College basketball transfers: Desmond Ringer on the move from South Carolina to Mercer, according to report

Sophomore power forward Desmond Ringer is transferring from South Carolina to Mercer, according to a report by Glenn Elrod of Rivals. Ringer's transfer leaves the Gamecocks with 13 players filling 13 scholarships for the 2014-15 season, assuming that Carlton Geathers does not return. However, with the rumors of Danuel House potentially transferring from Houston, there may still be an additional transfer during the offseason.

Ringer's transfer leaves Carolina with just three natural post options for next year: Laimonas Chatkevicius, Mindaugas Kacinas, and Demetrius Henry.  It likely means we'll see more of Michael Carrera at the four next year and could cause significant depth concerns given the Gamecocks' foul-prone nature. USC was 346th of 351 in free throw rate this year, which is measured as free throw attempts by opponent divided by field goals, and shows how often teams get to the line relative to how many shots they take from the field.

Ringer played sparingly this year (10.4 minutes per game) and struggled to make an impact on either the offensive or defensive end for the Gamecocks.  His minutes fell significantly as the season went on, as he only appeared in eight of the Gamecocks' final 14 games, averaging just four minutes a game during that span.

Ringer joins a Mercer squad that hopes to build on its win over the Duke Blue Devils in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this year, before falling to the Tennessee Volunteers in the round of 32.

The 6'9, 225-pound power forward originally signed with South Carolina in 2013 out of McDonough (Ga.) Eagles Landing.