Gilber Edmond opens up about returning to South Carolina
For the first time since returning to play for South Carolina, Gilber Edmond has spoke publicly about his decision.
After spending his first three seasons with the Gamecocks, Edmond transferred to Florida State for the 2023 season. After just one season in Tallahassee, Edmond returns to South Carolina with just one year of eligibility remaining.
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“One thing that I learned about myself is that you just have to go after what you want,” said Edmond. “Me coming back here, most people would’ve probably had too much pride to go back to the school they transferred from. But for me, this is where I want to be. Knowing that I want to end where I started. Learning that you don’t always have to be the prideful guy.”
Edmond shared that he originally reached out to his positional coach, Sterling Lucas, to express his desire to come back to Columbia. From there, he spoke with Shane Beamer and expressed to him that he wanted to finish what he originally set out to do.
“We just spoke about it, like the process of how everything would go, where’s my head at and where (Beamer’s) head is at… I embraced everything that came with it, because I knew this is where I wanted to be. I wanted to finish what I started. Anything that came with it didn’t seem like a challenge or a burden on me coming back. It was just something I had to deal with.”
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It’s only been a month since Edmond returned to South Carolina but so far things are going, “even better,” as he put it, than he could’ve imagined. The fifth-year senior expressed his gratitude towards not only the coaching staff welcoming him back with open arms but his teammates as well.
“Being back here, it’s been about four weeks now and honestly, I’ve been loving it. Immersing myself back with my previous teammates and making new connections with the newer guys, and rekindling relationships with the coaching staff and stuff like that. It’s been great… The guys that we have on this team, just being with them the last couple of weeks, seeing what type of athletes and the type of competitors they are, it’s been a joy.”
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As Shane Beamer shared two weeks ago, Edmond will wear No.55 this season. While he wore No.8 before leaving South Carolina, returning to the number he was given his freshman year is a full-circle moment.
“55 — it’s about finishing what I started. Finishing with the jersey I came in with (and) finishing with the team I came in with.”
