Paris Announces Addition of Six Transfers

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Head coach Lamont Paris announced the addition of six transfers on Thursday. Guard Meechie Johnson (Ohio State), forward Christ Essandoko (Providence), guard Kobe Knox (USF), forward Elijah Strong (Boston College), guard Mike Sharavjamts (Utah) and forward Nordin Kapic (UC San Diego) all signed financial aid documents to continue their collegiate careers with the Gamecocks for the 2025-26 season.

Johnson transfers back to South Carolina after spending last season playing at Ohio State. He appeared in 10 games for the Buckeyes in 2024-25, averaging 9.1 points, 2.7 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. Johnson took a leave of absence from the team in December due to personal matters and did not return. He surpassed the 1,000-career point plateau in the team’s non-conference matchup at Texas A&M on Nov. 15.

The Cleveland, Ohio native is a familiar face for South Carolina as he was a key player in Paris’ first two seasons on campus in 2022-23 and 2024-25. In two seasons and 63 games played for the Gamecocks, Johnson scored 845 points averaging 13.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. He had the best season of his career in 2023-24, earning Second Team All-SEC honors after averaging 14.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per contest. Johnson helped lead the team to one of the best seasons in school history that season as Carolina went 26-8 and T-2^nd in the SEC with a 13-5 mark in league action. Paris was named SEC Coach of the Year and the team returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. Johnson scored in double-figures a team-leading 22 times and had a career-best 10 games with 20 or more points, scoring a career-high 29 in the team’s win over Notre Dame in the ACC/SEC Challenge. He led the Gamecocks to a late season comeback victory over No. 24/24 Florida with 25 points after going 10-of-15 (66.7%) from the floor.

He played in 30 games (29 starts) his first season in Columbia in 2022-23, averaging 12.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and leading the team with 3.6 assists per game. He scored in double-figures 20 times with four 20-point games. Johnson was the only player on the team to start all 18 SEC games that season and led the team in scoring in conference action averaging 13.7 points in league contest. He scored a then career-high 26 points in helping leading the Gamecocks to a 71-68 win at Kentucky (1/10/23). It was the team’s first win at Rupp Arena since 2009 and snapped a 28-game home winning streak by the Wildcats.  Prior to his first stint at South Carolina, Johnson Played in 43 games in two seasons at Ohio State (2020-22) making five starts. He saw action off the bench in both of the Buckeyes’ NCAA Tournament games in 2022.

“What can I say? As a coach, there aren’t t too many times that you get to bring a truly ‘known commodity’ into your program out of the portal,” said Paris. “I’m extremely happy to welcome Meechie BACK to Columbia. He had great individual success in his first season as a Gamecock, and in year two really learned how to turn that individual growth into tremendous team success! More importantly, I’m just excited to be around him again as a human being and to see the impact that his energy will have on his teammates.”

Essandoko has played in 47 games with 22 starts in two collegiate seasons with stops at Saint Joseph’s (2023-24) and Providence (2024-25). He’s a career 50.2% shooter (107-of-213 FGs). This past season at Providence, he averaged 4.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in 22 appearances (seven starts) for the Friars. In 2023-24 at Saint Joseph’s, Essandoko averaged 8.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 blocks per game in 25 appearances (15 starts). He shot 36.8% from 3 (14-of-38 3FGs) for the Hawks and scored in double-figures six times. He scored a career-high 21 points with 12 rebounds in a 71-69 win vs. Duquesne (1/20/24). Essandoko pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds in a 75-73 win vs. George Mason (1/31/24). He had 14 points and eight boards in the NIT against Seton Hall (3/20/24).

“The first thing you will notice about Christ is that he has truly impactful size for any level of basketball,” said Paris. “As you dig into his game, though, you discover a high level of feel for the game combined with a very good foundational skill set. While the majority of his work will likely be done around the basket, he has shown the ability to make shots from the perimeter early on in his career, and we will look to help develop that as another weapon for him to use as he transitions to SEC basketball.”

In his three seasons in college, Knox has played in 97 games (71 starts) and averaged 8.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game with stops at Grand Canyon (2022-23) and USF (2023-25). He is a career 45.2% (280-of-620 FGs) shooter with a 34.0% (110-of-324 3FGs) shooting clip from behind the arc. He is fresh off his best collegiate season, averaging 10.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game for the Bulls in 2024-25. Knox scored in double-figures 18 times in 30 appearances as a junior for USF and the team was 12-6 in those games when he scored 10 or more points. He played and started all 33 games his first season in Tampa in 2023-24, averaging 8.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, scoring in double-figures 12 times (team 10-2 in those games). Knox helped lead the Bulls to a 25-8 record and 16-2 mark in league action his first season on campus, helping the team to its first American Athletic Conference Regular Season Title in program history. USF was ranked in both major top-25 polls in late February for the first time in program history as well after a program-record, 15-game win streak the last two months of the season.

As a freshman at Grand Canyon in 2022-23, Knox played in 34 games (16 starts) for the Lopes shooting 50.4% (FGs) from the floor and 41.0% (3FGs) from behind the arc. He averaged 5.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game helping GCU to the WAC Tournament Title and the program’s second all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament. He scored a career-high 21 points (6-for-6 3FGs) in a 78-75 win over Sam Houston State (3/10/23) in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament.

Knox comes from an athletic family as his dad played football and Florida State, his older brother Kevin Jr. starred at Kentucky and is in his ninth season in the NBA playing for the Golden State Warriors and his younger brother Karter was a freshman this past season at Arkansas helping lead the Razorbacks to the Sweet 16.

“Kobe really has a great understanding of not only basketball, but of what competing to win at this level looks like,” said Paris. “He played a key role in the transformation of South Florida into a top-25 team and AAC Regular Season Champion in his first season on campus. He also grew up competing with and against two brothers that have had success in this league, and now it is his time to do the same. As a player, he has the ability to make shots, as well as the willingness and ability to find his teammates when they are in position to score, which is an incredibly important skill.”

Strong spent two seasons at Boston College, appearing in 46 games with 20 starts. He had his best season in college in 2024-25, averaging 9.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 45.2% (95-of-210 FGs) from the floor and 36.2% (25-of-69 3FGs) from behind the arc. The Charlotte, N.C. native scored in double figures 11 times this past season for the Eagles. He had a career-high 25 points in a 72-69 win over Temple on Nov. 15. He also pulled down 13 rebounds and went 11-of-19 (57.9%) from the floor in the victory.

Strong prepped at Myers Park where he led the Mustangs to the 2023 4A State Championship. He was named Most Outstanding Player after scoring 22 points with seven rebounds in a 74-60 win over Richmond in the title game. Myers Park finished No. 21 in the final MaxPreps National Top-25 Poll. He averaged 15.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 64% from the floor as a senior. Strong was tabbed SoMeck Player of the Year as a junior after averaging 17.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.

“Elijah’s game has really grown in his two years of playing college basketball,” said Paris. “He has gained a lot of in-game experience and that has led to the confidence you need to perform at this level. He has expanded his game to being a real threat from behind the arc as well as attacking around the basket. He has a great combination of both power and agility that should give him the ability to attack matchups versus a variety of defenders, smaller or bigger.”

Sharavjamts has made stops at three different schools in his collegiate journey playing at Dayton (2022-23), San Francisco (2023-24) and Utah (2024-25). He possesses a wealth of experience, playing in 99 career games with 83 starts while averaging 6.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Sharavjamts averaged 7.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists this past season for the Utes. He scored in double-figures 10 times with a career-high 19 points in a 96-65 win over Queens on Nov. 12. He added seven rebounds and five assists in the game. Sharavjamts had nine games with five or more assists for the Utes. In 2023-24, he averaged 7.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game at San Francisco helping the Dons to 23 wins and a berth in the NIT. Sharavjamts logged career-best shooting splits of 42.4% (97-of-229 FGs) from the floor and 36.0% (41-of-114 3FGs) from behind the arc in his lone season at San Francisco. As a true freshman at Dayton in 2022-23, Sharavjamts played in 32 games with 20 starts for the Flyers earning Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team honors after averaging 5.6 points, 2.6 assists and 1.9 rebounds per game. He had a career-high eight assists on three occasions and helped the team to 22 wins with an appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championship game against VCU.

Sharavjamts hails from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and made history coming out of high school as the first Mongolian citizen to earn an NCAA Division I scholarship. He has represented Mongolia in numerous international competitions. His father, Sharavjamts Tserenjankhar aka The Mongolian Shark, was the first Asian Harlem Globetrotter.

“Sometimes a player is described as a bigger guy that handles the ball like a guard,” said Paris. “Mike truly IS a big guard. He sees, reads and plays the game like a crafty 6-footer would, but uses his 6’9 frame to enhance his ability to see and execute things that would prove to be more challenging for smaller guards. He has EXTREME offensive versatility, so expect to see him playing both on and off of the ball. I am really looking forward to helping him unlock a new level of play. Mike is also very unselfish and has an uncommonly high basketball IQ.”

Kapic spent this past season at UC San Diego where he played in 34 games (33 starts) and averaged 10.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He led the Tritons to a 30-5 record and the Big West Regular Season Championship as well as the Big West Conference Tournament Title. Kapic had 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists in a tight 68-65 loss to fifth-seeded Michigan in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. He scored in double-figures 17 times (team 15-2 when he scored 10 or more points) with a career-high 25 points in an 81-60 win over Cal State Bakersfield on Dec. 7. Kapic had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 72-67 win over LaSalle on Nov. 21 in the Boardwalk Battle.

Prior to his lone season with the Tritons, the Vienna, Austria native played two seasons (2022-24) at NCAA Division II Lynn in Boca Raton, Fla. He was a First Team All-Sunshine State selection in 2023-24 after averaging 19.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. He shot it at a 50.1% clip and finished the season with 14, 20-point games. He had 42 points against Tampa (12/30/23), the second-most single-game points in program history. As a freshman in 2022-23, Kapic was tabbed Sunshine State Freshman of the Year after averaging a double-double with 19.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. He finished his first collegiate season with 13 double-doubles, including six-straight to close the year. Kapic had a season-high 31 points with 11 rebounds in an 87-85 win over Barry (1/14/23).

“Nordin is another very versatile player that really knows what it means to COMPETE,” said Paris. “He transitioned from Division II to Division I without skipping a beat and helped lead his team to 30 wins and an NCAA Tournament berth. He has logged a ton of minutes at the college level and, because of that, brings a calm confidence to the game. His ability to make 3s with real range has been proven, and he is very comfortable attacking the basket as well. Because of whom he is as a person and a worker, I expect this to be another very successful transition.”

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