Meechie Johnson injury update: Lamont Paris shares where South Carolina guard is at in recovery

Meechie Johnson is back for his second go-around in Columbia having come back to the Gamecocks in the NCAA Transfer Portal. He has yet to take the court yet, though, as he deals with an injury that could be sidelining him into July.

Lamont Paris provided an update on Johnson’s status while speaking to the media on Monday. He said he has yet to work out with them to this point as some back tightness has kept him out of the summer workouts the past two weeks for South Carolina.

“Yeah, Meechie is just, he’s, his back was, he’s had some tightness in his back and so we’ve just been holding him out of the workouts. And so he is, you know, maybe another couple weeks (away),” said Paris. “We’ll see what that looks like.”

Because of that, Johnson, who’s fine besides the back tightness, has had to take an off-court role to this point of his return. He wanted to lead by example on the court with his teammates but is instead having to lead vocally.

“He feels good,” said Paris. “He’s at all the workouts and practices and his voice is a very powerful voice and he’s, you know, demonstrating great leadership, even though he’s not in which was a bummer for him because he was really looking forward to getting into the drills and leading by doing. But, this works well for him and for us also.”

Johnson, having made 116 collegiate appearances with 77 starts for Ohio State and South Carolina, has averaged 9.2 points (37% FG, 33.1% 3PT on 1.6 makes), 2.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in his career. However, between the two programs, Johnson has been much better as a Gamecock, posting 13.4 points (38.1% FG, 32.4% 3PT on 2.1 makes), 3.9 rebounds, and 3.2 assists from 2022 to 2024, including being an All-SEC Second Team Selection in ’23-’24.

Now, after a year spent back in his home state in Columbus, where he ended up taking a leave of absence, leading to a medical hardship waiver, where he only played in ten games last year for the Buckeyes, Johnson is back as one of six transfers this cycle for South Carolina in what’s a Top-25 portal class. He is their second highest-rated addition behind only Elijah Strong (Boston College), as the No. 345 overall player and a Top-75 PG per On3’s 2025 Top Transfer Portal Players.

Johnson, having past experience in the program, should be the most accustomed transfer by far, if not one of the more accustomed on the roster. Still, having not played much, if at all, last year and still not on the court ahead of his final year, the Gamecocks will want #5 back healthy and on the floor as soon as he can be to fully re-adjust to them.