2020–21 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team

The 2020–21 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team is led by ninth-year head coach Frank Martin, and play their home games at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina as a member of the Southeastern Conference.

2020–21 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record6–15 (4–12 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaColonial Life Arena
Seasons
2020–21 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 5 Alabama 16 2   .889 26 7   .788
No. 10 Arkansas 13 4   .765 25 7   .781
LSU 11 6   .647 19 10   .655
Tennessee 10 7   .588 18 9   .667
Florida 9 7   .563 15 10   .600
Ole Miss 10 8   .556 16 12   .571
Missouri 8 8   .500 16 10   .615
Kentucky 8 9   .471 9 16   .360
Mississippi State 8 10   .444 18 15   .545
Georgia 7 11   .389 14 12   .538
Auburn* 7 11   .389 13 14   .481
South Carolina 4 12   .250 6 15   .286
Texas A&M 2 8   .200 8 10   .444
Vanderbilt 3 13   .188 9 16   .360
2021 SEC tournament winner
* Ineligible for postseason due to self-imposed postseason ban.

Previous season

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The Gamecocks finished the 2019–20 season 18–13, 10–8 in SEC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. As the No. 6 seed in the SEC tournament, they were set to take on Arkansas in the second round before the remainder of the SEC Tournament was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Micaiah Henry 13 F 6'9" 235 Senior Decatur, GA Graduated
Maik Kotsar 21 F 6'11" 270 Senior Tallinn, Estonia Graduated
Jair Bolden 52 G 6'3" 215 RS Junior Brooklyn, NY Graduate transferred to Butler[1]

Incoming Transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Ford Cooper Jr. 44 G 6'3" 187 Sophomore Charlotte, NC Transfer from Missouri State[2]

2020 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Patrick Iriel
C
Columbia, SC A. C. Flora (SC) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Aug 6, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 80
Ja'Von Benson
PF
Columbia, SC Ridge View (SC) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (110 kg) Oct 18, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 78
Tre-Vaughn Minott
C
Montreal, QC NBA Academy Latin America (MX) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Jan 8, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPNN/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "South Carolina 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  • "2020 South Carolina Gamecocks Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 1, 2021.

Roster

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2020–21 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 00 A. J. Lawson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 177 lb (80 kg) Jr GTA Prep Mississauga, ON
G 1 T. J. Moss 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS So Findlay Prep Memphis, TN
F 2 Trey Anderson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Mater Dei Catholic San Diego, CA
F 4 Jalyn McCreary 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Legacy Early College Marietta, GA
G 5 Jermaine Couisnard 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 216 lb (98 kg) RS So Montverde Academy East Chicago, IN
F 10 Justin Minaya 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Jr Northern Valley Regional HS Harrington Park, NJ
G 12 Trae Hannibal 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Hartsville Hartsville, SC
G 13 Mike Green (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Christian Academy of Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach, SC
F 14 Nathan Nelson (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 201 lb (91 kg) Jr Blackman HS Murfreesboro, TN
F/C 15 Wildens Leveque 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 242 lb (110 kg) So Gould Academy Brocton, MA
F 20 Alanzo Frink 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 264 lb (120 kg) Jr Roselle Catholic HS Jersey City, NJ
F 21 Ja'Von Benson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 253 lb (115 kg) Fr Ridge View HS Columbia, SC
G 23 Seventh Woods 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) RS Sr Hammond School
North Carolina
Columbia, SC
F 24 Keyshawn Bryant 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Winter Haven HS Winter Haven, FL
G 44 Ford Cooper Jr. 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 187 lb (85 kg) So United Faith Christian Academy
Missouri State
Charlotte, NC
C 50 Tre-Vaughn Minott 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 280 lb (127 kg) Fr NBA Academy Latin America Montreal, QC
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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The exhibition game against Coker scheduled for November 25 was cancelled due to a delay in the delivery of Coker’s COVID-19 testing results.[3]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020*
Coker cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic Colonial Life Arena 
Columbia, SC
November 28, 2020*
4:00 p.m, ESPNews
vs. Liberty
Hall of Fame Classic Semifinals
L 62–78  0–1
 12  Lawson   7  Bryant   2  Tied  T-Mobile Center (0)
Kansas City, MO
November 29, 2020*
1:00 p.m., ESPN2
vs. Tulsa
Hall of Fame Classic Third Place Game
W 69–58  1–1
 20  Couisnard   9  Tied   4  Couisnard  T-Mobile Center (0)
Kansas City, MO
December 5, 2020*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
at No. 10 Houston L 67–77  1–2
 13  Minaya   7  Hannibal   3  Tied  Fertitta Center (1,859)
Houston, TX
December 10, 2020*
6:00 p.m., SECN
Wofford cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic Colonial Life Arena 
Columbia, SC
December 14, 2020*
7:00 p.m., CBSSN
at George Washington cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic Charles E. Smith Center 
Washington, D.C.
December 19, 2020*
12:00 p.m., ESPNU
No. 24 Clemson
Rivalry
cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic Colonial Life Arena 
Columbia, SC
December 23, 2020*
7:00 p.m., SECN
South Carolina State cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic Colonial Life Arena 
Columbia, SC
January 2, 2021*
3:30 p.m., SECN
Florida A&M W 78–71  2–2
 25  Lawson   10  Minaya   5  Couisnard  Colonial Life Arena (3,100)
Columbia, SC
January 6, 2021
9:00 p.m., ESPNU
Texas A&M W 78–54  3–2
(1–0)
 30  Lawson   9  McCreary   5  Minaya  Colonial Life Arena (3160)
Columbia, SC
January 9, 2021
6:00 p.m., SECN
at Ole Miss postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic The Pavilion at Ole Miss 
Oxford, MS
January 12, 2021
7:00 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU
No. 10 Tennessee postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic Colonial Life Arena 
Columbia, SC
January 16, 2021
8:30 p.m., SECN
at LSU L 80–85  3–3
(1–1)
 26  Bryant   10  Minaya   5  Tied  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,143)
Baton Rouge, LA
January 19, 2021
7:00 p.m., SECN
at Missouri L 70–81  3–4
(1–2)
 19  Bryant   11  Minaya   5  Tied  Mizzou Arena (0)
Columbia, MO
January 23, 2021
12:00 p.m., ESPN2
Auburn L 86–109  3–5
(1–3)
 24  Bryant   10  Leveque   6  Couisnard  Colonial Life Arena (3,250)
Columbia, SC
January 27, 2021
7:00 p.m., ESPN2
Georgia W 83–59  4–5
(2–3)
 19  Bryant   10  Bryant   6  Hannibal  Colonial Life Arena (3,156)
Columbia, SC
January 30, 2021
8:30 p.m., SECN
at Vanderbilt L 81–93  4–6
(2–4)
 21  Lawson   6  Bryant   4  Couisnard  Memorial Gymnasium (78)
Nashville, TN
February 3, 2021
6:30 p.m., SECN
at No. 22 Florida W 72–66  5–6
(3–4)
 22  Lawson   8  Lawson   2  Tied  O'Connell Center (2,282)
Gainesville, FL
February 6, 2021
3:30 p.m., SECN
Mississippi State L 59–75  5–7
(3–5)
 13  Tied   10  Leveque   4  Couisnard  Colonial Life Arena (3,208)
Columbia, SC
February 9, 2021
6:30 p.m., SECN
No. 11 Alabama L 78–81  5–8
(3–6)
 21  Lawson   7  Minaya   5  Couisnard  Colonial Life Arena (3,089)
Columbia, SC
February 13, 2021
6:00 p.m., SECN
Ole Miss L 74–81  5–9
(3–7)
 22  Lawson   9  Minaya   4  Hannibal  Colonial Life Arena (3,250)
Columbia, SC
February 17, 2021
9:00 p.m., SECN
at No. 19 Tennessee L 73–93  5–10
(3–8)
 20  Lawson   7  Bryant   7  Woods  Thompson–Boling Arena (4,191)
Knoxville, TN
February 20, 2021
2:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 20 Missouri L 78–93  5–11
(3–9)
 22  Lawson   6  Leveque   2  Bryant  Colonial Life Arena (3,176)
Columbia, SC
February 24, 2021
7:00 p.m., SECN
at Mississippi State L 48–69  5–12
(3–10)
 14  Bryant   8  Minaya   4  Moss  Humphrey Coliseum (1,000)
Starkville, MS
February 27, 2021
1:00 p.m., SECN
at Georgia W 91–70  6–12
(4–10)
 23  Couisnard   8  Hannibal   5  Tied  Stegeman Coliseum (1,638)
Athens, GA
March 2, 2021
6:30 p.m., SECN
No. 12 Arkansas L 73–101  6–13
(4–11)
 18  Lawson   9  Bryant   7  Moss  Colonial Life Arena (3,193)
Columbia, SC
March 6, 2021
12:00 p.m., ESPN
at Kentucky L 64–92  6–14
(4–12)
 16  Bryant   6  Hannibal   6  Hannibal  Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
SEC tournament
March 11, 2021
9:30 p.m., SECN
(11) vs. (6) Ole Miss
Second round
L 59–76  6–15
 15  McCreary   6  Leveque   6  Moss  Bridgestone Arena (1,809)
Nashville, TN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

References

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  1. ^ Woods, David (April 29, 2020). "What Butler basketball gets in grad transfer Jair Bolden: Grit, shooting and leadership". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  2. ^ "Mizzou Hoops Signs Ed Chang". Missouri Tigers. May 7, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Glover, Emery (November 25, 2020). "Exhibition game between Coker, South Carolina canceled". WIS News. Retrieved November 29, 2020.