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Former four-star basketball recruit Cam Scott will enter the transfer portal following his second season at South Carolina. He did not play at all during his most recent campaign.
Scott asked to redshirt before the start of the 2025-26 season. His recent decision to leave has triggered a major NIL debate.
Did the Gamecocks pay Scott to sit on the sidelines? If so, he’s made the program look somewhat foolish.
Who is Cam Scott?
Scott is a native of Lexington, located just outside the South Carolina campus. Once rated as a Top 50 prospect, he held scholarship offers from the likes of Kansas, UNC, Alabama, and Auburn. He initially signed with Texas out of high school.
His hometown school convinced him to drop that commitment and come to Columbia before his freshman year. It had to make a competitive NIL offer to do so.
Scott’s initial impact was minimal. He averaged 2.5 points per game across 26 appearances as a reserve. He was expected to play a more significant role in Year 2. That, however, did not come to fruition.
Just before the start of his sophomore season, he opted to bench himself and take a redshirt. The Gamecocks were on board in hopes of furthering his development.
“I’ve had conversations with (him), and (he) has talked with his family and inner circle,” said coach Lamont Paris of the decision.
“He’s conveyed that (he wants to redshirt). Certainly, at any point, if someone wants to pull the redshirt off, that’s the thing that we can do.”
Scott did not pull his redshirt. He sat for the entirety of the season. The Gamecocks went 13-19.
After his freshman year, he entered the transfer portal only to return to the program after the window closed. Now, he’s testing the market once again.
Did he make NIL money?
After entering the portal the first time, Scott chose to return to the South Carolina basketball program. It is believed that he continued to cash in with NIL partnerships as a result.
His Instagram page advertises a number of deals, though it’s not initially clear whether those partnerships were formed through the school or his agency.
Many do not appear to come through local businesses.
Cam Scott was making money to ride the bench as a sophomore. His most recent transfer announcement created an interesting online debate.
South Carolina message boards erupted with reaction following the portal news.
“What a joke to redshirt him. If it was our choice then it’s just dumb on us,” one fan wrote. Another asked, “What’s the total money spent on him?”
“Schools are stupid to redshirt anyone until this mess is fixed,” commented this follower. “Let them sit while making money and getting used to college and then they go somewhere else for even more money.”
Scott’s decision highlights an interesting dilemma surrounding college sports. Player empowerment has been great in many ways, but it’s also created issues in roster management and NIL funding.
South Carolina had one of the lowest budgets in the SEC last season. It likely negotiated an NIL deal with Scott ahead of his sophomore year. He then sat out, by all accounts, at his own request.
We do not know the terms of the guard’s NIL deal. There very well could’ve been an availability clause to incentivize performance. Playing time requirements might’ve influenced actual NIL payouts. No play = No pay.
We’ve seen schools in the past dock players’ pay for non-participation. Auburn, most recently, did so when one of its contributors chose to sit out the postseason.
It’s unclear if that was the case for the Gamecocks. Many believe they paid Scott to sit out a year in hopes of a return in 2026.
It will be interesting to see where he lands. Given the lack of production over the last two years, this could simply be an attempt to move to a lower level of competition.
Should Scott ink a notable NIL contract with a new Power 5 school, it will fuel the debate currently raging in Columbia.