshmen in Collin Murray-Boyles and Arden Conyers along with three currently-committed transfers.
Murray-Boyles, who grew up in Columbia, played his final high school season at Wasatch (Utah) Academy where he had a standout senior year.
The 6-foot-8 forward finished third in the NIBC, arguably the best high school conference in the country, in scoring (280 points) and points per game (15.0) on 69.5 percent shooting.
He also led the league in rebounding with 105 boards while averaging a league-best 8.8 per game.
Because of that, he soared into the top 100 of the On3 rankings. He sits currently as a four-star and at No. 99 overall.
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The On3 Industry ranking–which is a weighted average of all four major recruiting services–has Murray-Boyles as a four-star prospect and the No. 106 player in the class.
Arden Conyers, a sharp-shooting wing out of Westwood (S.C.) High School is the other freshman scheduled to enroll this summer.
On3 considers Conyers a three-star prospect and he checks in at No. 263 in the On3 Industry rankings.
South Carolina also has a transfer portal class that currently consists of point guard Cooper (Minnesota), forward Stephen Clark (The Citadel) and wing Myles Stute (Vanderbilt).
