As I mentioned in yesterday’s MBB update, Paris and his staff felt good about a recent visit from Illinois transfer Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk. I may have given a small hint in the photo yesterday, but today the big man made it official by committing to the Gamecocks. Let's take a look at how he might fit into the 2022-23 squad.

As I've mentioned, the staff was looking for one more big man, one more wing, and one more guard, and Bosmans-Verdonk fills that big man role in a major way. Bosmans-Verdonk was a late add for the Illini in the 2019 class. The Illini staff watched him play for the Belgium national team in the FIBA European Championships. They saw him as a long combo forward who could shoot from long range and handle the ball, but he really never panned out that way for the Illini. That description does fit with what Lamont Paris seems to be looking for in his bigs, and really every role on the team: the ability to be variable and play a brand of "positionless basketball."

Bosmans-Verdonk spent his time at Illinois behind NBA Draft Combine invitee Kofi Cockburn, so he never really got a chance at meaningful minutes, though they picked up a bit this last season. The 21-year-old averaged 7.8 minutes a game this past season, but the Gamecocks will likely need him to play a bigger role on Paris' piecemeal first roster, after many players left following the firing of Frank Martin. The Belgium native has good size at 6'8" 235 lbs, which the Gamecocks are lacking with the departures of Wildens Leveque and Ta’Quan Woodley to the portal. Illinois head coach Brad Underwood acknowledged that Bosmans-Verdonk has had a zig-zag road to success after one of his two starts in 2021, “I think it’s well documented, his foot injuries and all the challenges he’s had staying healthy. But he spends as much time or more time in the gym than anybody.” The Gamecocks will have to hope that this is the year he stays healthy and reaches his full potential, but it seems unlikely that anyone will out work him in the meantime.