South Carolina has been searching for a transfer portal point guard to round out its recruiting class and on Sunday afternoon the Gamecocks got their guy.<\/p>\n
Senior Norfolk State transfer guard Jamarii Thomas<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 the MEAC Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year \u2014 announced a pledge to the Gamecocks, flipping his commitment from VCU.<\/p>\n The 6-foot, 185-pounder led the Spartans with 16.9 points, 3.8 steals and 2.1 steals this past season while starting 30 of 33 games. He also shot a career-high 38 percent from 3-point range. He also earned first-team all-defense honors.<\/p>\n [GamecockCentral for $1: In-depth coverage and a great community]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The On3 Industry Ranking, an average of the rankings from On3, 247Sports and Rivals, considers Thomas the No. 61 point guard and No. 298 overall prospect in the portal.<\/p>\n Thomas, who has one year of eligibility left, was targeted by VCU, Iowa, Oklahoma State, and at least one other SEC school. <\/p>\n But after a brief commitment to VCU following a visit last week, Thomas flipped his pledge to the Gamecocks after taking a trip to the school this weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always been a dream to play close to home and obviously in the biggest conference of college basketball, which is the SEC. People could say whatever, but SEC is definitely the best basketball conference. It was crazy because we have some family in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Columbia, and Charlotte. It\u2019s big for me to play near home in the biggest conference. <\/p>\n \u201cI had a great visit with my mom and my little brother. They were very welcoming. The facilities, athletic trainer, strength coach, and everybody, the academic lady I met, everybody was just so genuine and loving. It felt like home and it made sense for me because I feel like I can play at the highest level and they believe I can too. It was just a combo of things that made sense for me and my family. It felt like a no-brainer.\u201d<\/p>\n With the addition of Thomas, South Carolina has likely rounded out its class for this recruiting cycle.<\/p>\n The Gamecocks have been in the process of replacing starters Ta\u2019Lon Cooper, Meechie Johnson, and B.J. Mack from last year\u2019s NCAA Tournament team. Cooper and Mack are out of eligibility while Johnson transferred back home to play for Ohio State.<\/p>\n [On3 App: Get South Carolina push notifications from GamecockCentral]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n South Carolina landed Palmetto State native post players Nick Pringle<\/a><\/strong> and Jordan Butler<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0out of the portal within the last couple of weeks and was looking for a portal guard to round out the class.<\/p>\n \u201cThe two transfers they got are really big,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cPringle and the guy from Missouri, Jordan Butler. They\u2019re great transfers. Just them letting me know they were coming in and all they were missing was a point guard. They let me know the role I would have, a big role. And, you know, the winning program, man. I just want to be a part of a winning program. <\/p>\n \u201cThey told me I was going to come in and play a lot. They need a leader, a vocal leader, which is what I am. Somebody that plays defense, which is what I do. I love defense. They just want me to play my game. They\u2019re going to let me be free \u2014 within the system \u2014 but they\u2019re going to let me be free and let me be me. That\u2019s a huge and important piece for me and my family.\u201d<\/p>\n This weekend\u2019s visit allowed Thomas and his family the opportunity to spend ample time with head coach Lamont Paris<\/strong>, which appeared to be another key factor in his decision to commit to the Gamecocks.<\/p>\n \u201cMan, Coach Paris was amazing for me and my mom and little brother,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cHe treated everybody as if he was just a regular person, which everybody knows he\u2019s not. But he\u2019s definitely a genuine person. As soon as the portal hit, he hit me up. We hit it off right away. <\/p>\n \u201cHe sees what I see in being focused, and he likes it. I haven\u2019t always had it like this, so coming from Norfolk State and not having as many resources, he was just telling me when I give you this chance, don\u2019t get complacent. I completely understand because I know how some people can get complacent if they\u2019ve been there all their life. <\/p>\n \u201cBut me, knowing who I am and where I came from and how I was raised, I just know I\u2019m always going to have that hunger. He kind of senseed from the beginning. So we hit it off, off the bat. He\u2019s a genuine person, loving, low-key funny, with some jokes. Like I said, it was a no-brainer, man. He\u2019s so genuine and a good guy for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n South Carolina\u2019s 2024 high school class features three signees: Lexington (S.C.) four-star guard\u00a0Cam Scott<\/a><\/strong>, Baxter (Ky.) Harlan three-star guard\u00a0Trent Noah<\/a><\/strong>, and Omnia Basketball Academy (Helsinki) three-star forward\u00a0Okku Federiko<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n A Greensboro, N.C. native who won a state championship at The Burlington School, Thomas began his career at UNC Wilmington before playing this last season at Norfolk State.<\/p>\n