South Carolina basketball preseason profiles: Lance Piper
Lamont Paris’ South Carolina basketball team begins their season in less than a week. On November 4th, the North Florida Ospreys will travel to Colonial Life Arena for the opener, and the 2024-2025 Gamecock season officially will be underway. In the days leading up to the first game, GamecockCentral will finish profiling each member of the team. Today we will look at walk-on wing Lance Piper.
Lance Piper (Freshman, Shooting Guard/Small Forward, 6’5”, 180 pounds)
Last Season (with the Phelps School Lions): 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists as an unranked prospect in the class of 2025 who reclassified ahead to 2024
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Lance Piper is a walk-on who committed to the Gamecocks last June. He joined the team this summer, and like Austin Herro before him, Piper has some offensive punch to his game that could allow him to see the court more than a typical walk-on player. Herro, who will make his South Carolina debut this season, is now on scholarship. Whether or not that ever happens for Piper remains to be seen.
Physically, Piper shares some resemblance to several other current Gamecocks. A long and thin wing, he matches the body profiles of wings like Cam Scott, Zach Davis, and Arden Conyers. However, as a true freshman and a walk-on, he won’t play a similar role to those players.
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Offensively, Piper is a good shooter from outside. He hasn’t demonstrated the quickest release on film, but he is a good catch-and-shoot player. He also doesn’t mind shooting off the dribble, especially when he can pull up going to his right. Piper’s length (listed at 6’5″) helps him get off clean shots. He doesn’t do it much, but he also has the potential to become an off-the-bounce slasher.
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Defensively, it is hard to know how good or bad Piper can be because he hasn’t played at this level. As an under-recruited player, he doesn’t have a ton of film out there, either. As a decent athlete who is 6’5″ with long arms, there is some physical potential, however.
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Back when he was in middle school, Lance Piper went somewhat viral for dominating a showcase for younger players. If he has any of that type of play in his game, he might make an impact one day in garnet and black. As things stand now, he is not a rotational player and is a legitimate redshirt candidate, albeit one with offensive potential.
Piper and the Gamecocks hope to follow up a record-tying 26-win season and 2nd-place SEC finish with another strong year. Another trip to the NCAA Tournament would mark South Carolina’s first back-to-back berths in the Big Dance since the 1990s.
