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South Carolina

Started by labb, January 23, 2024, 07:54:18 pm

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labb

Up 16 on Kentucky with 2:00 left. SC by 17

CowHog32

Dang they are actually good

 

Arky1967

UK will be fired up Saturday. Bad news for the Hogs!

HogBreath

Quote from: Arky1967 on January 23, 2024, 08:05:28 pmUK will be fired up Saturday. Bad news for the Hogs!

Fired up..or not fired up..either is bad news for these Hogs.
I said...LSU has often been an overrated team.

That ignoramus Draconian Sanctions said..if we're overrated, why are we ranked higher than you are?

jchill

Wow! We lost by a smaller margin than Kentucky.  :o

Oliver

Quote from: jchill on January 23, 2024, 09:33:30 pmWow! We lost by a smaller margin than Kentucky.  :o

Couple that with how good our gymnastics team is...not a better athletic department in the world

bphi11ips

Quote from: Arky1967 on January 23, 2024, 08:05:28 pmUK will be fired up Saturday. Bad news for the Hogs!

Or worn out and dysfunctional themselves.  Kentucky has been a team I have thought Arkansas can beat since before we started this slide.  Calipari won't change what he does to beat Arkansas.  He never has.  He started the rotation/ISO style years ago.  He'll play to Muss's strength because he believes he has better talent. 

Arkansas might be motivated to beat Kentucky at home in a way they weren't against teams where they know they couldn't match up with inside.  Their four losses have come against those sort of teams. 

I doubt Arkansas will beat Ole Miss tomorrow night, but if we have a crowd Saturday that rises to the occassion, Arkansas might scorch Kentucky.
Life is too short for grudges and feuds.

Hog_One_Stop


deserthog

Not impressed with Big Z tonight.

REBELHOG4

Yea. They'll be good & pissed for us!!!

REBELHOG4

Quote from: bphi11ips on January 23, 2024, 10:04:19 pmOr worn out and dysfunctional themselves.  Kentucky has been a team I have thought Arkansas can beat since before we started this slide.  Calipari won't change what he does to beat Arkansas.  He never has.  He started the rotation/ISO style years ago.  He'll play to Muss's strength because he believes he has better talent. 

Arkansas might be motivated to beat Kentucky at home in a way they weren't against teams where they know they couldn't match up with inside.  Their four losses have come against those sort of teams. 

I doubt Arkansas will beat Ole Miss tomorrow night, but if we have a crowd Saturday that rises to the occassion, Arkansas might scorch Kentucky.
ain't no way bet on us to win 2 games in a row, they are worse than inconsistent, whatever that is

SWD26

Quote from: deserthog on January 23, 2024, 10:18:58 pmNot impressed with Big Z tonight.

Don't worry, he'll look much more impressive against us. :(

Porknoxville

Quote from: jchill on January 23, 2024, 09:33:30 pmWow! We lost by a smaller margin than Kentucky.  :o
SC sleepwalked through our game with them.

 

Porknoxville

Quote from: bphi11ips on January 23, 2024, 10:04:19 pmOr worn out and dysfunctional themselves.  Kentucky has been a team I have thought Arkansas can beat since before we started this slide.  Calipari won't change what he does to beat Arkansas.  He never has.  He started the rotation/ISO style years ago.  He'll play to Muss's strength because he believes he has better talent. 

Arkansas might be motivated to beat Kentucky at home in a way they weren't against teams where they know they couldn't match up with inside.  Their four losses have come against those sort of teams. 

I doubt Arkansas will beat Ole Miss tomorrow night, but if we have a crowd Saturday that rises to the occassion, Arkansas might scorch Kentucky.
That is what you play the game, but is don't see any way we beat KY, unless they totally lay an egg. Anything short of that and we lose by 10+.

hoglady

If somehow the team that beat Duke and Purdue shows up / we can beat Kentucky. That team just hasn't shown up in a while
Inside every "older" person is a younger person wondering what the hell happened?

"Compassion for animals is intimately associated with goodness of character, and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man."
― Arthur Schopenhauer, The Basis of Morality

SugarHillGaHog

Quote from: hoglady on January 24, 2024, 05:22:19 pmIf somehow the team that beat Duke and Purdue shows up / we can beat Kentucky. That team just hasn't shown up in a while

I love the thought of IF but sister.. my if has been beat down so much I'm questioning my drink of choice for games.  Almost to the point of question my choice of socks for these cold toes.  :\

ishankem

Maybe this Hog team is like those cicadas, who show up every 17 years, this BB team will show up only when a blue blood (UK) comes into BWA. Look out Wildcats

jbcarol

Lamont Paris shouts out Dawn Staley's passion as a fan: 'She's a rockstar'

by:
Nick Schultz




QuoteWhen Dawn Staley is patrolling the sidelines at South Carolina, she's mostly business. That's a big reason for her success as a head coach and this year's undefeated record through 18 games.

But when she's not coaching, she's usually in the stands supporting the other teams at South Carolina. That includes her men's basketball counterparts, and she was among the most vocal fans on Saturday as the Gamecocks took on Missouri in a 72-64 victory.

While Lamont Paris doesn't necessarily notice Staley's cheering during games, he sees it afterward. That type of passion is part of what makes her stand out, though, and Paris had some high praise for Staley after the game.

"I saw her after the last game after the Kentucky game, and she was on another level," Paris told the SEC Now crew. "Dawn's a rockstar, and I don't even mean that in a basketball sense. We already know what she does there. They're the greatest team in all of basketball right now, men's or women's. But she's a rockstar as a human being and as a person. From the second I got here, it's been nothing but love. Unbelievable person. I feel blessed to call her a friend.

"It's nice for her to come into this venue and be able to cheer. As a coach, you don't get too many opportunities to cheer. So I bet it's fun for her to come in here and have something to genuinely root for. Dawn's the GOAT. Dawn's a rockstar."

Dawn Staley continues to be South Carolina's No. 1 fan
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jbcarol

Lamont Paris provides injury update on Myles Stute after Missouri game

by:
Thomas Goldkamp




QuoteSouth Carolina has been without one of its top contributors for the past three games, after Vanderbilt transfer Myles Stute suffered a shoulder injury in a game against Georgia on Jan. 16.

Stute did not play in the team's win over Missouri on Saturday, though he took part in warmups with the team.

Head coach Lamont Paris provided a pretty thorough update on Stute following the game.

"I think he's close. I mean pretty close. We'll see," Paris said. "He got some live-ish reps at practice yesterday. I mean pretty live in a controlled environment. So before he lets it rip rip I want to make sure that he's strong enough and has the range of motion — not me, trust me, it ain't me that's doing that — but they'll tell me that his range of motion and strength is at such a level that risk of injury is minimal, and then we'll do it."

Myles Stute has been good this season when healthy

South Carolina spreading the load
One thing South Carolina has done very well this season is spreading the responsibility for scoring and rebounding across several different players. It's made the team tougher to topple.

Stop one guy and another guy might go off on you.
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jbcarol

Lamont Paris makes case for South Carolina to be ranked in Top 25

by:
Alex Weber




QuoteSeriously, what more do the Gamecocks have to do? After beating Kentucky and Missouri to advance to 17-3 this week, South Carolina was the first team left off the latest AP Top 25 Poll.

A six-loss Alabama team made it in, so did a slew of other four and five-loss teams, as well as a couple of three and four-loss mid-major clubs. Yet, a South Carolina team that's 5-2 in the SEC and scored a 17-point win over No. 10 Kentucky last week is still left out. Luckily, head coach Lamont Paris isn't too worried personally about a number next to his team's name.

"I think it's a tremendous reward for (the players) honestly. That's really the only thing that it is at this point," Paris commented of the Gamecocks potentially being ranked in the latest top 25 after the win over Missouri Saturday.

"You know, maybe there's someone that's going to end up voting on the committee as to who gets in the tournament and who doesn't, and maybe they're swayed by the fact that we were in the top 25 at one point. But honestly, the main thing is for these guys," Paris added.
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jbcarol


Wes Rucker
@wesrucker247
#Vols' Santiago Vescovi on South Carolina: They're not the same team we've played the past few years. They added some pieces on offense. They're a good team, and they made us pay for [mistakes] tonight.
9:21 PM · Jan 30, 2024
·
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jbcarol

Wes Rucker
@wesrucker247
COLUMN: Hello Offensive Darkness, Tennessee's Old Friend

South Carolina did every single thing it had to do to give itself a chance at No. 5 Tennessee on Tuesday night. And it wouldn't have mattered if #Vols had just made layups and free throws.

LINK 👇

Curated SEC Infotainment and aggregated college sports updates where it just means more on Hogville.net

jbcarol

David Cloninger
@DCPandC

Something's brewing in Columbia.

Curated SEC Infotainment and aggregated college sports updates where it just means more on Hogville.net

jbcarol

Joe Lunardi: South Carolina 'climbing' in seed list following Georgia win

by:
Griffin McVeigh




QuoteSouth Carolina was able to avenge an earlier season loss to Georgia on Saturday, taking down the Bulldogs in Athens. No coach in college basketball is hotter at the moment than Lamont Paris, defying expectations in his second season in charge. And for the first time since the 2016-2017 season, the program is on a five-game winning streak.

A run was made to the Final Four that season under Frank Martin and was South Carolina's last NCAA Tournament appearance. Paris has the Gamecocks slated to be in the postseason this March and ESPN's Joe Lunardi views them as a six-seed. But they are currently on the rise and could move up the seed list if the wins continue.

"They're climbing," Lunardi said during Saturday's Missouri–Vanderbilt broadcast. "It wasn't that long ago, they were on the bubble. Now, you see them as a six this morning... They're going to be no worse than a six when we do a full, new bracket next week.

"Who knows? A five could happen for them. But right now, they're 24th, which means they're at the bottom of the six-line. They would have to leapfrog four other teams to get into a No. 5."

Lunardi explained how seeding is affected by more than just one team's performance. South Carolina has been playing well of late but if teams in the same vicinity are producing results, it's hard to move up the seed list.
Curated SEC Infotainment and aggregated college sports updates where it just means more on Hogville.net

 

jbcarol

 Final   Ole Miss  65   (15) South Carolina  68
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jbcarol

ESPN College GameDay crew gives Lamont Paris, South Carolina some love for their impressive resume
by:
Steve Samra




QuoteESPN College GameDay crew is in Lawrence, KS on Saturday afternoon, but they showed some love to the South Carolina Gamecocks.

First off, Jay Williams made sure to point out the incredible job Lamont Paris has done with the team thus far, explaining why he believes the Gamecocks could elevate to a top seed come NCAA Tournament time.

"They were picked to finish last in the SEC. I've got to give coach Lamont Paris a lot of love for South Carolina. They've just been ripping off win after win after win," Williams said. "Overall, they're 20-3. They're 8-2 in the SEC. Four of their top five scorers are first-year players. Meechie Johnson, the way he's able to guard. The play offensively. B.J. Mack down low. I just love the style in which they play.

"There's an element of toughness. This team last year, they were 4-14 last season. I think they'll get there I think they're a team that's going to burst right there."

That got Seth Greenberg's attention, who lauded Williams' selection, stating his belief as a fellow supporter of the Gamecocks.
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jbcarol

https://www.on3.com/college/south-carolina-gamecocks/news/south-carolina-coach-lamont-paris-explains-struggles-for-team-loss-auburn



QuoteIt has been a magical season for South Carolina thus far, but Wednesday night's game against Auburn was a struggle.

The Gamecocks suffered a 101-61 loss, losing for only the fourth time this season. Afterwards, South Carolina coach Lamont Paris discussed what went wrong for his team.

"Nothing that we didn't prepare for. We prepared really hard. We're [25] games into this. So we prepared," Lamont Paris said. "But they made a lot of shots, and their pressure bothered us at times."
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jbcarol

Lamont Paris shares message South Carolina has on locker room board
by:
Matt Connolly




QuoteParis had a simple message for his squad that he wanted to emphasize before the Gamecocks tried to end a two-game losing streak.

"It was all about the basic, basic stuff that has allowed us to have success," Lamont Paris said of his final instructions to his team. "So we went back to some of that. I think just playing basic rules, trying really hard."

South Carolina earned a critical 72-59 road win to improve to 22-5 (10-4). The Gamecocks excelled on the defensive end of the court against the Rebels, and Lamont Paris was asked what led to Ole Miss shooting only 3 of 16 from 3-point range.

"Our effort and determination," he said.
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jbcarol

Lamont Paris details the defensive decision that sparked South Carolina comeback vs. Florida

by:
Alex Weber




QuoteFlorida took a nine-point lead with 11 minutes to go against South Carolina but the Gamecocks deployed a zone to help get back into the game and take the win.

Like most college hoops teams, South Carolina typically plays man-to-man defense. However, head coach Lamont Paris does like to mix it up with a zone every once in a while, and when his group fell into a perilous deficit in the second half, he deployed a 1-3-1 zone that helped spark a run. After the game, he was asked about that defensive tactic and explained why it was the right move against Florida.

"We had talked just briefly on it. There had been a couple other games that teams had made a little comeback and had used some zone," he said. "So, it was in there. It's always in there, depending on how we play."

Paris doesn't prefer to play zone, but if he needs to change up the strategy on defense, he's certainly not afraid to pull it out.

"Trust me, I don't want to break it out unless we're in dire straits, but it's always in there. But they were being so effective off the ball, screening in a variety of ways. Sometimes, it's easy to shore up if — okay, this is what we're doing today, off the ball screen, we're always giving up the pocket pass. Like, let's make an adjustment in-game or at halftime that we can do that."

South Carolina had to make that adjustment because the Florida guards were punishing them off the dribble, especially in the screen-and-roll game.

"But they were getting a pocket pass, they threw a lob or two, the primary ball-handler was getting into the paint and finishing, and they got some good mid-range scores. Those guys are good. So typically, while the numbers aren't that high on that shot, these guys are really talented and they made some.

"I pump-faked like three times in the two times in the timeouts leading up to it, just to get the guys going. Because sometimes, it's a lot of effort to do the 1-3-1 and I just kept telling them, I was like, 'Guys, I don't want to do the 1-3-1, but we'll give you another couple minutes here and we may have to go to it.' And so we ultimately did and it was really effective for us, and we were just really active."
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jbcarol

'Find joy in competing:' How Lamont Paris took South Carolina from last-place pick to brink of an SEC double bye

Neil Blackmon |




QuoteCOLUMBIA — South Carolina wasn't supposed to play meaningful basketball in March.

At least, that's what the so-called experts who voted in the SEC preseason media poll told us when they picked South Carolina to finish last.

Those "experts" include yours truly

It's a good thing they play the games.

Gamecocks were on Saturday afternoon, playing and beating No. 24 Florida in a matchup of ranked teams at Colonial Life Arena, behind a bellowing, boisterous, believing throng of Gamecocks fans who have embraced with open arms a team that has exceeded the preseason expectations of basically everyone outside of the basketball building in Columbia.

Thanks to their latest win, a stirring comeback that saw the Gamecocks erase a 10-point deficit in the 2nd half, South Carolina has earned the opportunity to win a SEC regular-season championship with 2 wins this week, beginning Wednesday night at home against No. 4 Tennessee.

Computers still don't love this Gamecocks team. Their NET ranking is No. 47. KenPom slots the Gamecocks just inside the top 50 overall (44th), well behind the other 6 teams at the top of the SEC standings: Tennessee (5th), Auburn (6th), Alabama (8th), Kentucky (18th) and Florida (31st).

Good thing for the Gamecocks that games aren't played or won on computers.

Lamont Paris has put together a roster completely subscribed to his system and program. Four of South Carolina's top 6 scorers are first-year players in the program, and 3 are transfers who played Division I basketball elsewhere last season. The other stars, Johnson Jr. and Murray-Boyles, are a veteran transfer who has bought in, and a freshman that no one else in the SEC thought highly enough to offer. Paris trusted himself and his staff's evaluations anyway, and the results speak for themselves.

Paris never believed the negative media noise:

"You pick my team last?" Paris said about the media's choice. "Last is what you're going to say? That usually means you don't think we have good players or good coaches. Is that what you think? OK. Come on. Bring it. That mindset has transferred over to a lot of our players."
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jbcarol

Takeaways from Tennessee's win over South Carolina to secure SEC championship
Andrew Olson |




QuoteNo. 4 Volunteers improved to 14-3 in the conference standings and 24-6 overall with a 67-59 win on the road at South Carolina. No other team can finish with fewer than 5 conference losses, meaning UT cannot be caught.

Rick Barnes' team has shown it can hang with the SEC's high-scoring teams, but South Carolina got the kind of game it wanted Wednesday. It was another physical, low-scoring defensive battle, with UT coming out on top in Round 2.

Some Tennessee fans might have been hoping for the Volunteers to lock up the SEC regular-season title on Saturday in Knoxville. The UT faithful, though, will gladly celebrate a road win from afar, especially when it's a revenge road win.

South Carolina is the only team to beat Tennessee at home in the 2023-24 season. Now, the Vols have evened the season series (ahead of possible postseason meetings).

Most teams don't go on the road in the SEC expecting to shoot more free throws than the home team. In a tight game that went down to the wire, free throws were especially important.

South Carolina was the better shooting team from the field, making more field goals (23-20) and 3-pointers (8-7) while scoring more second-chance points (15-3) and points in the paint (30-18), but Tennessee won the free-throw battle.

Gamecocks were on the wrong side of vintage Knecht when he drained 3 triples over the final 3:28 of the 1st half, extending UT's lead from 24-22 to 33-22.
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jbcarol

South Carolina caps memorable season

Dramatic win over Mississippi State
Paul Harvey | 




QuoteThe final day of the SEC regular season is going down Saturday, and there has been plenty of drama included.

At Mississippi State, the Bulldogs and No. 17 South Carolina went down to the wire in a back-and-forth affair between likely NCAA Tournament teams. The Gamecocks did hold a 6-point lead with 4 minutes remaining but were unable to pull away...

Regulation would not be enough to decide this one with BJ Mack and Dashawn Davis exchanging free throws in the final 5 seconds to force overtime at 77 points apiece.

In the overtime period, Meechie Johnson and BJ Mack would hit 3-pointers for the Gamecocks while Tolu Smith and Josh Hubbard missed some costly free throws for Mississippi State. Mack would eventually hit some free throws late to ice the game

NCAA Tournament implications
South Carolina's spot in the final NCAA Tournament field is secure regardless of what happened Saturday, but Mississippi State is less stable. Prior to the start of games, Joe Lunardi had the Bulldogs as the final team to receive a bye to begin the tournament, meaning MSU is still squarely a bubble team.

SEC Tournament seeding
Entering the final day of the regular season, seeding in the SEC was still a muddled mess with South Carolina, Alabama, Auburn and Kentucky all tied for second place to start the day. Mississippi State also started the day tied with LSU for the No. 8 seed in the SEC Basketball Tournament.

With the win, the Gamecocks maintain pace with Alabama who beat Arkansas in an earlier overtime battle. Now, those two teams will wait to find out the results of games between Auburn-LSU and Kentucky eased by Tennessee-
Curated SEC Infotainment and aggregated college sports updates where it just means more on Hogville.net

jbcarol

Saturday Down South's All-SEC basketball ballot
Neil Blackmon |



QuoteSDS had an SEC ballot this season, and we thought we'd share it:

SEC Coach of the Year: Lamont Paris, South Carolina
Paris, the 2nd-year South Carolina head coach, should be national coach of the year for the job he did in turning a Gamecocks squad picked to finish last in the SEC into a SEC title contender. A disciple of Bo Ryan at Wisconsin...

Curated SEC Infotainment and aggregated college sports updates where it just means more on Hogville.net

jbcarol

Lamont Paris eyeing SEC Tournament as 'precursor to the NCAA Tournament'

by:
Thomas Goldkamp



QuoteSouth Carolina basketball team put together a tremendous second season under coach Lamont Paris, earning the No. 5 seed in this year's SEC Tournament.

And Paris believes this week in Nashville affords his team a real chance to get ready for what lies ahead: the NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks have fought all year for this.

"We want to win the SEC Tournament, there's a lot that goes with that," Paris said Wednesday on the Paul Finebaum Show. "But I think it's a good precursor to the NCAA Tournament just in terms of there's nothing guaranteed other than the game we play tomorrow at 2:30. And you must play well, you must compete well and you must also make plays in order to advance. And if you do enough of those things and you earn another 40 minutes, then you do it all again."

South Carolina will take on Arkansas, which played in the first half of a double-header at the SEC Tournament on Wednesday night.
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jbcarol

Arkansas vs. South Carolina odds: Win probability, final score prediction in SEC Tournament

by:
Kaiden Smith



QuoteArkansas advanced to the second round of the SEC Tournament following their down to the wire, overtime win over Vanderbilt on Wednesday night. As South Carolina now awaits them for their second round matchup in Bridgeston.

Both programs reverse roles from last season's SEC Tournament, with South Carolina impressing this year earning the No. 5 seed and a first round bye while the Razorbacks dropped to round one as a the No. 12 seed.

Gamecocks got the best of Arkansas in their matchup during the regular season, but can they do so again?

Odds for Arkansas vs. South Carolina
South Carolina is a 5.5-point favorite over Arkansas on Thursday according to FanDuel Sportsbook, the same point spread advantage that the Razorbacks had over Vanderbilt on Wednesday following their five-point win. With the Gamecocks having -245 odds on the moneyline and Arkansas at +198 odds if they can win their second round matchup outright and keep up their winning ways.

Something's gotta give
The point total for the game also sits at an over-under of 143.5. With South Carolina notably boasting the SEC's best defense holding opponents to 66.4 points per game while the Razorbacks have averaged 93.5 points in their last four games.

KenPom Predicted final score: South Carolina 75, Arkansas 69
KenPom Win probability (for South Carolina): 71 percent
Curated SEC Infotainment and aggregated college sports updates where it just means more on Hogville.net

#1 STUNNA

Lamont Paris just got an extension..

lets ruin the party

Sho Nuff

Have we ever lost to South Carolina twice in the same season?

HogFaninMemphis

I mean, no, but we've also only played them multiple times in a season 6 times, by my count.
Go Hogs, Go Cardinals, and Go Grizzlies!

Tusks


Lots of records broken this year
sometimes it's a good and some times it's a schit

ICEman

We've also never had a 32 point home loss to  another 'collegiate' team in 100 years of Razorback basketball. I think Muss has flamed out up on the hill. His accrued cachet from the fans has severely attenuated.
"College football is a sport that bears the same relation to education that bullfighting does to agriculture."

1hawgballer2

Quote from: #1 STUNNA on March 14, 2024, 10:59:16 amLamont Paris just got an extension..

lets ruin the party
Coach Paris and his gamecocks just flip that script, we looked bad

HogBreath

Defund the Gamethingeys!!
I said...LSU has often been an overrated team.

That ignoramus Draconian Sanctions said..if we're overrated, why are we ranked higher than you are?

jbcarol

Lamont Paris shares what made this South Carolina team special

by:
Thomas Goldkamp



QuoteSouth Carolina entered the 2023-24 season picked to finish dead last in the conference in the preseason. Fast forward a few months and the Gamecocks had finished just one game shy of winning the conference title.

How did it all happen?

"It started with who they are as individuals. There's such a high-quality group of human beings," Paris said. "It would be hard for me to overstate that. That's relative — I've done this a long time. I think it started there. Then it's how they interact with each other, because you could have great guys, high-quality guys that it just, you know, it just doesn't translate when it comes to how they mesh together. And it did. It did, in an incredible way.

"That really is what made this group able to do what they did on the basketball court," Paris said. "If you look, certainly our guys were better than what people predicted they would be, but they also probably weren't just the best individual talents at every position that we had. But they were winners. They are winners that came together. They're incredible, fierce — incredibly fierce competitors, and they came together with one goal, and they did that in a way that each of their individual abilities shined."

Paris will cherish this South Carolina group, even though the season ended a little earlier than he would have liked
Curated SEC Infotainment and aggregated college sports updates where it just means more on Hogville.net

jbcarol

Gamecocks' first defection is a massive one: Meechie Johnson to transfer

David Cloninger
24 mins ago



QuoteCOLUMBIA — South Carolina leading scorer Meechie Johnson will enter his name into the transfer portal, he confirmed on Monday afternoon.

He talked about it during an Instagram Live session.

"I appreciate all our fans out there from USC. It was a great two years. Definitely had some of the most fun I ever had in my life. But at the end of the day, I just got to make the best decision for me," Johnson said.

"I love South Carolina. I appreciate the university for everything. A lot of people are going to say what they want, talk about loyalty like that. Most of you aren't in my position and why certain things got to be done. And that's that."

Johnson said he will be entering the portal and also testing the NBA Draft waters. The NBA decision was somewhat expected after Johnson also tested the waters last year, and players often enter the portal as well just in case pre-draft prep doesn't go as well as they like.

But as soon as the news was announced, the Tweet got a re-post from THE Foundation, which is the NIL collective for Ohio State. The Tweet simply had an emoji of a chestnut (Buckeyes are not available emojis) and the "eyes" emoji.

Johnson, a native of Cleveland, transferred to USC after two years at Ohio State.

"I haven't talked to nobody yet, I haven't heard from anybody yet," Johnson said. "This all just happened today. There's no bad issues, no bad blood."

After a rough 11-win first season where Johnson had to play much of an unnatural point-guard position, he flourished this year with Ta'Lon Cooper imported to handle the point. Johnson led the team with 13.8 points per game and started all but one contest.

He was instrumental in the Gamecocks' rise to a 26-7 season and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Now, USC will face a future that already saw it lose Cooper and fellow starter B.J. Mack.
Curated SEC Infotainment and aggregated college sports updates where it just means more on Hogville.net