College Hoops Top 50

It’s difficult to climb the ladder of contenders in the Southeastern Conference. Especially without flashy additions or surefire NBA prospects – or so a lot of people would presume. 

Lamont Paris isn’t a lot of people, though. South Carolina’s second-year head coach is a guy with a vision, and he’s making success very visible in Columbia these days. Despite being picked to finish last in the SEC before the season tipped off, the Gamecocks are off to an impressive 6-0 start. Along the way, they’ve already notched wins against solid teams like Virginia Tech, Grand Canyon, and Notre Dame. 

A balanced mix forms the backbone of this roster; scorers and defenders, bigs and guards, veteran and rising talents. There are two genuine stars to lead the way, also – and it’s upon Meechie Johnson and BJ Mack that USC will rely most of all as they enter the toughest part of their schedule. 

Johnson came aboard last spring after Paris was hired to be South Carolina’s coach, and he’s been a key scorer in Columbia since he arrived. A 4-star recruit out of Cleveland, OH, Johnson enrolled early at Ohio State a couple of years ago, seeking to get back on track after a serious knee injury cut into his high school career. After a tough couple of years and then the move down south, Johnson is not just back: he’s better than ever. USC’s top perimeter threat can be streaky from the land of trey, but he’s proving to be an explosive scorer who’s made observable improvements each new year. He’s always loved to shoot the three, and while he can be a legitimate deep threat, Johnson has become a star by diversifying his attack. He’s become a very capable ballhandler and creator of good shots for himself and his buddies; coming into this season, he was the only returning player on an SEC roster who led his team in both scoring and assist average a year ago. 

Johnson is quick with the ball and can really get rolling on drives through the lane, and the more he gets into the paint, the better USC’s offense has been. This year, Johnson is shooting an absurd 78.6% (11/14) on mid-range attempts. While that’s a percentage which won’t be maintained for the whole season, Johnson’s improvements inside the arc have been clear to see, as he mixes shot types and creates space and rhythm off the bounce to keep the Gamecock offense flowing. While he’s long been by far more effective as a spot-up shooter, Johnson is doing more and having a greater effect shooting off the bounce. And, of course, Johnson remains as confident as you like stepping into a good look from the perimeter; something he’s getting to do with increased regularity now that Paris has imported a true point guard to take over the primary ballhandling duties. Johnson’s six free throw tries per contest so far have gone a long way towards helping to avoid scoring droughts, and Paris is learning to rely upon the veteran scorer as a true shot-maker and stalwart presence for his teammates to find when it’s crunch time. 

Last season, Paris scored a big recruiting win when star freshman GG Jackson pledged to USC. While he had a great rookie year and is now in the NBA, Paris went in search of someone with a bit more experience to set as the crown jewel of this year’s class. The coach found exactly his desired fit in versatile scoring forward BJ Mack, a two-year starter and proven go-to guy from Wofford. Each of the past two seasons, Mack has averaged 16.5 points, shot at least 49% from the floor, and made more than 80% of his foul shots. He’s more than those numbers, though; in Mack, the former Wisconsin assistant Paris has found a big man who can shoot with range, handle the ball, and invert his team’s offense so smoothly it would bring a smile to Bo Ryan’s ordinarily grim visage. 

Though he’s as strong and wide as a star lineman on the football field, Mack is also a very skilled dude. He passes cleanly and creatively, has slick feet and real agility, and he’s a potentially devastating outside shooter. A post scorer who can pop or roll after screening for his teammates, Mack has soft mitts and a good sense for creating space and good opportunities. Since becoming a full-time starter, Mack has 101 triples at a 37.4% clip over the last couple of years, and he has splashed a strong 47% from mid-range. Though Mack can be effective inside, he’s just as valuable for his ability to demand that interior defenders vacate the lane and cover him all over the halfcourt. “I think them playing a different style is going to make it hard on people to prepare for them with B.J. Mack picking and popping threes because they have so many guys that can put the ball on the floor and attack you in space because you are so worried about that,” Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsbury told 247 Sports after USC knocked off his team. As Mack continues to knock down jumpers, free throws, and settle in against SEC competition – he’ll need to avoid foul trouble against the cavalcade of bigs that teams like Auburn or Kentucky could throw at the Gamecocks – he should be a great co-star to run with Johnson. 

With primary scoring coming from Mack and Johnson, the veteran point guard Paris added has been sprinkling in his own contributions very effectively so far. Ta’Lon Cooper has started 89 career games, mostly for Morehead State and Minnesota, and brings a steady hand to the controls in Columbia. Comfortable with being on the floor for big minutes and a guy who plays a strong two-way game, Cooper has fit smoothly in by facilitating, defending, and calmly being in the right places at the right times. More than anything, Cooper is a terrific playmaker. He’s ranked among the nation’s top ten in assists per game each of the last two seasons, and Cooper compiled a sparkling 34.0% assist rate over those campaigns – and he did it playing for two different teams in two different leagues. Now, Cooper is doing a consistent and efficient job of getting his new friends at South Carolina into the shots they like just as Paris had hoped. Though never a particularly high-volume outside shooter, Cooper has nonetheless made 37.0% of his career deep shots, and he tends to take smart shots in rhythm. He also keys the Gamecock defense on the perimeter, as Cooper brings both his good size and finely-crafted anticipation to bear while bothering opposing scorers. 

While Paris mostly brought players from elsewhere to join his SEC roster this summer, he also made a rather familiar signing in former Vanderbilt Commodore Myles Stute. A three-year contributor who started 59 games while in Nashville, Stute brought his talents further south and has found a nice role as a versatile defender and shooter for the Gamecocks. Paris needs reliable secondary scoring to balance things out around Mack and Johnson, and Stute has already hit double figures four times through six tilts. He’s a 38.1% career shooter from downtown, and Stute has demonstrated in the past that he can heat up and cause real problems for a defense; last year, Stute hit three or more triples in a game 14 times. Stute is also a high-effort defender who can check larger forwards or guard on the perimeter, and his ability to play as a quasi-4-man in whichever ways are needed gives Paris real options. 

While some of his bigger-name counterparts at bluer-blood programs were swinging for the fences in the transfer portal, Paris focused on adding proven guys with track records for fitting well into both the system he runs and among other new veterans. Those efforts have yielded a bunch of solid, complimentary pieces which make up a good chunk of the rotation. As important as any of the new guys, though, is Jacobi Wright. A young guard who’s been with USC his whole career, Wright is stepping forward as another very important source of support scoring. He has steadily grown his role and confidence as a shooter, and lately, Wright has also demonstrated an improved knack for finishing around the rim. It doesn’t hurt at all that Wright is shooting better than 50% from downtown to start his junior year, as he’s been driving the ball when defenders close out and taking advantage of the good spacing the Gamecocks have so far achieved. Along with Johnson and skilled veteran forward Stephen Clark, Wright is also good at finding the open man, and provides Paris with a lead guard to run the second unit. 

Clark started for parts of all four seasons while at The Citadel, and along with Mack forms the other half of USC’s all-SoCon-import frontcourt. Last season, he broke out in a big way as a scorer, as Clark jumped from a career scoring average of 6.7 up to 16.3 points per game. He’s always made an impact at both ends of the floor, though, as Clark is an active rebounder and very useful shot-blocker. Clark’s veteran savvy as a playmaker also saw him help out with 2.9 assists per game over his past three seasons at The Citadel. While Clark isn’t a bruiser inside, he pairs with Mack to cause problems for the other team with his creative passing and energy level, and Paris has utilized the rangy rim protector well so far as a spot-starter who offers contrast to Mack. When USC needs to go bigger inside, Paris can turn to seven-footer Josh Gray. A rock-solid presence in the lane, Gray can match up physically with the biggest of big guys. He ranked sixth in the SEC by grabbing 86 offensive rebounds last winter, and he came up with a team-best 33 putback stabs last year, per Hoop-Math. Gray can operate as an immovable force defensively and creating second chances for his guys – to say nothing of his rim-rattling work as a finishing option for USC’s slick passers – and he brings real value to the Gamecocks’ post. This year’s leader in putbacks thus far is Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk, a max-effort reserve. Bosmans-Verdonk is big and strong, and he plays hard all the time – it’s just that he will occasionally make a 100 mph mistake instead of patiently gathering and getting a bucket. He offers Paris more solid depth, though, and Bosmans-Verdonk has the size and skill to post the occasional impact game. 

Along with Wright, Zachary Davis has been carving out a prominent role off the bench. The 6’8″ sophomore is proving to be a problem for whoever he’s guarding on the wing, as Davis is quick and uses his tremendous reach well. He leads the Gamecocks in steals through six games despite playing less than 20 minutes on average, and Davis is also second on the team in blocked shots. After not shooting the ball particularly well as a rookie, Davis has been more effective this year, and currently sits at 37.5% from three. With the size, fluidity, and 3-and-D skills so in-demand these days, Davis offers all sorts of intriguing potential for Paris & Co to continue developing. Though this year’s top-rated freshman, forward Collin Murray-Broyles, has yet to debut due to injury, his classmate Morris Ugusuk has been taking a regular turn on the floor. The big guard from Finland is yet another skilled passer, and acquitted himself well playing for Finland’s U-18 national team last year at the European Championships. Though not a volume scorer, Ugusuk does lots of other things well, and projects as a versatile playmaker and defensive menace. 

South Carolina has struggled to consistently stay in contention for the top spots in the SEC over the last couple of decades, and the Gamecocks are going to face a fierce skirmish in their mission to ascend the standings this winter. There are many rosters around them which feature more high-end talent, but Paris knew when he took the USC job that such would likely be his team’s fate for some years. He isn’t planning to out-talent anyone, though. As he proved at Chattanooga, Paris expects his team to out-execute and outwork their opponents. And so far this year, that has been happening. 

Their margin for error isn’t large, but these Gamecocks play great defense and don’t allow their opponents extra chances to get an advantage. With a pair of genuine stars emerging in Johnson and Mack, South Carolina has quality at the top, and the coaching staff has rounded out the lineup with smart, proven players who both fit and are working hard towards common goals. None of them came to Columbia because they had delusions of swaggering to an SEC title and #1 seed. Rather, the veterans and fifth-year players South Carolina has this year have coalesced around a belief that by giving maximum defensive effort and taking great care of the ball, they can compete with enough of the heavyweights and stack up enough solid wins to earn an NCAA bid. So far, so good. South Carolina is no longer a pushover, and their goals are in sight. It’s a fun new day in Columbia, and the Gamecocks mean to keep on contending right into March.