By james art 
Last year was about proving everyone wrong. This year is still very much about proving everyone wrong again with the added challenge of getting back to ‘The Big Dance’ and doing more.
South Carolina got a full season of what success looks like. The Gamecocks even attempted to play in the NCAA Tournament. After watching their season end in the round of 64, they’re looking to not just get back to March Madness, but go longer this year.
But they will have a long way to go to get to that point. And it all starts on Monday when the regular season begins. South Carolina will host North Florida in the season opener at Colonial Life Arena.
The information is at 19:00. on SEC Network Plus.
Here are some things to watch out for.
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The same starting five?
When South Carolina took on Wooster in an exhibition game last Wednesday, Lamont Parris fielded a starting lineup that consisted of Jamari Thomas, Zachary Davis, Myles Stute, Collin Murray-Boyles and Nick Pringle.
This is undoubtedly a veteran-led lineup with plenty of college basketball experience. Thomas and Pringle are the two newcomers who were considered starters from the moment they moved here. Murray-Boyles was the biggest leverage to start again this year, albeit fourth now, not fifth where he was last year.
Davis felt like a safe bet to start again this year with how strong of a defender he is. He didn’t shoot well in the exhibition game, but it’s one game and it should come with time with the work he’s put in.
The only one who could be a surprise was Stute. Now, he started 17 games last year, but there are other options that could fill that guard spot. Still, it makes sense to start it. He’s one of the oldest guys on this team. He also didn’t have a great shooting night last week, but he will be a valuable part of what the team does this year.
Things can always change, but it would be surprising if there were new faces in the lineup on Monday. Some of the players who came off the bench performed well last week. But you may find it too early to start some of them right away. Let them ease into their roles and go from there.
Free kick shooting needs to be better
This is not something new. South Carolina has been dealing with this problem for years. For whatever reason, the Gamecocks haven’t been able to consistently hit their free throws, which has proved costly in some games (a home loss to Georgia last year).
As a team, they shot 71.1 percent from the charity stripe, good for 225th best in college basketball. Of course, this was a team with faces that are no longer there. But you could argue that this year’s team could be worse down the line if things don’t improve.
It’s important to remember that this was actually a glorified scrimmage, but South Carolina went 9-for-20 at the line against Wooster. That’s good for 45 percent penalty kick completion. Translation: not very well. It might not come back to bite the Gamecocks against lesser teams, but in bigger non-conference games and SEC play, those numbers should be better.
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Jamari Thomas will be fine
There was definitely some uneasiness about Thomas’ performance in the exhibition. The transfer guard finished with one point on 0-of-4 shooting from the field and 0-of-3 from three-point range.
He only played 14 minutes in the game, some of it because of his performance. But it was also because Paris wanted to bring other players, once again, into a glorified battle. But Paris was pleased with the energy and the way he played in defence. He “set the defensive tone” for the Gamecocks, Parris continued.
So, the point is, don’t make too much of what happened last week. Thomas will be a key factor in this team’s success this season. The shots will come. The good news for him is that his defense is good, proving that he is much more than a scoring guard.
Expect to hear a lot about Cam Scott and Arden Conyers
Scott and Conyers may not start for the Gamecocks on Monday, but you can expect to see them on the field a lot this season. In the exhibition game, both scored 16 points and showed a lot of promise.
When it comes to Conyers specifically, when he’s on, he’s on. He has the ability to take over a game with his shooting abilities. Paris said he believes the redshirt freshman guard is “ready, offensively,” which bodes well for him.
Scott will also see a good chunk of minutes in every game this season. There’s always a chance that one or both of them could crack the starting five at some point. But for now, having them come off the bench shows just how deep this roster is.
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Reconnaissance of the enemy
Last season was an up and down year for North Florida to say the least. The Ospreys have just never been consistent. They would go on a string of wins, then lose the next batch of games. As a result, they finished 16-16 on the year as their season ended after losing in the first round of the ASUN Conference Tournament.
Expectations haven’t changed much for the team this season. KenPom projects North Florida to finish 15-16, which would be one game worse than last season. The Ospreys return one full-time starter from last year’s team in Nate Lliteras, who started all 31 games. He was their third leading scorer with 10.4 points per game. They lost Chaz Lanier, who averaged 19.7 PPG, and Ametri Moss, who averaged 10.7 PPG.
Otherwise, the team will have other players who started in games returning, but none of them started as often as Lliteras. Other key returnees with starting experience include Jaylen Smith, Jasai Miles and Oscar Berry. Smith was notable as he earned all-conference freshman honors.
North Florida’s roster features eight newcomers, four of whom are true freshmen and the other four are transfers.
The team is led by head coach Matthew Driscoll, who has been with the Ospreys since 2009. During that time, he went 233-247 (.485). Despite the losing record, he is actually over .500 as a head coach in conference play. North Florida has gone 135-109 since Driscoll initially took the reins.
If there was one area this team was really good at last year, shooting had to be at the top of the list. As a group, the Ospreys shot 53.6 percent from the field, which is top 50 in college basketball. They also shot pretty well from the outside at a 35.9 percent clip.
Defensively, things were a lot more messed up, which is why they ended up with the record they did. They ranked 318th in adjusted defensive efficiency and were near the bottom of the sport in many defense-based categories.
South Carolina should be fine and won’t have much trouble winning this game. But if there is one concern, it will be a slow start. The Gamecocks may not be able to afford a sluggish start if the Ospreys are going to come out swinging. But either way, they should be able to weather any storm and get the job done.
Game details
Who: South Carolina vs. North Florida
When: Monday, November 4 at 7 p.m
Where: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
How to watch/listen: SEC Network Plus/107.5 The Game
KenPom gives South Carolina a 93 percent chance to win