South Carolina basketball: how former Gamecocks did professionally this year

On3 imageby:Collyn Taylor05/18/22

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The NBA season and international basketball seasons are winding down, which means former South Carolina players are finishing up their professional seasons.

The Gamecocks have a handful of players playing professionally with a lot of standout performances. Here’s how they did this year.

PJ Dozier was incredibly limited this season, playing in just 18 games for the Denver Nuggets before a knee injury ended his year. He averaged 5.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 36.4 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from three.

He was traded in January to Boston before subsequently getting traded to the Magic and released on February 10.

For the first time in his career, Sindarius Thornwell played overseas, settling for Ratiopharm Ulm in the German BBL. He averaged 29.8 minutes in 40 games, averaging 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

Thornwell shot 44.6 percent from the field and 40.4 from three.

AJ Lawson played 33 games in the G League in his first professional season, playing for the College Park Skyhawks (Atlanta Hawks).

He averaged 11.8 points on 50 percent shooting (30 percent from three) with 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

Former South Carolina big man Chris Silva also logged time in the G League, averaging 27 minutes over 17 games.

He averaged 17.5 points on 60 percent shooting with 9.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. He plays for the Iowa Wolves, the affiliate for Minnesota.

Maik Kotsar played in 50 games this yaer for the Hamburg Towers with 26 starts. He averaged 13.9 points on 61.7 percent shooting while hauling in 7.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

Hassani Gravett logged action in eight NBA games this season for the Orlando Magic. He averaged 6.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game with a trio of starts. Gravett, who won sixth man of the year at South Carolina, shot 47.4 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from three.

He played for the Magic’s G League team as well, averaging 13.9 points on 42.3 percent shooting, 33.7 percent from three. He averaged 6.3 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 80.4 percent from the line.

Michael Carrera averaged 27.8 minutes per game this year for Forca Lleida in Spain. He averaged 17.7 points on 48 percent shooting and hit 30.8 percent of threes. He brought in 7.6 rebounds and had 2.3 assists per game.

Renaldo Balkman split time this year between two teams, playing in 18 games with 17 starts. He averaged 12.1 points on48.5 percent shooting but shot 29.6 percent from three. The former South Carolina forward brought in 6.2 rebounds per game with 1.8 assists.

Dominique Archie is still playing professionally as well. He played in 30 games this year for Pau-Orthez in the French Jeep Elite league, averaging 7.3 points and 4.3 rebounds. He also shot 38.7 percent from the field, 37.6 percent from three.

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