‘Kind of ironic:’ Jermaine Couisnard, Gamecocks together again: as opponents in NCAAs

Members of the South Carolina men’s basketball team have faced former teammates before.

Ta’Lon Cooper reunited with former Morehead State teammate Johni Broome (now at Auburn) twice this season, and Meechie Johnson was together again with Chico Carter Jr. when USC faced DePaul in November.

Now, Jacobi Wright and Josh Gray will take on former teammate Jermaine Couisnard when the No. 6 seed Gamecocks face No. 11 Oregon on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s always good to just see people you know competing,” Wright said. “Hopefully, you have bragging rights, but it’s always fun to just compete that way.”

Couisnard spent four seasons at South Carolina — redshirting as a true freshman and earning All-SEC Freshman Team honors 2019-20. He was recruited and played under former head coach Frank Martin, and left for Oregon after Martin was replaced by current coach Lamont Paris.

Now as a redshirt senior, Couisnard is one the Ducks’ leading scorers, averaging 15.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

Wright and Gray both congratulated Couisnard last weekend after Oregon won its conference tournament. As of Thursday afternoon, they hadn’t met up with their former teammate in person.

“I had texted him when they won the Pac-12 tournament,” Gray said. “Then when we knew we were gonna face off with them, I was like, it’s kind of ironic.”

Myles Stute, a former Vanderbilt player who’s now at USC, remembered playing against Couisnard when the Gamecocks and Commodores matched up.

South Carolina and Oregon have never played each other. In a tournament setting like March Madness, where USC is facing teams it might rarely, if ever, play, having a familiar face on the opposing side gives an “extra edge,” as Stute described it.

“I think you kind of internalize that a little bit and kind of put it in your mind like, ‘All right, so now it’s personal,’ ” Stute said. “Like, it’s me versus him.”

For Stute, recognizing the success Couisnard and the Ducks have found this year, taking the final Pac-12 Tournament championship, is something that’s a big deal.

“That’s something that you just love about playing basketball, is being able to see all the guys you’ve come up with over the years and played against an AAU in high school,” Stute said. “I’ll see them flourishing on the same stage and doing everything is just a blessing. And it’s something that brings me joy.”

Couisnard, having been away from the program for the last two years, still recognized the success USC has found this year. He might not be rooting for the Gamecocks on Thursday, but the former guard said he appreciates what Wright and Gray are experiencing this year.

“It was amazing for me, just seeing how far the program came and how the coach has done a good job with them guys over there,” Couisnard said. “It was something that we all wanted when we all were there.

“It was like we all got what we wanted.”

The intensity of this unintentional reunion is magnified because of the stakes of hand. It’s March Madness. Win or go home. Giving a fist bump on the court moments before tip-off might be sweet, but it’s not taking away from what the Gamecocks want to do.

“We’re here to play and prove the doubters wrong,” Gray said. “So we’re just you know, trying to keep that outside noise outside noise and not letting it affect who we are.”

How to watch South Carolina in March Madness

Who: No. 6 South Carolina (27-6) vs. No. 11 Oregon (23-11)

When: 4 p.m. Thursday

Where: PPG Arena, Pittsburgh

TV: TNT