Meechie Johnson ready to lead in his return to South Carolina
After spending a season playing for his home-state Ohio State Buckeyes, Meechie Johnson returned to South Carolina. As he begins his second stint and third season with the Gamecocks, head coach Lamont Paris said he returns as an excited leader.
“I think as we all get older, we’re more experienced and probably a little more in tune with what that means,” Paris said. “… And so I think this is a guy that says, ‘This was a great situation for me … I know what my role is already. I know what this is going to look like. I’m familiar with these things. I’m very comfortable with those things.’”
Johnson rose to a fan-favorite level in his two-season stint in Columbia from 2022-24. His fame in the fanbase culminated with him being lifted on the shoulders of fans who rushed the court at Colonial Life Arena in January 2024 after the team’s upset win over the Kentucky Wildcats.
Naturally, when he announced his return in April, South Carolina fans accepted his return to Paris’ program with open arms.
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However, the return hit a brief bump in the road heading into South Carolina’s summer workouts.
After two weeks of workouts, Johnson remains sidelined with an injury but is expected to return sooner rather than later.
“He’s had some tightness in his back,” Paris said. “And so we’ve just been holding him out of the workouts. And so he is maybe another couple (of) weeks, we’ll see what that looks like.”
Despite not yet being able to return to the court at Colonial Life Arena, Johnson has been a strong, vocal leader from the sidelines.
“He’s at all the workouts and practices, and his voice is a very powerful voice,” Paris said. “And he’s 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.”
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Paris said Johnson’s leadership will likely be more intentional than his previous time at South Carolina. It’s also an attribute that is coming more naturally to the veteran guard.
Johnson spent two seasons with South Carolina before transferring back to Ohio State, where he started his collegiate career. Johnson played in a career-low 10 games during the 2024-25 season with the Buckeyes, averaging nine points, two assists and two rebounds per game.
In his two seasons with the Gamecocks, Johnson averaged 12.7 and 14.1 points per game, respectively, in 63 total games played. Johnson was a member of the All-SEC Second Team after the 2023-24 season. Johnson was also a finalist for the Lute Olson National Player of the Year award.
“Compared to when he was here before, it was his second year here. And you know, you’re bringing in new pieces, and we had a lot of new faces coming in. You’re still trying to prove some things,” Paris said. “I think he’s beyond that. I think at this stage he’s not trying to prove anything, not to anybody that matters in his basketball world, not to any of these people here. You know, he’ll be trying to prove that this team can win a lot of games.”
There’s a level of comfort that comes in not playing to prove yourself. Johnson knows why he came back and knows what Paris’ staff wanted him back.
“There’s a comfort that comes with that in just how you move from day to day,” Paris said.
