Field of 68 predicts strong season for South Carolina guards, low finish in SEC standings

The 2025-2026 version of South Carolina basketball will be a team with a lot of possible variance.

The Gamecocks have several players with notable skills or abilities, but known, consistent commodities are not up and down the roster. If everything goes well, and the pieces fit together perfectly, there is a path–albeit a small one–to national relevancy like the 2023-2024 squad. However, there are a lot of question marks surrounding this team. That is a big reason why the SEC media picked South Carolina as the No. 16 team in the SEC this offseason.

Field of 68’s Rob Dauster shares a similar sentiment about Lamont Paris’ group.

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This week, the new On3 partner revealed his thoughts on the SEC hierarchy, and he picked the Gamecocks to finish last in the league.

Dauster singled out transfer portal additions Meechie Johnson (team strength) and Mike Sharavjamts (team X-factor). He, like many others, believes the duo could have strong senior seasons with the Gamecocks.

Johnson, whose wild transfer portal arc brings him back to Columbia, was an All-SEC player two seasons ago. However, he barely played last year at Ohio State. His role is somewhat undecided, too, as he has played both point guard and shooting guard in his career. At heart, Johnson is a scorer and a secondary creator. Will he get to play that role this season, or will he have to handle the point?

Sharavjamts, now on his fourth team, has always been a high potential player. At 6-8, he has the ability to play multiple positions, and he has the court vision and passing acumen to run an offense. If he can handle being the trigger man on offense and defend well on the wing, Sharavjamts could be the most important player on this year’s team.

Despite that, Dauster isn’t high on the entire roster. He said the team lacks other top-end stars other than Johnson and Sharavjamts.

Because of that, Dauster’s official prediction is that the Gamecocks likely will compete for a spot in the NIT. He included 13 SEC squads firmly in the NCAA Tournament mix but listed Carolina, Georgia, and LSU as NIT teams.

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Field of 68 isn’t all down on South Carolina, though. Dauster’s co-founder Jeff Goodman visited South Carolina practice in September. He then declared that the Gamecock backcourt will “be a ton of fun to watch” this season.

Adding to his high opinion of the USC senior guards, Goodman recently reported that both Johnson and Sharavjamts stood out in South Carolina’s “secret scrimmage” win over Georgia Tech.

In addition to Johnson and Sharavjamts, Eli Ellis will play a big role in the USC guard rotation this year. Others, like Myles Stute and Kobe Knox, will be important perimeter players, too, though they won’t handle the ball as much as Johnson, Sharavjamts, and Ellis.

Carolina’s first game of the season will happen in two weeks. On Tuesday, November 4th, Colonial Life Arena will host a matchup between the Gamecocks and the North Carolina A&T Aggies. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. The game will not be on traditional television but will stream on SEC Network+.

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