FILE - South Carolina NCAA college basketball head coach Lamont Paris speaks during Southeastern Conference Media Days, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Birmingham, Ala. Coach Lamont Paris thought the best part of his team’s first NCAA Tournament trip in seven years was the bond they built early on. FILE - South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris talks to guard Meechie Johnson during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against LSU Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, in Columbia, S.C.
This offseason could be as challenging as the last with South Carolina losing four players, including leading scorer Meechie Johnson, who combined to make 116 starts. The bonding must come on campus and, in fact, has already started with informal workouts with a lot of free-flowing offense for first-year players such as Alabama transfer Kam Pringle, Missouri 7-foot transfer Jordan Butler and freshman Cam Scott, who was committed to Texas before switching to South Carolina.
Others players who are back including forward Myles Stute, who played his first three years for Vanderbilt and sophomore Austin Herro, the brother of the Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro who was put on scholarship this season.