The South Carolina men’s basketball is preparing for its return to action following an offseason that included almost a complete roster overhaul. With only three players from last season’s squad returning, the Gamecocks look to produce a season that contrasts last season's 12-20 record, which included a 2-16 record in the Southeastern Conference.
South Carolina’s roster overhaul is highlighted by the return of former four-star transfer guard Meechie Johnson. He transferred from the program following the 2023-24 season and is now returning as a redshirt senior.
The Ohio native was the 20th-ranked point guard in the class of 2021 and committed to play for the Ohio State Buckeyes after receiving offers from schools such as Louisville, Georgetown and Miami. Across his first two seasons with the Buckeyes, Johnson averaged 3.1 points along with 1.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game across 43 games. Following the 2021-2022 season, he entered his name into the transfer portal.
Johnson transferred to South Carolina ahead of the 2022-23 season, where he saw a sizable increase in playing time compared to Ohio State, jumping from 13 minutes per game to 33.3 minutes in 30 games with the Gamecocks. His averages jumped to 12.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and a team-high 3.6 assists per game.
He had four performances with 20 points or more, headlined by a career-high 26-point performance against the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington, Kentucky, to earn a 71-68 upset win. This was the team's first win at Rupp Arena since 2009 and ended the Wildcats' 28-game home winning streak.
In the 2023-24 season, Johnson led the team with both 60 3-pointers made and 30 steals. His 95 assists were second on the team, only behind then-graduate guard Ta'Lon Cooper.
Johnson earned second-team All-SEC honors in a season where the Gamecocks' 26 wins tied the program record. The Gamecocks had their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2017, and head coach Lamont Paris won SEC Coach of the Year.
Johnson was named the SEC Player of the Week twice, as well as the Lute Olson National Player of the Week at the backend of the season. He then opted to re-enter the transfer portal for what was expected to be his final year of eligibility.
In a somewhat unique move, Johnson transferred back to Ohio State in 2024. After starting in the first ten games of the year, averaging 9.1 points per game, the fifth-year guard stepped away from the team due to personal reasons and didn’t return for the rest of the season.
Having not played for a majority of the season, Johnson was granted a sixth year of eligibility. He then entered the transfer portal once more and came back to Columbia, rejoining the Gamecocks for a second stint and his final season.
“I just thought it was the best thing to do just for a legacy standpoint, just from a winning standpoint,” Johnson said. “I just loved it here, and I feel like it was the right thing to do.”
Johnson is accompanied by six fellow upperclassmen transfers on top of five freshmen joining the team this season. Paris said he has embraced the team’s new makeup, including Johnson’s return.
“His voice is a very powerful voice, and he’s demonstrating great leadership,” Paris said. “This works well for him and for us also.”
Ahead of the 2023-24 season, the team welcomed eight new players in a roster overhaul similar to that of this season’s 11.
“Two years ago we had a trip to the Bahamas,” Paris said. “More importantly than anything was just the time that we spent in transit … That kind of stuff is important for those guys just to get to know each other.”
Redshirt senior guard Myles Stute is one of the few players who carried over from last season's team. He will be the only rotation player to play alongside Johnson for two seasons. In the lone season, the tandem shared the court in 2023-24, Stute averaged 8.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in 23.4 minutes per game.
“We never stopped any communication,” Stute said. “Even when he went to Ohio State, I was super understanding of it. I knew he had certain things and goals that he wanted to achieve.”
Big name four-star freshman guard Eli Ellis is the highest-ranked addition to the Gamecock roster this season. The two-time Overtime Elite MVP is also the league's all-time leading scorer.
"(Johnson's) a great leader for me just to be able to look up to a guy that's an older guy that's in my same position," Ellis said. "(We're both) loud with how we play, and we can both score the ball ... We need that for a really new team that hasn't been together that long."
In the Gamecocks' exhibition match on Sunday against NC State, Johnson's and Ellis' respective 21 and 23 points flashed long desired promise, despite the 88-86 loss.
The Gamecocks lost seven players to the transfer portal during or after the 2024-25 season. The team’s 12-20 record last season fell far short of expectations after making the tournament just one year prior. However, Johnson’s homecoming, combined with an impressive freshman class, looks to spearhead the team’s resurgence back into SEC relevance.
What's next?
Johnson and the rest of the new-look Gamecocks tip the season off against North Carolina A&T on Nov. 4 at Colonial Life Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be streamed on SEC Network+.