South-Carolina
Paris Announces Addition of Two Transfers
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina introduced the addition of two graduate transfers on Wednesday morning in ahead Stephen Clark (The Citadel) and guard Ta’Lon (tuh-LON) Cooper. Each student-athletes can be instantly eligible for the 2023-24 season utilizing their final yr of collegiate eligibility.
“We’re actually enthusiastic about these additions to our program,” stated head coach Lamont Paris. “They’ve a whole lot of expertise enjoying school basketball and are an awesome match for what we’re making an attempt to do. This is a superb begin for our recruiting on this cycle. Each of those guys are excellent younger males, prime quality folks and can be nice teammates for our present roster in addition to different prospects we hope to herald right here.”
Clark, who hails from Charlotte, N.C., spent the previous 4 seasons at The Citadel (2019-23). A 3-year starter, the 6-9 Clark averaged 9.5 factors, 5.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.8 blocks per recreation in 109 appearances (88 begins) for the Bulldogs. He’s coming off the perfect season of his profession through which he led The Citadel in scoring (16.3 ppg), rebounding (6.5 rpg), assists (2.8 apg) and blocks (1.8 bpg). Clark had 10, 20-point video games this previous season with 4 double-doubles. A profession 52.1 % (428-of-821 FGs) shooter, he made 210-of-427 area objective makes an attempt (49.2 %) in 2022-23. Clark performed three seasons at The Citadel with Gamecock Hayden Brown.
“Stephen is a particularly versatile participant on each side of the ball,” stated Paris. “Offensively, he has nice contact across the basket and is an underrated passer. Defensively, his size and skill to maneuver his ft enable him to protect quite a lot of positions and contest pictures on the rim.”
Cooper, who hails from Roebuck, S.C., has made two stops in his profession at Morehead State (2019-22) and Minnesota (2022-23). A group captain who began all 30 video games this previous season for the Gophers, he averaged 9.8 factors (third on the group) and 6.3 assists (led group) per recreation. The 6-4 guard had 196 assists (12th within the nation) and a 6.3 help per recreation common (7th within the nation) this season, which each ranked second all-time at Minnesota for a single season. He averaged 37 minutes a recreation and led the group in minutes performed (1,096). Cooper had 16 double-figure outings and 21 video games with 5 or extra assists (three double-figure help video games) for the Gophers in 2022-23.
“Ta’Lon is an achieved participant that provides superb measurement and size for us on the perimeter,” stated Paris. “As an elite passer, he has the power and willingness to assist make teammates higher. We are going to depend on him to generate offense as each a passer and scorer. Apart from what he’s completed offensively, he can disrupt issues on the defensive finish and assist get us additional possessions in video games.”
Previous to Minnesota, Cooper performed in 95 video games (52 begins) at Morehead State. He averaged 8.1 factors and 4.3 assists per recreation for his profession with the Eagles. He was a First Group All-Ohio Valley Convention choice in 2022 after averaging 9.1 factors, 5.9 assists and three.1 steals per recreation. Cooper helped lead the Eagles to an OVC title in 2021 and an NCAA Event look. He performed two seasons at Morehead with ahead Johni Broome, who was an All-SEC choice this previous season for Auburn. Cooper ranks 21st on the NCAA energetic profession assists leaders checklist with 603.
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