How South Carolina’s basketball recruits are doing this season

The excitement surrounding South Carolina men’s basketball is palpable. The Gamecocks are third in the SEC and surprising the college basketball world with the turnaround under head coach Lamont Paris.

It might be most exciting for the four high-schoolers who will join the program over the next two years.

After South Carolina’s upset win over Kentucky last Tuesday, Paris revealed how much he was hearing from recruits and commitments all about the win.

“A lot of guys watched it,” Paris said on “SEC This Morning” last Wednesday. “That’s always great, to get a bunch of kids that have watched the game and they see what you’re doing.”

USC has two signees for 2024 and two verbal commitments for 2025. Halfway through the high school basketball season, here’s a look at how the next four incoming Gamecocks are doing this year.

Trent Noah — Baxter, Ky. (2024)

Trent Noah was one of two Gamecocks who signed with USC on Nov. 8. He’s a 6-foot-6, three-star recruit who had eight Division I offers during his recruitment.

Noah is playing for Harlan County High School this year. Since January, the senior hasn’t scored under 20 points in a game. Noah crossed over into the 3,000-point club against Corbin High on Jan. 5.

The incoming shooting guard has been playing alongside Maddox Huff, a Class of 2025 recruit who’s gaining interest across mid-major programs. Noah’s led most of Harlan County’s offense, but Huff has been shooting right alongside him this season.

Okku Federiko — Helsinki, Finland (2024)

Okku Federiko will be the second Gamecock from Finland in two years, joining his former teammate Morris Ugusuk. The two players spent last season at Omni Basketball Academy. Federiko played in front of Paris and Ugusuk earlier this year, when Drive Academy traveled to South Carolina for three games.

During the first of three games played, Federiko scored 10 points. Paris said Federiko’s versatility as a young player made him an attractive recruit, saying he has an “athletic fluidity” to him that is easy to coach.

Eli Ellis — Hickory, NC (2025)

Though he won’t join the Gamecocks until 2025, Eli Ellis has been turning heads at Overtime Elite since the start of the season. He’s averaging 32.8 points per game, and has scored 50 points in a game twice this season.

His Overtime Elite team, YNG Dreamerz, is on top of the league heading into the program’s playoffs in late February. Ellis is a four-star athlete, according to 247Sports. He is ranked as the No. 11 point guard and chose the Gamecocks over Coastal Carolina, Old Dominion and Wake Forest, among others.

Ellis is Overtime Elite’s top scorer and sits in the top five in steals per game (1.8). He’s gained notoriety from his social media fame, particularly on TikTok, but his impressive season with Overtime Elite has highlighted his shooting ability. Ellis verbally committed to South Carolina in November and cannot formally sign with the Gamecocks until this fall.

Hayden Assemian — Greenville, SC (2025)

The in-state commitment for the Class of 2025 is playing his junior year at Powdersville High School just 90 minutes from USC’s campus. He verbally committed to the Gamecocks in September after receiving offers from Appalachian State, George Mason, Wake Forest and a few others. Assemian shared on his social media that he attended USC’s game against Missouri on Saturday.

Assemian is a composite three-star, according to 247Sports, and the No. 3 power forward in South Carolina for his graduating class.

Assemian is a 6-foot-8, 220-pound power forward and has been the leading producer for his high school this season. He’s averaging 14.8 points per game and is shooting 65% from the field, according to Powdersville’s MaxPreps page. Plus, Assemian has 8.5 rebounds per game and averages 2.8 blocks. Like Ellis, Assemian will sign his letter of intent later this year.

Those four are in addition to the two freshmen Paris chose to redshirt this season, Arden Conyers and Austin Herro. They are projected to make their USC debut alongside Noah and Federiko.

Paris has said he’s received an array of messages from people in the last week. They’ve all texted the head coach about the program’s playing style, he said, and how much fun fans, family and the recruits are having watching this season play out.

“Of all the texts I get, I get someone about records,” Paris said after defeating Missouri on Saturday, “but most of the texts that I get from people, that are just wherever they are in the world. And it has to do with how we play, it’s rarely has to do with our record. It’s more about how we play.”

It’s a good sign for Paris, knowing his future players are excited for what he’s building.