Who was the South Carolina Boys Basketball Player of the Week last week?

Each week, High School On SI scours the state of South Carolina and compiles the top performances from the previous week.

Congratulations to last week’s winner: Trinity Delly of Andrew Jackson.

Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:

Tuthill scored 19 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and had 5 steals as Ashley Ridge toppled No. 1 Summerville 52-48.

The Mississippi signee had another big week, averaging 26.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5 steals in three games.

The junior forward had a huge double-double of 20 points and 20 rebounds as the Crusaders beat Ben Lippen 51-36.

Shaw produced a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Blazers beat Midland Valley 49-32. The sophomore forward/center also had 12 points and 14 rebounds in a 53-46 loss to Atlantic Collegiate Academy.

The 6-foot sophomore scored 21 points and got 12 rebounds in a 53-46 win over Ridge View in the MLK Classic at Eau Claire.

Isaac scored 18 points, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, as the Diamond Hornets beat A.C. Flora 47-32.

Goodrich scored 12 points to go along with 10 assists and 5 rebounds as the Wildcats edged Dutch Fork 68-66.

Walker scored 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while getting 5 rebounds and 5 steals in a 64-12 rout of Brookland-Cayce.

Willis scored 22 points and had 6 rebound as the Eagles overwhelmed St. John’s 121-24. 

Powell scored 26 points, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range, as the Blue Eagles rolled to a 64-30 win over Nation Ford.

Dawn Staley says a clause in her new contract means nothing about how long she’ll be at South Carolina.

Following Sunday’s win over Oklahoma, Staley addressed a section of her extension that she signed to end last week. The deal, which made her the highest-paid coach in the history of women’s basketball at approximately just over $25 million over five years, included a portion where she’d owe them nothing if she were to immediately leave for another job in the NBA or WNBA. When asked about it postgame yesterday, Staley had a little fun with the question.

“I don’t know. I might up and leave,” Staley joked.

In seriousness, Staley explained that everything within the contract, like that clause, was just part of the negotiation for both her and for South Carolina.

“Nah, I mean, you got to have something. It’s a give and take, you know,” said Staley. “Like, like, if, you know, there was – it was important for me to have a guaranteed contract. It’s important, you know. But, in having a guaranteed contract, you got to give them something, you know.”

Still, while she could leave Columbia at any time now because of it, Staley has no interest in doing so. She stated that she’d never leave their program for another college team. She also said, if she had wanted to go to the pros, she would have done so long before now.

“I will never leave here to go take another college job. It’s nothing. Like, I have the best of the best here,” Staley said. “And I really don’t have, um, any – like, I don’t have a passion for the next level. I don’t. I would’ve been gone. Like, seriously, like.”

Staley is in the middle of her 17th season with the Gamecocks with her having posted a winning percentage of .771, including a current record of 18-1. That resumé includes 630 total wins, sixteen conference titles, and a dozen straight berths in the NCAA Tournament with five appearances in the Final Four and three national titles.

With that, Staley is one of the best coaches, regardless of level and men’s or women’s, in basketball. She’ll keep coaching at South Carolina from here on, though, despite that wording in her extension.

“So, to have it in there was – it was just something fancy to have you ask me that question,” again laughed Staley.

South Carolina basketball is five games into its 2024-2025 SEC schedule. The Gamecocks are 10-8 and 0-5 in conference play coming off of a 20-point loss to Oklahoma on Saturday.

The upcoming week represents a massive (and, perhaps, the last) opportunity for Lamont Paris’ team to save their season. As is life in the SEC, Carolina will welcome two NCAA Tournament-bound teams to Colonial Life Arena. First up is a date with the Florida Gators.

[Win tickets: South Carolina-Florida MBB]

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Resume Check: Florida Gators

Record: 16-2 (3-2 in SEC)
AP Ranking: No. 5
Last Week: Loss to Missouri 82-83 in Gainesville; Win over Texas 84-60 in Gainesville
Previous Meeting: South Carolina won 82-76 in Columbia during 2023-2024 season

Florida has been ranked in the AP top 25 all season for a reason. Todd Golden’s team is really good and could challenge for one of the top seeds in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

The Gators went 13-0 during their non-conference schedule, including a win over the North Carolina Tar Heels in Charlotte. Though they have two losses in conference play, they’ve come by a combined seven points. UF also knocked off the then-No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers in dominant fashion, 73-43.

Heading into this week, Florida is 4th in the SEC in scoring (85.9 points per game). They also are 3rd in the league in scoring defense (65.6 points per game). The Gators are the best rebounding team in the SEC and tie for the top rebounding margin in America. They do send opposing teams to the free throw line at a high rate, something that plays into the Gamecocks’ strong ability to get to the charity stripe.

Florida boasts four double-digit scorers as all three perimeter starters (Walter Clayton, Jr., Alijah Martin, and Will Richard) and big man Alex Condon each average at least 10.8 points per contest. Clayton and Martin lead the way at 17.9 and 16.2, respectively. Clayton ranks second in the conference in 3-pointers made, as well.

Both of Florida’s starting post players (Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu) sit in the SEC’s top 10 in rebounding as they each pull down better than seven rebounds a night. However, the Gators are a balanced rebounding group with six different players averaging at least 4.5 boards per game.

Coming into the game against South Carolina, the Florida Gators are pretty healthy. Thanks to a broken leg suffered last season, 7’1″ post player Micah Handlogten is redshirting this year (along with 7’9″ center Olivier Rioux). Other than those expected absences, UF hasn’t dealt with many players missing games. Coach Golden didn’t include any Gators on his SEC-mandated availability report last week.

The Gamecocks and Gators will tip off at 7:00 p.m. in Colonial Life Arena on Wednesday, January 22nd. SEC Network will broadcast the game, and the ESPN app will stream it.