The South Carolina Gamecocks picked up transfer Seventh Woods from North Carolina and he has been…disappointing.

Gamecocks player Seventh Woods has continuously been struggling and his large amount of minutes is taking away from young talent. 

According to 247 Sports, Seventh Woods was a four-star recruit and was the best player from the state of South Carolina, coming from right around the corner at Hammond High School. Since his hometown is Columbia, Gamecock fans were excited to hear about his transfer to play at Colonial Life Arena. 

Seventh Woods originally attending the University of North Carolina but after three seasons, never saw significant minutes. His junior year Woods god about ten minutes a contest but underperformed averaging only two points per game. 

When Woods announced his intent to transfer, many fans expected him to come to the Gamecocks ready to play with an intensity that he had been missing since high school, but as we’ve seen, he’s still not effective from the field. 

This year Woods is averaging only three points with over 17 minutes per game. He started five games so far this season and he has been absolutely awful. Woods’ inefficiency is now taking minutes away from young talented players. 

So, what does Seventh Woods’ continuous struggles from the field mean?

Easy, we drastically cut his minutes.

With 17 minutes a game at a guard position, it’s so difficult to give all those minutes to an underwhelming player. With guards, AJ Lawson, a veteran scorer, and team captain, and standout Sophomore Jermaine Couisnard starting, Seventh’s minutes take away from younger talented guards. 

Trae Hannibal isn’t the best player on the roster but he is a very talented player and with only 14 minutes per game, Hannibal has been putting up a handful of points a game but shooting efficiency at nearly 43 percent from behind the arch. Hannibal does really good going against the trees in the paint too. 

Hell, I would even be okay with giving Sophomore Mike Green minutes. When Green steps onto the court, Colonial Life Arena goes beserk every time. Green has been working hard and during warmups, he looks really good. At this point, giving minutes to an underperforming senior is kind of a waste of minutes. If Woods’ hustle or playmaking really made a difference for the team it would be different but he brings nothing to the court. 

Keyshawn Bryant could even be given some minutes in a shooting guard position, like his NBA counterpart Jaylen Brown. Bryant could strive as a great wing/guard combo playing well within the perimeter and rocking the rim. Bryant could come in and run the secondary as a guard and then move to the forward position as Lawson or Couisnard are rotated in. 

At the end of the day, Woods is an underwhelming player who doesn’t really deserve his minutes. I understand that he is a hometown player and we would love to root for him, but ultimately he is taking minutes away from players who deserve those opportunities.