Coveted instate hoops prospect sets first official visit, has Gamecocks on his radar
South Carolina fans won’t be the only ones interested in how Lamont Paris does in his first year as the Gamecocks men’s basketball coach.
Lexington High School guard Cam Scott is keeping a close eye on how USC performs in Year 1 under Paris. Scott is the top-ranked recruit in the state for the Class of 2024.
The rising junior is someone Paris and the rest of his staff have been paying close attention to this summer.
Scott and his Lexington team attended USC’s team camp, and Gamecock coaches were at his AAU games during the summer. Paris and his staff are expected to be at the Peach Jam on Wednesday, the first day Division I coaches can attend.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what they could bring in their first year, not even just player-wise but energy, and see what type of play style they have, how they like to perform and see the relationship they will build with their players,” Scott said Monday.
Scott said he hears about once a week from Gamecock coaches, and assistant Eddie Shannon keeps in contact with Scott’s father.
Scott is a five-star recruit and the No. 26 prospect nationally in the 2024 class, according to the 247Sports Composite that factors in all networks’ rankings.
While Scott is a priority for the Class of 2024, he is also keeping tabs to see if USC can land some top players for the 2022 and 2023 classes. On3Sports reported that South Carolina is close to landing Ridge View High five-star prospect GG Jackson, who decommitted from North Carolina last week and would likely reclassify to play for USC this season.
No official announcement about Jackson’s new plans has been made yet.
“I have been keeping up with it to see if he is actually going there or not,” Scott said of Jackson. “We will see what happens. It could be a lot for anyone coming out of South Carolina or nearby states. Nobody was thinking he was going to stay home.”
Scott said he hopes to set up an unofficial visit sometime soon so he and his family can spend a day on USC’s campus.
The 6-foot-5 Scott has one official visit planned for Oregon on Oct. 1. Former Gamecocks assistant coach Chuck Martin is on staff with the Ducks now and was previously involved in South Carolina’s efforts in recruiting Scott.
“Coach Martin and I just kept the relationship that we had while he was at South Carolina,” Scott said. “I’m looking forward to getting out there and seeing what they have to offer.”
Scott said other possible official visits include North Carolina and Florida State, but no dates have been set. Class of 2024 basketball prospects can start taking official visits beginning Aug. 1 before their junior year of high school.
Scott also said some new schools have shown interest. He picked up an offer from Missouri recently and is hearing from Auburn, Georgetown and Kansas.
Scott had 12 points and four rebounds Monday for Team United, which is 1-1 so far at Peach Jam. He also had a strong showing at the NBA Top 100 camp last month.
Scott averaged 21.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.5 steals per game for Lexington as a sophomore and earned his second all-state honor.
This story was originally published July 19, 2022 at 12:26 PM with the headline "Coveted instate hoops prospect sets first official visit, has Gamecocks on his radar."
