Lamont Paris’ South Carolina basketball team begins their season in less than a month. On November 4th, the North Florida Ospreys will travel to Colonial Life Arena for the opener, and the 2024-2025 Gamecock season officially will be underway. In the weeks leading up to the first game, GamecockCentral will profile each member of the team. Today we will look at new big man Nick Pringle.
Nick Pringle (Redshirt Senior, Center, 6’10”, 220 pounds)
Last Season (with Alabama Crimson Tide): 34 games (16 starts), 6.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 0.7 blocks, 0.7 assists, 0.3 steals, 62.3%/0%/55.6%
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A starter for an Alabama team that made the Final Four last season, Nick Pringle transferred to his home-state program this offseason. The Whale Branch Early College High School product provides something new at the center position for the Gamecocks.
Pringle is a well-rounded athlete who can rim run, protect the paint, guard SEC bigs, and score efficiently. Last year, Collin Murray-Boyles was the only Gamecock big who did all of those things, and because he is just 6’7″ and was a true freshman, he had some struggles when asked to cover center roles from his power forward position. Pringle should have no such struggle.
On offense, Pringle will take some of the load off of Murray-Boyles. He will handle a lot of the team’s screening, and roll man duties in the pick-and-roll will fall to him. He also is an elite offensive rebounder, meaning he should have plenty of opportunities at easy put-back points. The big man led Alabama with 40 dunks last season, a number higher than anyone who wore garnet and black.
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On the other end of the floor, Pringle fills one of the biggest holes from last year’s team. The Gamecocks really struggled to defend big, athletic post players, mainly because they didn’t have anyone who matched those descriptors. This season, though, Pringle will be the first option to defend the opposing team’s best big man. Physically, he can hold up in that role. If he can stay out of foul trouble and handle an increased load of minutes, Pringle will be a major factor in the team’s quest for another trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Pringle also logged a double-double in the Elite Eight last March as he dominated the rival Clemson Tigers.
It seems a foregone conclusion that Nick Pringle will start this year for South Carolina. The big man will be a nice compliment to Collin Murray-Boyles (especially if CMB starts shooting from outside). He also can play alongside stretch big Jordan Butler or as the big in a small-ball lineup next to long wings like Zach Davis, Myles Stute, or Arden Conyers.
Pringle and the Gamecocks hope to follow up a record-tying 26-win season and 2nd-place SEC finish with another strong year. Another trip to the NCAA Tournament would mark South Carolina’s first back-to-back berths since the 1990s.
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