South Carolina gets its point guard! MEAC Player of the Year flips to Gamecocks: 'It felt like a no-brainer'
South Carolina has been searching for a transfer portal point guard to round out its recruiting class and on Sunday afternoon the Gamecocks got their guy.
Senior Norfolk State transfer guard Jamarii Thomas — the MEAC Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year — announced a pledge to the Gamecocks, flipping his commitment from VCU.
The 6-foot, 185-pounder led the Spartans with 16.9 points, 3.8 assists and 2.1 steals this past season while starting 30 of 33 games. He also shot a career-high 38 percent from 3-point range. He also earned first-team all-defense honors.
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The On3 Industry Ranking, an average of the rankings from On3, 247Sports and Rivals, considers Thomas the No. 61 point guard and No. 298 overall prospect in the portal.
Thomas, who has one year of eligibility left, was targeted by VCU, Iowa, Oklahoma State, and at least one other SEC school.
But after a brief commitment to VCU following a visit last week, Thomas flipped his pledge to the Gamecocks after taking a trip to the school this weekend.
“It’s always been a dream to play close to home and obviously in the biggest conference of college basketball, which is the SEC. People could say whatever, but SEC is definitely the best basketball conference. It was crazy because we have some family in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Columbia, and Charlotte. It’s big for me to play near home in the biggest conference.
“I had a great visit with my mom and my little brother. They were very welcoming. The facilities, athletic trainer, strength coach, and everybody, the academic lady I met, everybody was just so genuine and loving. It felt like home and it made sense for me because I feel like I can play at the highest level and they believe I can too. It was just a combo of things that made sense for me and my family. It felt like a no-brainer.”
With the addition of Thomas, South Carolina has likely rounded out its class for this recruiting cycle.
The Gamecocks have been in the process of replacing starters Ta’Lon Cooper, Meechie Johnson, and B.J. Mack from last year’s NCAA Tournament team. Cooper and Mack are out of eligibility while Johnson transferred back home to play for Ohio State.
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South Carolina landed Palmetto State native post players Nick Pringle and Jordan Butler out of the portal within the last couple of weeks and was looking for a portal guard to round out the class.
“The two transfers they got are really big,” Thomas said. “Pringle and the guy from Missouri, Jordan Butler. They’re great transfers. Just them letting me know they were coming in and all they were missing was a point guard. They let me know the role I would have, a big role. And, you know, the winning program, man. I just want to be a part of a winning program.
“They told me I was going to come in and play a lot. They need a leader, a vocal leader, which is what I am. Somebody that plays defense, which is what I do. I love defense. They just want me to play my game. They’re going to let me be free — within the system — but they’re going to let me be free and let me be me. That’s a huge and important piece for me and my family.”
This weekend’s visit allowed Thomas and his family the opportunity to spend ample time with head coach Lamont Paris, which appeared to be another key factor in his decision to commit to the Gamecocks.
“Man, Coach Paris was amazing for me and my mom and little brother,” Thomas said. “He treated everybody as if he was just a regular person, which everybody knows he’s not. But he’s definitely a genuine person. As soon as the portal hit, he hit me up. We hit it off right away.
“He sees what I see in being focused, and he likes it. I haven’t always had it like this, so coming from Norfolk State and not having as many resources, he was just telling me when I give you this chance, don’t get complacent. I completely understand because I know how some people can get complacent if they’ve been there all their life.
“But me, knowing who I am and where I came from and how I was raised, I just know I’m always going to have that hunger. He kind of senseed from the beginning. So we hit it off, off the bat. He’s a genuine person, loving, low-key funny, with some jokes. Like I said, it was a no-brainer, man. He’s so genuine and a good guy for sure.”
South Carolina’s 2024 high school class features three signees: Lexington (S.C.) four-star guard Cam Scott, Baxter (Ky.) Harlan three-star guard Trent Noah, and Omnia Basketball Academy (Helsinki) three-star forward Okku Federiko.
A Greensboro, N.C. native who won a state championship at The Burlington School, Thomas began his career at UNC Wilmington before playing this last season at Norfolk State.
