South Carolina basketball: three storylines, two players to watch, one big question
South Carolina basketball is a week into practice now. And the Gamecocks have a lot of things still left to figure out as the season quickly approaches.
With a little over a month left until the season opener, we take a look at three big storylines, two players we’re intrigued by and one big question to answer.
Three storylines
South Carolina’s defensive improvement
South Carolina’s staff really emphasized skill and shooting through the portal. So it stands to reason the Gamecocks will improve offensively after ranking No. 205 nationally in adjusted efficiency. The biggest question mark is what the defensive improvement will look like.
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South Carolina ranked No. 226 in adjusted defensive efficiency last season and was well below the national average in opponent effective field goal percentage, opponent turnover rate and defensive rebound rate.
There are veterans who’ve shown some flashes defensively. But that side of the court needs to drastically improve if the Gamecocks do want to take another step.
The frontcourt rotation
South Carolina didn’t have a very good frontcourt last season, ranking No. 13 in SEC play in defensive rebound rate, ninth in offensive rebound rate and 12th in two-point percentage. They ranked 12th in block rate, which means the Gamecocks didn’t protect the rim at a high level nor were they able to convert at the rim offensively.
There are some pieces to work with there like a Josh Gray–who is coming off one of the more impressive rebounding seasons in program history–and newcomers like Collin Murray-Boyles, BJ Mack and Stephen Clark.
But the Gamecocks have to not only figure out who starts there but what a rotation looks like so they can find a way to rebound the ball and protect the rim.
Year two jumps
Last season South Carolina had no player who spent a minute in a Paris-led system before the season and a ton of players who were being asked to either play a new position or an expanded role. There were some undoubted growing pains going through that.
But now how big of a jump can those returners make in year two in this system. Meechie Johnson, Jacobi Wright and Zachary Davis all return in the backcourt. Gray and Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk come back in the frontcourt.
Most of those guys will be asked to be key pieces on this year’s team. How big of jumps they take could impact how well this team does in year two under Paris.
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Two players I’m intrigued by
Josh Gray
Gray was one of the best rebounders in the country last season, third nationally in offensive rebound rate and No. 25 in defensive rebound rate. He also ranked No. 121 in block rate. But there were some growing pains starting for the first time. He finished with a turnover rate at 19.9 percent while shooting just 51.8 percent from two and 46.2 percent from the line.
He certainly has the body to compete against some of the better bigs in the SEC. But taking another step from an efficiency standpoint and improving defensively when he’s not rebounding or protecting the rim will be vital.
If he can, that gives South Carolina some optimism about the frontcourt moving forward.
Ebrima Dibba
Dibba was going to play a major role–probably as one of the primary ball handlers on this team last season–before a preseason Achilles injury. He’s still working his way back from that, but he’ll be able to have a role this year.
What that looks like is what I’m most intrigued by. South Carolina seems to have point guard settled with Minnesota transfer Ta’Lon Cooper and Wright. Dibba will fit anywhere from the two to the four depending on how the Gamecocks want to play.
How quickly he can get back on the court and make an impact–plus where South Carolina plays him–will be interesting things to track. Dibba had a fairly high turnover rate in his final year at Coastal. But he ranked in the top 10 percent nationally in assist rate, fouls committed per 40 minutes and free throw rate.
Dibbia shot 81.8 percent from the line and was one of the better guards in the Sun Belt in 2021-22.
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One big question
Who starts as the season progresses?
South Carolina has far more options this year than it did last year. And it will be interesting to see who actually starts. There are some guys who will likely be starters to begin the season in Cooper, Johnson, Myles Stute and Mack. But those spots are still up for grabs while Gray and Clark compete for starting center minutes.
It’s not far-fetched to think guys like Wright or Murray-Boyles or Davis or Dibba when healthy could all factor in as starters or play starter-level minutes.
How some of those battles go through training camp and the first few weeks of the season will be interesting to monitor.
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