Veteran guard play key to success for South Carolina basketball in 2025

South Carolina’s guard room had a complete makeover after a lackluster 2024-25 season. However, including the return of Meechie Johnson, the new group comes to Columbia, S.C., with plenty of experience at the collegiate level.

Three of the Gamecocks’ six newcomers at guard — Johnson, Kobe Knox and Mike Sharavjamts — have played a minimum of 70 games each. For Johnson, it’s a return to the program that propelled him to the 2023-24 All-SEC Second Team.

“There’s an upgrade to the perimeter position and we’re very confident with the group that we bring to the floor,” Special Assistant to the Head Coach Carey Rich told GamecockCentral. “Meechie Johnson, we could not have gotten a better fit for us and how we play.”

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Generally speaking, South Carolina needed to get older at the perimeter in this new age of college basketball.

“I think the one thing we all know is in college basketball, if you have good guard play, you’ve got a chance to win,” Rich said. “Two years ago, we had great guard play with Ta’Lon Cooper and Meechie Johnson and won a lot of games.”

Having experience in the room also helps when developing a young player like Eli Ellis.

“It’s a cheat code for me. I get to learn from these guys. I get to see it, and it’s not like I’m by myself. It’s not like I’m the only guard that’s trying to figure out what he needs to do,” Ellis told GamecockCentral.

Additionally, having that level of experience helps the guys in the post as well.

“It’s amazing. Our guard play has been really, really exceptional this offseason, and that’s really what (in) 2025 gets you over the hump,” forward Elijah Strong told GamecockCentral. “Like, you can have all the really good fours that you want. Do you have someone to control that ship? We have multiple guys who can control that ship … it’s been beautiful.”

Christ Essandoko equally agrees with Strong’s sentiment about how much having experienced guards helps.

“It helps a lot because a lot happens on the court,” Essandoko told GamecockCentral. “In these deadballs, in these dead moments, having an experienced guard can really help because they can come to you and give you confidence … I feel like everybody elevates each other.”

Having experience in so many games, together or separate, is something they can rely on, Myles Stute told GamecockCentral.

“Because these guys can really hoop. There’s no, you know, weak links I feel like in this program,” Stute said. ” … I’m definitely looking forward to how it looks come game time and when the lights turn on.”

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