South Carolina superlatives: players vote on best shooter, passer, more on team
Players were asked a combination of questions about some superlatives on the team. The goal was to find the best passer, best shooter, best defender, best shot blocker, best dunker and best trash talker on the team.
The answers were mixed on nearly all of them.
Four different guys were brought up as South Carolina’s best passer on the team, with Meechie Johnson picking up most of the votes.
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“He sees like two steps ahead so he makes these laser passes to shooters and they’re almost every time wide open,” Josh Gray said.
The Ohio State transfer is expected to anchor the point guard position this season and was picked with a couple more votes than the next in line.
“It’s crazy, man. I undervalued his passing from the first day I got here,” Hayden Brown said. “He proved me wrong. He’s a phenomenal passer.”
After him, Jacobi Wright–who started at point guard a few games last season–was mentioned along with freshman Zachary Davis.
The lone forward on the team who got votes was Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk.
Shooter, though, was a two-horse race between Johnson and shooting guard Chico Carter Jr., who is in his second season with the Gamecocks.
Johnson picked up six votes while Carter wasn’t far behind with three.
Ja’Von Benson was also wildly considered as South Carolina’s best shot-blocker on the team. The only other person to pick up votes was freshman GG Jackson.
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“He can jump out of the gym and has a long wingspan,” Gray said of Benson. “Weakside he trusts his teammates 100 percent. A lot of people I know would hesitate to help…He’s willing to help 100 percent. That can be a liability sometimes but right now it’s a great asset to have.”
Benson hasn’t played much in two seasons at South Carolina but is considered by his teammates the team’s best rim protector.
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“Timing and athleticism too. At this stage, a person can get up quicker,” Benson said. “They have more combos to get by you. You have to be quick on your feet.”
Jackson, though, finished tied in votes as the team’s best dunker. He finished tied with Daniel Hankins-Sanford in the voting. Benson also picked up a few mentions.
“The kid’s got a crazy dunk package,” Brown said of Jackson. “But as far as crazy, sheer athleticism, I think Daniel and Ja’von have crazy bounce. My jaw just drops every time I see them jump.”
The two most contentious ones with no real favorite was best defender and best trash talker.
Players voted eight different players as the team’s best defender with Wright having the most votes. Meechie Johnson, Hayden Brown, Bosmans-Verdonk, Hankins-Sanford, Zach Davis, Benson and Jackson were all mentioned.
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“Zach is a pesky one,” Gray said. “I’m in the post and him just digging in and getting his hands in there cause of his long arms. It’s a problem. He gambles a lot but he has a knack for picking the ball.”
In terms of trash talkers, Carter and Hankins-Sanford were tied as the team’s top two vote-getters but Johnson, Bosmans-Verdonk, Davis, Ford Cooper and Gray were all mentioned.
South Carolina is in the thick of preseason practice now with a few events before the season starts Nov. 8 against South Carolina State.
The Gamecocks will have Garnet and Black Madness Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. then host Mars Hill Nov. 2.
