The South Carolina men's basketball team features six new faces on its roster compared to last season. Some are transfers, while others are incoming freshmen who are making their collegiate debuts this season.
But the Gamecocks have also seen production from one of its mainstays in senior guard Jacobi Wright, who has emerged as a key player for the team this season.
Wright, a Fort Mill, South Carolina native, has appeared in 100 games for South Carolina over the course of his college career. While head coach Lamont Paris has only been Wright's coach for 70 of those games, he said he has seen a lot of growth from Wright.
“His game, it’s developed from the time that I first saw him when I got here until right now,” Paris said. “It’s been a lot of development for him as a player.”
Wright played the first 30 games of his South Carolina career in the 2021-22 season, when he was a freshman under former head coach Frank Martin. He made nine starts that season and averaged 3.4 points per game.
After Martin was dismissed at the end of the season, Wright was one of just four players to stay with the Gamecocks and play for Paris. During his sophomore season, he made 15 starts and saw his scoring jump to 7.3 points per contest.
“He’s one of the most loyal guys that I’ve come across,” Paris said. “You think about what he’s done is continue to stay here. I did not recruit Jacobi out of high school. He believed and trusted when we told him we had opportunity for him.”
Last season, Wright played behind a pair of Second-Team All-SEC guards with graduate student Ta'Lon Cooper and senior Meechie Johnson Jr. He played 22.9 minutes per game and averaged 5.9 points and a career-high 1.9 assists per game. His biggest moment of the season came in a road contest against Missouri, when he made a game-winning jumper in overtime to give the Gamecocks a 71-69 win.
In the offseason, Cooper graduated and Johnson Jr. returned to Ohio State where he began his college career. The departures opened up a clearer role for Wright, as he has already started more games in his senior season that he did all of last year. Through four games, he averaged 13.5 points and 3.3 assists per game, in addition to shooting 38.9% from three-point range. Wright's per-game scoring output is currently second on the team behind only sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles.
“I’m really just taking it game by game,” Wright said. “Just taking the shots that I’m given. I’m not trying to really force anything, and it’s just been coming to me, and my work’s been showing.”
Wright came off the bench for South Carolina in its season-opening loss to North Florida, where he posted 12 points and six assists. He then earned his first start of the season against South Carolina State and took advantage of the opportunity, scoring a career-high 20 points on seven-of-10 shooting.
“Really, the change (in the lineup) did not have to do with ability, necessarily,” Paris said. “Some of it had to do with the propensity to do certain things better early on in the game. Jacobi Wright, just in his DNA as a basketball player, is the kind of guy who’s going to do those things more often.”
Wright said he credited his success in that game to sticking to the Gamecocks' game plan.
“I just played in the system,” Wright said. “(I) shot the ball when it came to me, stayed aggressive and it went in for me.”
Wright also started for the Gamecocks in the next two games against Towson and No. 16 Indiana. He totaled 16 points, two assists and three made 3-pointers against Towson. But in the Gamecocks' 16-point loss to Indiana, Wright finished with 6 points on 2-11 shooting.
Despite Wright's performance against the Hoosiers, Paris said he is impressed with how he has adapted to seeing more time on the court.
“He played a lot of minutes last year, but he’s been in roles,” Paris said. “He came out the gates this year not starting, and that did not faze him at all.”
Wright's proven to be a strong shooter from 3-point range over the course of his career, as he's shot 32.5% from long-range as a Gamecock. He has also been a solid free throw shooter, shooting 72.2% from the line during his time at South Carolina.
Practice has been key to his ability to shoot well in this specific situations, Wright said.
“Just working in the gym and just seeing the game better,” Wright said. “Watching film, knowing where my shots are supposed to come from. Just letting the game slow down for me and being patient with it.”
In addition to his offensive statistics, Wright has also played a key role for the team on defense, as he has recorded 48 steals in his career.
Paris said Wright's defensive growth has been an important part of his development.
“As a defender, I think that’s probably the area that he has developed the most,” Paris said. “He makes more physical plays than what he’d done when we first got here. He’s a good communicator. I just think he’s developed holistically.”
Wright's impact has also extended to mentoring some of the team's younger players. Freshman guard Cam Scott said he is one of many veteran players on the Gamecocks' roster that have helped him transition from high school basketball to life in the SEC.
"(Graduate student forward) Nick (Pringle), Jacobi, (senior guard) Jamarii (Thomas) ... They've just been taking me under their wing, correcting me on the little things that they see, even if it ends in a good result, just things that I can do to tweak and help myself become a little bit better," Scott said.
South Carolina (2-2) will continue its 2024-25 campaign on Thursday when it takes on the Mercer Bears (2-2) at Colonial Life Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be streamed on SEC Network+.