An updated look at former South Carolina stars who have now made NBA rosters.
NBA:
NBA G League:
Overseas:
Note: Not every player listed for overseas is there full-time, as some also play in the G League during the offseason.
The Gamecocks, who are top 10 all-time in lottery picks in the NBA Draft, haven’t had a real NBA star in years. Many argue that NBA All-Star Brian Winters and NBA Hall of Fame class of 1997 SF Alex English were the last true stars to come out of Carolina. Many hoped that both former five-stars Sindarius Thornwell and P.J. Dozier would become stars after leading the Gamecocks to the Final Four in 2017. Things looked good for Thornwell at first; he made his presence felt on defense and had a great game against LeBron James, showing his scoring potential at times. However, he was never really given the green light to showcase his full talents on the court in the NBA.
On the other hand, P.J. Dozier decided to enter the 2017 draft after two years at South Carolina. Many wanted to see him continue developing his game, which was just starting to take shape at Carolina, for another year. After talking with an agent, he entered the draft and went undrafted for the Lakers. Over the years, he became a star in the G League and got his chance when he transformed from a role player into a key sixth man. Unfortunately, he suffered an ACL injury just as he was starting to make a name for himself. He was traded and cut a few weeks later and has been working overseas to make it back to the NBA.
Now, the Gamecocks have a real young rising star in GG Jackson. The former No. 1 player in the country decided to stay home and play for the Gamecocks, joining a year early at 18 years old. He led the team in every stat category and, after one year at Carolina, made his mother his agent and entered the draft. Despite getting sick during pre-draft workouts, which caused his projected lottery pick to drop to the second round, he became a rookie star in his first year in the NBA. As the youngest player in the league at 19 years old, he made the All-Rookie Team after playing only 30 games. He made a significant impact, even scoring over 30 points against NBA superstar LeBron James, making him a name every NBA fan now knows.
After years of not having many players in the league, South Carolina/Providence SG Devin Carter was drafted in the lottery round this past year. Both programs claim Carter, who is a player many scouts are high on. His success helps sell the program to elite players around the country, like Coach Lamont Paris and Q-Zip Nation have been doing for the past few months with the very impressive 2024 and 2025 classes.
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Source link : https://www.si.com/college/southcarolina/basketball/gamecocks-in-the-nba-update-01j1ndp111f3
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Publish date : 2024-06-30 16:40:49
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