Trio of players indicate return to South Carolina in 2023-24
It’s been hinted about during nearly all of South Carolina’s season, but now that it’s over Lamont Paris acknowledged that it’s here.
The Gamecocks are now in roster-building mode. They’ll use the next few months to begin adding pieces to the puzzle in the hopes of drastically improving after an 11-21 season that ended Wednesday night in the SEC Tournament.
And the good news for South Carolina is three key pieces off this year’s team all indicated their likely returns for Paris’s second season, including starting point guard Meechie Johnson.
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“One hundred percent. Coach Paris has a great plan. I know some of these guys will be back too, I feel comfortable here,” Johnson said. “I never would want to play for another coach and I’ll never be in a better situation. It’s great to be here at South Carolina. It’s far from home but everyone has welcomed me like family. There’s no other place I’d rather be. For real.”
Johnson, in his first real season as a college starter, finished the regular season second on the team in scoring (12.7 points), first on the team in assists (3.6) and finished shooting 33 percent from three.
The Ohio State transfer, in the Gamecocks’ final game, scored 13 points on 4-for-13 shooting with five assists to three turnovers.
His fellow backcourt mate Jacobi Wright also told GamecockCentral he was expecting to return next season.
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“I love this school and this fan base. It’s home for me,” he said. “This coaching staff believes in me. I’m going to continue to give it all I got and continue to get better. I love this team and the future.”
Wright, who began the season as a reserve, found his way into the starting lineup and quickly began making an impact.
Over his final eight regular-season games–since being inserted into the starting lineup–Wright averaged 12.3 points, 2.1 assists to 1.8 turnovers while shooting 50.8 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from three.
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He finished with eight points on 4-for-10 shooting Wednesday night.
Another piece who indicated his return was the Gamecocks’ leading rebounder Josh Gray. Gray thrived late in the season and was the best rebounder in the SEC in terms of offensive and defensive rebound rate.
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Gray averaged 5.8 points and 7.9 rebounds in SEC play and said he’s optimistic about where he’s going.
“Yeah. I think we do two weeks off and we do coach meetings,” he said. “But I definitely have a positive vibe about my future.”
Hayden Brown is the only player on the roster with expiring eligibility, although the Gamecocks could potentially lose more players. The big fish right now is GG Jackson, who could very much go pro after this year.
There is attrition in every single program with defections to the transfer portal and South Carolina will be no different. The Gamecocks are also expected to bring back Ebrima Dibba, who missed this year with an Achilles injury.
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South Carolina finishes year one of the Lamont Paris era going 11-20 in the regular season, 4-14 in the SEC and then a one-and-done loss in the conference tournament.
“I feel like we showed flashes and a lot of growth,” Johnson said. “It was tough, but this team grew from end to end.”
