Some New Year's Resolutions for South Carolina basketball

South Carolina basketball will begin SEC play this weekend. The Gamecocks are 10-3 and had some ups and downs in non-conference play.

As 2025 begins, many are making New Year’s resolutions. If the Gamecocks could make some New Year’s resolutions, what might they be?

(For a look at the hypothetical New Year’s resolutions for South Carolina football, read here.)

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Don’t look ahead

Arguably the most important thing Lamont Paris’ team can do as the calendar shifts to SEC play is remember not to look at the schedule.

There’s no way around it, what South Carolina has to face over the next 18 games is DAUNTING. USC faces the most difficult remaining strength of schedule in the country. There are no “easy games” on the slate this year. That is true regarding the entire SEC, but the Gamecocks have the toughest road of all 16 teams.

But the Gamecocks can’t get caught looking at how difficult things are. Instead, as Coach Paris has taught since arriving in Columbia, they must handle their business one game at a time. That starts on Saturday against a ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs team on the road in Starkville.

Shoot the ball like they’re capable

South Carolina has some good shooters on the 2024-2025 roster. However, the overall team numbers don’t always show that. So far this season, the Gamecocks are knocking down just 35% of their outside shots. That mark isn’t bad (in fact, it’s better than last year’s percentage), but it is decidedly average.

Coach Paris’ team has enough good shooters to make their perimeter shots at a higher rate. With the difficulty of their schedule, pushing that number closer to 40% is probably necessary to get the Gamecocks in the NCAA Tournament picture.

Myles Stute, arguably the purest shooter on the team, has struggled. After making 39% of his 3-point jumpers last season, he’s made just 34% this year. And, outside of a 5-for-7 performance in the Clemson win, that number is just 29%. He’s shown enough in the past to expect his percentages to improve, and his Gamecocks need that to happen.

4-star freshman Cam Scott also hasn’t knocked down shots. The talented youngster has made just 16% of his 3-pointers. That has to improve, as well.

Despite their numbers, Stute and Scott are really good shooters. So are sophomores Morris Ugusuk and Jordan Butler; the duo is knocking down over 45% of their perimeter shots. Jacobi Wright and Jamari Thomas have shot right around where they should at 38% and 39%, respectively. If Stute and Scott improve to match their shooting ability, the others continue shooting well, and Collin Murray-Boyles and Zach Davis continue making occasional 3-pointers to keep opponents honest, it will go a long way for the Gamecock offense.

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Do the little things consistently

One of Lamont Paris’ biggest criticisms about his team this season has been inconsistent effort.

After a season-opening loss to North Florida, he lamented that he “won’t coach effort” as players have to play hard at all times. He’s brought that point up a few times this season regarding the team’s defensive rotations and rebounding fight, too.

On the flip side, though, he’s also been very complimentary of his players’ above-average efforts at other times. Following the Gamecocks’ lopsided win over Boston College in the SEC/ACC Challenge, Paris lauded a play in which Nick Pringle dove to the floor. He also loved the excitement the play earned for the bench, specifically applauding Myles Stute.

South Carolina basketball needs that type of effort all the time.

Rebounding has been up and down through the season’s first 13 games, too. As a result, the Gamecocks are 12th in the league in rebounding. The team has lost the rebounding battle in all three of their losses this season.

The Gamecocks have plenty of talent on the roster. However, the team isn’t loaded with “5-star talent” and can’t afford inconsistent effort. The 2023-2024 team that won a school-record 26 games was known for its effort, discipline, and team rebounding efforts. A little more of that will be needed to get Carolina back to the NCAA Tournament.

Get some defensive stops with stocks, not just missed shots

All Lamont Paris teams play above their heads on the defensive end. Some of that is Coach Paris’ scheme and some is his ability to motivate effort on that end of the floor. However, one thing that sometimes costs South Carolina on the defensive end is their inability to earn steals and blocks.

The Gamecocks should resolve to get their hands on more basketballs.

So far this season, USC is averaging just 4.9 steals and 3.6 blocks per game. That’s just 8.5 stocks (steals + blocks) per game. They are last in the conference in steals (by a wide margin), second-to-last in blocked shots, and last in combined stocks as the only team in the SEC with less than 11 per game. The bulk of that production comes from Collin Murray-Boyles, a player who averages 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks. (Jamarii Thomas also averages 1.4 steals, and Nick Pringle blocks 0.9 shots per game, too).

When teams don’t earn stops with blocks and steals, it means opposing teams are getting too many shots off. Sure, the Gamecocks are a solid defensive group that forces a fair amount of poor shots. But steals and blocks are stops that often come with a fastbreak opportunity attached. USC needs more opportunities to run as they are tied for 254th nationally in fastbreak scoring (8.54 points per game).

Coach Paris preaches sound defense over gambling for the basketball, and that is a large reason why the Gamecocks have success on that end of the floor. However, while still holding to their principles, South Carolina needs to make more impact plays on the defensive end.

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Keep getting to the foul line…but make the freebies

One of the best traits about this year’s South Carolina basketball team is their ability to get to the free throw line. The Gamecocks are 16th nationally in free throw attempts this season. However, despite getting to the line a ton, USC is 247th in the country in free throw percentage. So far, Carolina has knocked down just 69% of their foul shots.

That’s got to be better in SEC play.

Getting to the line is great as it gives a team the opportunity for easy points and puts opponents in foul trouble. However, not converting on those easy opportunities hurts more than one might realize. The difference between South Carolina’s free throw percentage and the top percentage in the SEC (Oklahoma at 81.9%) represents over three points per game at USC’s pace of attempts (and that doesn’t include the extra opportunities lost via the Gamecocks missing the front-end of 1-and-1 opportunities).

Carolina’s loss to North Florida, the most damaging on their resume, came by three points. In that contest, the Gamecocks went 14-25 from the charity stripe. If that percentage improved to SEC league average, USC would have made four more foul shots. In this hypothetical vacuum that doesn’t include other game factors, a 74-71 loss becomes a 75-74 win.

With the difficulty of playing in the SEC, South Carolina has to win as many of their close games as possible. Last year’s team went a remarkable 8-3 in games decided by five points or fewer. Missing too many foul shots will make replicating that feat impossible.

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