The South Carolina men's basketball team reached the end of the road of its 2023-24 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 when it was eliminated by the Oregon Ducks in the first round of the NCAA men鈥檚 tournament on March 21.
The loss ended one of the most successful 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒s in Gamecock history, in which the program reached a new regular 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 win record of 25, ultimately going 26-8 with its sole win in the SEC Tournament.
The Gamecocks reached new heights in many ways this 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒, as it had the best record turnaround between two 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒s in program history. The team won 14 more regular 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 games than it did in 2022-23 when it finished 11-21.
鈥�It just goes to the coaching staff and what they were able to do, bringing in the seniors, and obviously (freshman forward Collin Murray-Boyles) stepping up big later on,鈥� junior guard Meechie Johnson said. 鈥淚t really just starts with them. They believed in us since the jump.鈥�
South Carolina鈥檚 13 wins in SEC conference play were the second most in school history. The Gamecocks tied a school record for seven of those wins being on the road. The team was recognized as high as No. 11 on the AP Poll, a mark it hadn鈥檛 reached since the 1997-98 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 when it ranked No. 5 in the country.
Head coach Lamont Paris can be partially credited for the team's immense success in his second 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 leading South Carolina. Paris already took home the SEC Coach of the Year Award and is a finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year award alongside T.J. Otzelberger from Iowa State, Dan Hurley from UConn and Kelvin Sampson from Houston.
Paris鈥� second 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 leading the Gamecocks led to a six-year contract extension through the 2029-30 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒.
The 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 saw memorable upsets as well, such as the Gamecocks' victory over No. 6 Kentucky 79-62 on Jan. 23 at Colonial Life Arena, which was followed by a massive storming of the court. Another notable ranked victory came on the road when the Gamecocks took down the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers on Jan. 30.
Some players, such as senior forward Josh Gray and junior guard Jacobi Wright, saw success after experiencing a tough prior 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒.
"For both Jacobi and myself, this is year three," Gray said. "We've kept our head down. We've stayed humble throughout. It's a process, and this year we knew we had a good group of guys coming in. No egos. A lot of team camaraderie. And for it to pay off like this 鈥� it's just priceless."
Many players had productive individual 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒s, most notably fifth-year guard Ta鈥橪on Cooper and Johnson. Each earned second-team All-SEC honors.
Cooper, who previously played for Morehead State and Minnesota, averaged 9.9 points per game while leading the team in assists at 4.2 per game. Johnson was the team leader in points per game at 14.1 and scored a team-high 24 points in the final game of the 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 against Oregon.
鈥�This was a winning group. Changed the program around from the year that they had the year before,鈥� Cooper said. 鈥淛ust a great group of guys that just loved to play with each other.鈥�
But the guard spots for next 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 now need to be filled. Cooper has exhausted all of his years of NCAA eligibility while Johnson recently entered the transfer portal. Johnson, who spent two years in the program after originally playing for Ohio State, is also expected to look at entering the NBA draft, according to On3.
The Gamecocks will also need to replace one of the starting forward spots following the graduation of fifth-year B.J. Mack. Mack, who previously played for South Florida and Wofford, averaged 13.6 points per game and 4.7 rebounds per game.
The Gamecocks will look forward to the return of Murray-Boyles, who exploded onto the scene in December after missing the first games of the 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 from a mononucleosis diagnosis.
Murray-Boyles earned All-SEC Freshman Team honors and made a name for himself in SEC conference play, reaching his height when he scored 31 points at home against Vanderbilt on Feb. 10. Murray-Boyles finished the 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 averaging 10.4 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game.
鈥�罢丑别谤别鈥檚 growth, and then there鈥檚 whatever the word that you would use 鈥� metamorphosis,鈥� Paris said. 鈥淔rom that first time he was physically able to compete in a college game to who he is right now 鈥� it's metamorphosis.鈥�
South Carolina is likely expected to be aggressive in the transfer portal, as it brought in much of this 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒鈥檚 talent from the portal, including Cooper, Mack, junior guard Myles Stute from Vanderbilt and graduate forward Stephen Clark from The Citadel.
After being projected to in the SEC, the outcome for the Gamecocks exceeded expectations. After extending Paris' contract and retaining players and additions from the portal once the off-麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 begins, South Carolina will look to build off of its success.
鈥�You could have great guys, high-quality guys, that it just doesn鈥檛 translate when it comes to how they mesh together. And it did. It did in an incredible way,鈥� Paris said. 鈥�It always starts from within, and this group had all of those characteristics and then some.鈥�
