Scouting Report: South Carolina Gamecocks

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Last week was all about holding serve at Rupp Arena. After losing in College Station on January 13, the Kentucky Wildcats (14-3, 4-1) returned home to Lexington to play two games they were supposed to win. However, if college basketball has taught us anything this season, all wins are hard to come by in league play. The Cats did their job though, defeating Mississippi State 90-77 on Wednesday and Georgia 105-96 on Saturday. Now, they will complete their first of three Wednesday-Saturday-Tuesday trifectas with a trip to Colonial Life Arena to face the South Carolina Gamecocks (15-3, 3-2). Winning on the road is hard, but this Quad 1 opportunity would be big for Kentucky’s resume. It’ll be followed by a Quad 2 matchup at Arkansas on Saturday.

Coach Lamont Paris is certainly an early contender for Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year. He has already surpassed last season’s win total by four games and is knocking on the door of the AP Top 25. Many people questioned if their 12-1 non-conference mark was a fluky by-product of a weak schedule. However, they’ve backed it up with three SEC wins including two on the road at Missouri and Arkansas. It is time to recognize South Carolina as a team that can legitimately compete in the top half of the conference. The transfer portal and traditional high school recruiting were good to Coach Paris this off-season as four of the Gamecocks’ top five scorers were not on the roster last season.

As always, we have prepared a full, in-depth scouting report for Kentucky’s next opponent. We will take a deep dive into the Gamecocks’ personnel, break down their offensive and defensive schemes, and highlight the keys to the game for the Cats. Let’s dive in and get to know more about the South Carolina Gamecocks.

South Carolina Gamecocks Personnel

Starters

#55 Ta’Lon Cooper: 6’4″ 200 lbs, Graduate Student Guard
9.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.3 apg

Point Guard. Will share primary ball-handling duties alongside #5 Johnson. Playmaker. Good shooter. Half of his shots have been 3s. No uncontested 3s! Shooting 41.7% from 3. Get OVER the ballscreens and handoffs. We should look to hard hedge the ballscreens some and force him away from the basket. That will help neutralize both his shooting and passing ability some. CHASE him off of downscreens and get OVER the flares. Don’t help too much off of him when he doesn’t have it. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Excellent passer. We do not want to overhelp when he drives it. He is driving to pass more than he is to finish. Just make him finish contested 2s with you between him and the basket. No uncontested 3s. Don’t over help!

#5 Meechie Johnson: 6’2″ 184 lbs, Junior Guard
16.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.9 apg

Talented, aggressive offensive player. Will share primary ball-handling duties alongside #55 Cooper. Shooter! No 3s! Half of his shots have been 3s. Shooting 37% from 3 with more than two makes per game. You need to be tight enough to him to take away the catch-and-shoot 3s. Get OVER the ballscreens and handoffs. We should look to hard hedge the ballscreens some and force him away from the basket. That will help neutralize both his shooting and passing ability some. CHASE him off of downscreens and get OVER the flares. Don’t help too much off of him when he doesn’t have it. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Get your hands up and contest the floater as he drives it. Right-hand driver. No 3s!!!

#12 Zachary Davis: 6’7″ 194 lbs, Sophomore Guard
4.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.7 apg

Long, thin guard. Starting in the place of Myles Stute who is injured. Willing shooter, but just 10-35 from 3. Much more dangerous as a right-hand driver. No right-hand drives!!! You can go UNDER the ballscreens and handoffs. More worried about staying between him and the basket. Help off of him when he doesn’t have it and then close out short to him on the perimeter. You are closing out short to guard against the right-hand drive. Just throw a hand up to contest if he shoots. We will adjust if he makes a couple. He is going to shot fake, spin, and always come back to his right hand to finish at the end of his drives. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Make him finish contested 2’s outside of the paint. Crashes the offensive glass. Box out. No right-hand drives!

#30 Collin Murray-Boyles: 6’7″ 231 lbs, Freshman Forward
6.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.3 apg

Left-handed. Strong, athletic 4-man. Not very aggressive offensively. Mostly looking to score within two feet. He is primarily going to ballscreen and roll to the basket. Likes to slip the ballscreens or float back into space against an ICE. Don’t let him slip and cut across your face. If we are aggressive enough at the point of the ballscreen it will make it hard for them to hit him on the roll. Will catch it on the short roll or off of the slip and drive it left. NO LEFT-HAND DRIVES!!! You should always be between him and the basket. He is a NON-SHOOTER!!! 0-4 from 3. Closeout short, back up, and stay between him and the basket. Left hand, right shoulder in the post. No quick drop steps. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Box out! No left-hand drives!

#2 B.J. Mack: 6’8″ 260 lbs, Graduate Student Forward
13.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.4 apg

Skilled 5-man. Very physical. Capable shooter. 25-78 from 3. You have to get out there and take him away from 3. No catch-and-shoot 3’s! He will pick-and-pop on the perimeter. Close out aggressively to take away the pick-and-pop 3’s. Likes to shoot them from the trail spot in transition. You have to be out there to pick him up and take him away. Be ready to get all the way out to him when he is on the perimeter. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Will ballscreen and roll to the basket. Likes to turn drives into post moves. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical and get him off of the block. His percentages will do down the further off of the block you make him catch it. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Box out! No catch-and-shoot 3s!

Bench

#1 Jacobi Wright: 6’2″ 182 lbs, Junior Guard
6.2 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.8 apg

Backup guard. Right-hand driver!!! No right-hand drives!!! Willing shooter, but is shooting just 22.7% from 3. 10 makes in 18 games. We want to stay between him and the basket. Go UNDER the ballscreens and handoffs. Help off of him when he doesn’t have it and then close out short to him on the perimeter. You are closing out short in order to guard against the right-hand drive. Be ready to contest the mid-range pull-up jumper, but we aren’t worried about him shooting it from 3. Just throw a hand up to contest. We will adjust if he makes a couple. He is a good passer when driving it. Do not overhelp when he drives it, especially when he is driving it left. Make him finish contested 2s. Absolutely no straight line, right-hand drives for him. No layups!

#15 Morris Ugusuk: 6’4″ 160 lbs, Freshman Guard
2.8 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 0.8 apg

Backup point guard. Will handle the ball a lot when he is in there. Very willing shooter, 35 of 47 shots have been 3s, but shooting just 28.6% from 3. He is 10-35 on the season. You need to be there to contest the obvious catch-and-shoot 3’s. He is primarily looking to shoot catch-and-shoot 3s. When you take away the initial catch-and-shoot he is going to look to drive it right. No right-hand drives! You don’t need to run him off of the line or fly at him, but close out with high hands and choppy feet. Then, bounce back and guard against the right-hand drive. We want to stay between him and the basket. You can hop UNDER the ballscreens and handoffs. Just be ready to get a hand up if he shoots behind it. No right-hand drives! No layups for him.

#31 Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk: 6’9″ 238 lbs, Redshirt Senior Forward
2.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.5 apg

Backup post player. Strong and physical. Not going to be very aggressive unless he is right at the rim. Will ballscreen and roll to the basket. Not really looking for it on the roll. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Do your work early and get him pushed off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. He won’t really look to score if he is outside of the paint. There is no need to help when he catches it inside. If you do go you need to go with the idea of either stealing it or fouling. 8 assists, 12 turnovers. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Excellent offensive rebounder. You have to be physical and make contact with him when the shot goes up. Box out!!!

#4 Stephen Clark: 6’8″ 208 lbs, Graduate Student Forward
2.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 0.9 apg

Backup forward. He is a non-shooter. 2-6 this season and 24-114 in 116 career games. Closeout short, back up, and guard against the right-hand drive. No right-hand drives!!! Stay down on the shot fake and stay between him and the basket. Contest the obvious catch-and-shoot 3, but we are looking to close out short and bounce back on the perimeter. Absolutely no right-hand drives. He is looking to shot fake, spin, and come back right to finish inside. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. He is very active on the offensive glass. You have to make contact and box him out. No right-hand drives!

#33 Josh Gray: 7’0″ 265 lbs, Senior Center
1.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 0.2 apg

Backup 5-man. Big, strong, and very physical. Not very aggressive offensively. Only looking to score directly at the rim. If you stay between him and the basket he won’t look to do much. Will ballscreen and roll to the rim. They will actually throw it to him some on the roll if he is open. We aren’t that worried about him beating us on the roll though. Deter the pass to the roll by being aggressive at the point of the screen. Don’t overhelp and tag on his roll off of guys like #5 Johnson, #55 Cooper, or even #2 Mack. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Do your work early and get him pushed off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. Don’t need to help when he gets it inside. Be physical. Box out!

South Carolina Gamecocks Offense

The South Carolina Gamecocks upgraded their talent across the board from last season and it has led to much improved results. Offensively, Coach Paris relies on his dynamic guard play to create a lot of offense in the half-court. #55 Cooper and #5 Johnson are both very good shooters who can make plays for their teammates off of the bounce as well. There is a lot of 4-around-1 and 5-Out Motion with the Gamecocks really trying to control the pace. Their average offensive possession lasts 19.1 seconds which is 338th out of 362 Division I teams. Losing Myles Stute for a couple of weeks hurts their three-point shooting and spacing, but there are still talented pieces to generate offense. #2 Mack will be a very difficult matchup for our big men.

South Carolina isn’t going to push the pace very often, but when they do we have to make sure we get out and take away #2 Mack from 3. Protect the basket, stop the ball, and matchup beginning with the next most dangerous guy. Here Arkansas has two guys guarding the ball and nobody ever picks up Mack. That cannot happen.

Here is a look at some of the Gamecocks 5-Out offense. They like to set these back screens on the perimeter and will backcut to the rim in space. It is okay to switch the back cut like that when it catches you off guard. What we can’t have happen is both defenders go with the cutter and leave #2 Mack wide open from 3. You have to be aware of him when he is beyond the arc.

Our big men will HAVE to do a great job on #2 Mack in this game. The path to the South Carolina Gamecocks winning involves him hitting several 3s. He is coming off of a 3-4 performance in their win at Arkansas. You cannot lose concentration. Stay tight to him and close out aggressively on the perimeter. This is a closeout that will get us beat on Tuesday night.

South Carolina likes to set this little Flex screen in their half-court Motion offense. When #30 Murray-Boyles sets it he will then step off and look for a catch. Anytime he catches it faced up to the basket he is only looking to drive it left. No left-hand drives!!! You can play a step or two off of him and dare him to shoot the jumper. We cannot let him drive it left and dunk it on us.

This is a good look at South Carolina’s ballscreen continuity/Motion offense. The ball changes sides of the floor multiple times and they are very patient in the half-court. What we can’t have happen is getting caught this far off of #2 Mack, especially late in the shot clock. There was no reason to tag on the roll this much off of Mack. Mack making multiple 3s is the path to the Gamecocks winning at home.

Here is a look at a set play that begins in a Horns alignment but flows into a wing handoff with a staggered ballscreen. As he likes to do, #30 Murray-Boyles slips the first screen and the ball handler comes off of the second ballscreen set by #2 Mack. We have to be ready for #5 Johnson to come back and drive it right. Also, you need to tighten up to #55 Cooper as the ball is driven towards you. This is too clean of a look for him. We would rather make Johnson score a runner outside of the lane than give up this inside-out 3 to Cooper. If you get them to miss though you have to defensive rebound it!

South Carolina Gamecocks Defense

In a lot of respects, the South Carolina Gamecocks defense is an inverse of our defense. The end results are similar (65th in adjusted efficiency versus 75th), but the inputs are in stark contrast. South Carolina is excellent at defending inside the arc allowing opponents to shoot just 44.6% from 2 despite not blocking many shots at all. Furthermore, the Gamecocks are great at taking teams away from 3-point range. However, when they do get them off, they shoot 33%. South Carolina’s man-to-man defense is also not one to force turnovers. They are content with keeping a guy on a guy, containing the 3-point shot, and making it hard for you to get all of the way to the rim. It is a delicate balance, but it has worked well for Coach Paris’ group this season.

Keys to the Game

No 3s for #2 Mack!!! You have to get all the way out on the perimeter and be there to take him away from 3. Pick him up in the trail spot, close out aggressively when he looks to pick-and-pop, and tighten up to him on the perimeter as the ball is driven towards you. Have to hold him to no more than 1 made 3.
Contain #5 Johnson and #55 Cooper. We obviously should always outplay the opponents’ guards. These guys are good though. Dynamic playmakers who can both score and pass. No more than 3 combined 3s. More turnovers than assists.
Control the defensive glass. The South Carolina Gamecocks are 40th nationally getting 34.6% of their own misses. We need to be 75% or better on the defensive glass.
Shoot 75% or better from the free throw line.