South Carolina Men’s basketball adds two from NCAA transfer portal

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - The University of South Carolina Men’s basketball head coach Lamont Paris has announced the addition of two graduate student-athletes from the transfer portal for the upcoming 2023-2024 season.

Forward Stephen Clark and guard Ta’Lon (tuh-LON) Cooper will both be joining the Gamecocks for their last year of college eligibility.

“We’re really excited about these additions to our program,” said head coach Lamont Paris. “They have a lot of experience playing college basketball and are a great fit for what we’re trying to do. This is an excellent start for our recruiting in this cycle. Both of these guys are outstanding young men, high-quality people, and will be great teammates for our current roster as well as other prospects we hope to bring in here.”

Cooper, a Roebuck, S.C. native, previously played for Morehead State (2019-22) and Minnesota (2022-23). This past season, he started all 30 games for the Minnesota Gophers. He averaged 9.8 points and 6.3 assists per game. Cooper had 196 assists this past season (12th in the nation) and a 6.3 assist per game average (7th in the nation) this season, which both ranked second all-time at Minnesota for a single season.

“Ta’Lon is an accomplished player that adds very good size and length for us on the perimeter,” said Paris. “As an elite passer, he has the ability and willingness to help make teammates better. We will count on him to generate offense as both a passer and scorer. Aside from what he’s done offensively, he can disrupt things on the defensive end and help get us extra possessions in games.”

Clark, a Charlotte, N.C. native, spent the past four years at The Citadel and was a three-year starter who averaged 9.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game in 109 appearances. Last season was the best of his collegiate career, he led the Citadel in scoring with (16.3 ppg), rebounding (6.5), assists (2.8), and blocks (1.8).

“Stephen is an extremely versatile player on both sides of the ball,” said head coach Lamont Paris. “Offensively, he has great touch around the basket and is an underrated passer. Defensively, his length and ability to move his feet allow him to guard a variety of positions and contest shots at the rim.”

The addition of Stephen will help with South Carolina’s loss of G.G. Jackson and Hayden Brown.

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