2023–24 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team

The 2023–24 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team, led by second-year head coach Lamont Paris, played their home games at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina as a member of the Southeastern Conference. The South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team drew an average home attendance of 13,397 in 17 games in 2023-24.^[1]

2023–24 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball
Arizona Tip-Off (Cactus Division) champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 23
AP	No. 25
Record	26–8 (13–5 SEC)
Head coach	Lamont Paris (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Tanner Bronson Tim Buckley Eddie Shannon
Home arena	Colonial Life Arena
Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 5 Tennessee	14	–	4		.778			27	–	9		.750
No. 20 Kentucky	13	–	5		.722			23	–	10		.697
No. 3т Alabama	13	–	5		.722			25	–	12		.676
No. 18 Auburn †	13	–	5		.722			27	–	8		.771
No. 25 South Carolina	13	–	5		.722			26	–	8		.765
Florida	11	–	7		.611			24	–	12		.667
Texas A&M	9	–	9		.500			21	–	15		.583
LSU	9	–	9		.500			17	–	16		.515
Mississippi State	8	–	10		.444			21	–	14		.600
Ole Miss	7	–	11		.389			20	–	12		.625
Georgia	6	–	12		.333			20	–	17		.541
Arkansas	6	–	12		.333			16	–	17		.485
Vanderbilt	4	–	14		.222			9	–	23		.281
Missouri	0	–	18		.000			8	–	24		.250
† 2024 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

South Carolina achieved its first ranking since 2017,^[2] as well as its highest ranking since 1997.^[3][4] The Gamecocks made their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2017, losing in the first round to Oregon. Their final total of 26 wins is tied for the most wins in school history.^[5][6] For leading his team to a historic turnaround - from finishing next to last in the SEC the previous season to finishing the 2024 season tied for second place in the conference - Lamont Paris was awarded SEC Coach of the Year.^[7]

Previous season

The Gamecocks finished the 2022–23 season 11–20, 4–14 in SEC play to finish in twelfth place. As the No. 12 seed in the SEC tournament, they lost to Ole Miss in the first round.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Chico Carter Jr.	2	G	6'3"	192	Senior	Columbia, SC	Graduate transferred to DePaul
Tre-Vaugh Minott	4	F	6'9"	258	Junior	Montreal, QC	Transferred to Portland State
Hayden Brown	10	F	6'5"	234	GS Senior	Greer, SC	Graduated
Ja'Von Benson	21	F	6'7"	253	Junior	Columbia, SC	Transferred to Hampton
G. G. Jackson	23	F	6'9	215	Freshman	Columbia, SC	Declare for 2023 NBA draft; selected 45th overall by Memphis Grizzlies
Daniel Hankins-Sanford	30	F	6'8"	233	Freshman	Charlotte, NC	Transferred to UMass
Ford Cooper Jr.	44	G	6'3"	193	Senior	Charlotte, NC	Walk-on; graduate transferred to Hampton

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
B.J. Mack	2	F/C	6'8"	245	GS Senior	Charlotte, NC	Wofford
Stephen Clark	4	F	6'8"	205	GS Senior	Charlotte, NC	The Citadel
Myles Stute	10	F	6'7"	215	Senior	Washington, D.C.	Vanderbilt
Ta'Lon Cooper	55	G	6'4"	195	Senior	Roebuck, SC	Minnesota

Recruiting classes

2023 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Collin Murray-Boyles #19 SF	Columbia, SC	A. C. Flora High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Aug 7, 2022
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (84)
Arden Conyers #83 SF	Columbia, SC	Westwood High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Aug 8, 2022
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (77)
Morris Ugusuk PG	Finland	N/A	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	N/A	May 3, 2023
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (NR)
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "South Carolina 2023 Basketball Commitments". Rivals. Retrieved August 31, 2023. "2023 South Carolina Gamecocks Recruiting Class". ESPN. Retrieved August 31, 2023. "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved August 31, 2023.

2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2024)
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Okku Federiko PF	Helsinki, Finland	N/A	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Apr 29, 2023
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (NR)
Trent Noah SF/SG	Harlan, KY	Harlan County	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Oct 1, 2023
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (NR)
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "South Carolina 2024 Basketball Commitments". Rivals. Retrieved March 22, 2024. "2024 South Carolina Gamecocks Recruiting Class". ESPN. Retrieved March 22, 2024. "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved March 22, 2024.

Roster

2023–24 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Ebrima Dibba 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 214 lb (97 kg) GS St. Benedict's Preparatory Coastal Carolina Bredäng, Sweden G 1 Jacobi Wright 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 182 lb (83 kg) Jr Legacy Early College Fort Mill, SC F/C 2 B.J. Mack 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 270 lb (122 kg) GS Oak Hill Academy Wofford Charlotte, NC F 4 Stephen Clark 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 208 lb (94 kg) GS Metrolina Christian Academy The Citadel Charlotte, NC G 5 Meechie Johnson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) RS Jr Garfield Heights HS Ohio State Cleveland, OH F 10 Myles Stute 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 209 lb (95 kg) Sr Gonzaga College HS Vanderbilt Washington, D.C. G 12 Zachary Davis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 194 lb (88 kg) So Denmark-Olar HS Denmark, SC G 13 Austin Herro (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Fr Whitenall HS Milwaukee, WI G 14 Eli Sparkman (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) So Baylor School Cleveland, TN G 15 Morris Ugusuk 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Fr Omnia Basketball Academy Helsinki, Finland G 20 Danny Grajzl (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Hawken School Cleveland, OH G 21 Arden Conyers 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 204 lb (93 kg) Fr Westwood HS Columbia, SC F 30 Collin Murray-Boyles 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 231 lb (105 kg) Fr Wasatch Academy Columbia, SC F 31 Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 238 lb (108 kg) RS Sr KA Pegasus Illinois Lommel, Belgium C 33 Josh Gray 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 265 lb (120 kg) Sr Putnam Science Academy LSU Brooklyn, NY G 55 Ta'Lon Cooper 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Dorman HS Minnesota Roebuck, SC	Head coach Lamont Paris (Wooster) Assistant coach(es) Tanner Bronson (Wisconsin) Tim Buckley (Bemidji State) Eddie Shannon (Florida) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2023* 7:00 p.m., −		Wofford	W 60–57	−	14 – Mack	11 – Stute	4 – Johnson	Colonial Life Arena (2) Columbia, SC
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+		USC Upstate	W 82–53	1–0	15 – Tied	8 – Davis	3 – Tied	Colonial Life Arena (11,216) Columbia, SC
November 10, 2023* 9:30 p.m., ACCN		vs. Virginia Tech He Gets Us Hall of Fame Series	W 79–77	2–0	21 – Stute	7 – Bosmans-Verdonk	7 – Cooper	Spectrum Center (6,783) Charlotte, NC
November 13, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+		VMI Arizona Tip-Off campus site game	W 74–64	3–0	17 – Mack	13 – Mack	7 – Cooper	Colonial Life Arena (10,449) Columbia, SC
November 18, 2023* 12:00 a.m., CBSSN		vs. DePaul Arizona Tip-Off semifinals	W 73–68	4–0	24 – Johnson	7 – Tied	5 – Cooper	Desert Diamond Arena (3,214) Glendale, AZ
November 19, 2023* 7:00 p.m., CBSSN		vs. Grand Canyon Arizona Tip-Off championship game	W 75–68	5–0	27 – Mack	6 – Johnson	5 – Cooper	Desert Diamond Arena (2,589) Glendale, AZ
November 28, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SECN		Notre Dame ACC–SEC Challenge	W 65–53	6–0	29 – Johnson	5 – Tied	4 – Cooper	Colonial Life Arena (15,215) Columbia, SC
December 1, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+		George Washington	W 89–67	7–0	24 – Johnson	8 – Johnson	8 – Cooper	Colonial Life Arena (10,936) Columbia, SC
December 6, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ACCN		at No. 24 Clemson Rivalry	L 67–72	7–1	26 – Johnson	7 – Mack	4 – Johnson	Littlejohn Coliseum (9,000) Clemson, SC
December 9, 2023* 12:00 p.m., ESPNU		at East Carolina	W 68–62	8–1	15 – Tied	8 – Mack	3 – Tied	Williams Arena (5,568) Greenville, NC
December 16, 2023* 6:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+		Charleston Southern	W 73–69	9–1	16 – Mack	6 – Tied	5 – Ugusuk	Colonial Life Arena (10,006) Columbia, SC
December 19, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+		Winthrop	W 72–62	10–1	20 – Johnson	7 – Mack	5 – Johnson	Colonial Life Arena (9,455) Columbia, SC
December 22, 2023* 6:00 p.m., SECN		Elon	W 70–43	11–1	17 – Cooper	8 – Stute	3 – Tied	Colonial Life Arena (10,203) Columbia, SC
December 30, 2023* 2:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+		Florida A&M	W 94–62	12–1	17 – Murray-Boyles	9 – Clark	6 – Johnson	Colonial Life Arena (11,070) Columbia, SC
SEC regular season
January 6, 2024 12:00 p.m., CBS		Mississippi State	W 68–62	13–1 (1–0)	24 – Johnson	6 – Tied	7 – Cooper	Colonial Life Arena (11,382) Columbia, SC
January 9, 2024 7:00 p.m., SECN		at Alabama	L 47–74	13–2 (1–1)	16 – Johnson	6 – Mack	2 – Tied	Coleman Coliseum (10,208) Tuscaloosa, AL
January 13, 2024 3:30 p.m., SECN		at Missouri	W 71–69 OT	14–2 (2–1)	21 – Mack	8 – Cooper	3 – Tied	Mizzou Arena (11,135) Columbia, MO
January 16, 2024 9:00 p.m., ESPNU		Georgia	L 69–74	14–3 (2–2)	19 – Johnson	6 – Tied	3 – Tied	Colonial Life Arena (12,404) Columbia, SC
January 20, 2024 1:00 p.m., SECN		at Arkansas	W 77–64	15–3 (3–2)	18 – Mack	9 – Mack	5 – Tied	Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR
January 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., SECN		No. 6 Kentucky	W 79–62	16–3 (4–2)	20 – Cooper	9 – Murray-Boyles	5 – Tied	Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC
January 27, 2024 1:00 p.m., SECN		Missouri	W 72–64	17–3 (5–2)	21 – Mack	8 – Murray-Boyles	4 – Cooper	Colonial Life Arena (13,553) Columbia, SC
January 30, 2024 6:30 p.m., SECN		at No. 5 Tennessee	W 63–59	18–3 (6–2)	18 – Cooper	7 – Gray	6 – Johnson	Thompson–Boling Arena (20,667) Knoxville, TN
February 3, 2024 1:00 p.m., SECN		at Georgia	W 72–62	19–3 (7–2)	16 – Murray-Boyles	8 – Gray	8 – Cooper	Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) Athens, GA
February 6, 2024 6:30 p.m., SECN	No. 15	Ole Miss	W 68–65	20–3 (8–2)	16 – Murray-Boyles	9 – Murray-Boyles	8 – Johnson	Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC
February 10, 2024 1:00 p.m., SECN	No. 15	Vanderbilt	W 75–60	21–3 (9–2)	31 – Murray-Boyles	7 – Murray-Boyles	7 – Cooper	Colonial Life Arena (14,310) Columbia, SC
February 14, 2024 8:30 p.m., SECN	No. 11	at No. 13 Auburn	L 61–101	21–4 (9–3)	22 – Johnson	7 – Tied	2 – Johnson	Neville Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
February 17, 2024 3:30 p.m., SECN	No. 11	LSU	L 63–64	21–5 (9–4)	18 – Mack	9 – Mack	4 – Johnson	Colonial Life Arena (16,570) Columbia, SC
February 24, 2024 3:30 p.m., SECN	No. 20	at Ole Miss	W 72–59	22–5 (10–4)	17 – Mack	9 – Davis	6 – Cooper	SJB Pavilion (8,486) Oxford, MS
February 28, 2024 8:30 p.m., SECN	No. 18	at Texas A&M	W 70–68	23–5 (11–4)	22 – Johnson	12 – Murray-Boyles	9 – Cooper	Reed Arena (9,255) College Station, TX
March 2, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 18	No. 24 Florida	W 82–76	24–5 (12–4)	25 – Johnson	11 – Murray-Boyles	4 – Cooper	Colonial Life Arena (16,978) Columbia, SC
March 6, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 17	No. 4 Tennessee	L 59–66	24–6 (12–5)	18 – Johnson	11 – Murray-Boyles	3 – Johnson	Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC
March 9, 2024 2:30 p.m., SECN	No. 17	at Mississippi State	W 93–89 OT	25–6 (13–5)	25 – Mack	8 – Murray-Boyles	6 – Murray-Boyles	Humphrey Coliseum (9,289) Starkville, MS
SEC tournament
March 14, 2024 3:30 p.m., SECN	(5) No. 15	vs. (12) Arkansas Second Round	W 80–66	26–6	24 – Murray-Boyles	9 – Mack	4 – Davis	Bridgestone Arena (11,638) Nashville, TN
March 15, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN	(5) No. 15	vs. (4) No. 12 Auburn Quarterfinals	L 55–86	26–7	14 – Mack	8 – Tied	4 – Davis	Bridgestone Arena (17,137) Nashville, TN
NCAA tournament
March 21, 2024 4:00 p.m., TBS	(6 MW) No. 16	vs. (11 MW) Oregon First Round	L 73–87	26–8	24 – Johnson	8 – Stute	7 – Cooper	PPG Paints Arena (17,698) Pittsburgh, PA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest region. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source^[8][9]

Rankings

See also: 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	—	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	RV	15	11	20	18	17	15	16	25
Coaches	—	—	RV	—	—	—	RV	RV	—	RV	—	—	RV	20	11	20	18	16	19	17	23

See also

• 2023–24 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team