USC basketball coach Lamont Paris and his staff hosted for an official visit over the weekend 6-10 Mustapha Amzil, a transfer from Dayton and a native of Finland. Amzil is coming off a season when he averaged nine points and five rebounds per game. He shot 44% from the floor, 36% from three and 80% from the foul line.
His official visit to USC was his first since entering the NCAA Transfer Portal, and it would appear the Gamecocks impressed him enough to be a factor with him as he goes through the process the next few weeks.
“It was real good. I liked it,” Amzil said. “I liked the coaches. They said that I would be a priority from a recruiting standpoint. They want me because of my flexibility offensively and defensively. It definitely let me know (about USC) and made the chances better for South Carolina. I liked my time there. All the coaches, it’s so important to me to get along with the coaches, and things were like they should be.”
Amzil does not yet have any other visits arranged, but he’s talking with several other potential suitors.
“I had a Zoom today (Monday) with New Mexico, and I had a Zoom with Memphis before I came to South Carolina,” he said. “There are some schools still in the mix. I’ll probably start cutting down the list soon, so, we’ll see. I don’t have a specific date (on a decision). I don’t want to take too long with it. I don’t want to rush it either. I can’t really say, the next week, or two or three. It’s whenever it’s comfortable, whenever I find the best fit.”
As Amzil was departing Columbia, two of his friends from Finland were arriving for their official visits. 6-4 Morris Ugusuk and teammate 6-9 Okku Federiko will be at USC through Tuesday. Amzil said he and Ugusuk are particularly good friends since they grew up together in the same city about an hour from Helsinki.
