Q&A: Nordin Kapic loves fit in Lamont Paris' system

UC San Diego transfer big man Nordin Kapic committed to South Carolina men’s basketball Friday out of the transfer portal.

On Saturday, GamecockCentral spoke with Kapic about his decision.

The 6-foot-8, 245-pound Austrian averaged 10.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game last season for the Big West Tournament Champion Tritons.

In his lone season at UCSD, Kapic played in 34 games, including 33 starts, shooting 39 percent from the floor, 30.7 percent from 3-point range, and 74.8 percent from the free throw line.

Prior to arriving in San Diego, Kapic spent two seasons at DII Lynn where he was Sunshine State Conference Freshman of the Year in 2022-23 and First Team All-Sunshine State Conference in 2023-24.

A native of Vienna, Austria, Kapic played on the U20 Austrian National Team.

Ranked a three-star prospect, Kapic is considered the No. 102 PF and No. 479 overall prospect in the portal, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

Kapic has one year of eligibility left.

Q&A with commitment Nordin Kapic

Q: Can you tell us how your decision to choose South Carolina came about and what factored into your commitment?

A: Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean, as you probably know, I had a pretty good season this year with my team at UC San Diego. We went to March Madness for the first time in school history. And you know where I’m coming from, it was always a dream for me to play at the highest level and I think I had the opportunity.

And I came with my parents on a visit to South Carolina and from the coaching staff, everybody was super amazing. Loved the place, the facilities, and just having the chance to help the team get back on track and get back to March Madness. I think it’s a great opportunity and I think we can be really good this year.

Q: What did the coaches say about your fit and skill set, and how do you see yourself in their system?

A: They put a lot of trust and believe in my skills and I think I can help the team a lot. I mean, this year I was kind of limited, a little bit more of like pick-and-pop shooting and stuff like that.

But there’s so much more to my game that I have not really showcased this year. For example, if you look at my Lynn University highlights in Division II or where I played and on my national team for Austria, you can see that I’m very versatile, that I can shoot from outside, attack, post up. And there’s a lot of factors that I can bring on the offensive and defensive sides.

So I think just from that standpoint, there’s a great fit. South Carolina plays a lot kind of like a European style basketball, so I think that’s pretty great.

Q: What stood out about Coach Paris and the staff during your recruitment?

A: I was in the transfer portal last year after playing two years of Division II, and coach (Eddie) Shannon actually called me last year, but I was at that point already talking more to UC San Diego. But this year he called me, you know, and then I talked to Paris. First my parents talked to Coach Paris and they talked for 42 minutes with him, and they said it’s a great guy, great conversation.

So I talked to Coach Paris and our call was about 52 minutes. So I was like, my parents beat that. From Coach Shannon, Coach Paris, and all the other guys, everybody was super nice when I met them at their visit. They value a lot how people are and I value that too. I want to be working around great people, so that’s very big for me.

Q: What do you think you bring to the program, and how excited are you to get started?

A: I think my game is going to speak for itself. But I think more than that, I’m a great person, a great leader. I’m going to help the team. I’m an experienced player. I played overseas and now in the US for three years of college. And I know what it takes to be a great team and have good people around me. So yeah, we’re just going to try to be the team from two years ago, be better.

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