Dawn Staley has another championship-caliber team on her hands, and it couldn’t be more different than her previous title-grabbing squad.
In 2022, when Aliyah Boston, who won Player of the Year, and Destanni Henderson led the Gamecocks to a national title win over UConn, South Carolina was nearly as good in its season opener as it was in the final game.
With a junior core of Boston, Zia Cooke, Brea Beal, Victaria Saxton and Laeticia Amihere, the Gamecocks had experience on their side. The starting five and sixth player Amihere had all played significant minutes in the 2021 Final Four a season prior. They were primed for their title run.
This team is the opposite. While last season’s team — the same roster from 2022 minus Henderson — knew its roles and expectations, this season’s South Carolina still has a lot of growth to do.
And for the rest of college basketball, that’s a scary concept.
The Gamecocks are ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll, with an undefeated record that includes wins over No. 16 Notre Dame, Maryland, North Carolina, Duke and No. 15 Utah. But they are still nowhere near their peak.
Leading South Carolina is the team’s most experienced player, though her experience didn’t come as a Gamecock. Point guard Te-Hina Paopao spent the previous three seasons at Oregon, where she took on a starting role in the first game of her freshman season.
The senior is averaging 12 points, 3.8 assists, 1.2 steals and a career-low 1.5 turnovers per game. Paopao’s 3-point shooting has also given the Gamecocks a needed outside presence, as she’s second in the country, making 53.5% of her attempts.
But perhaps Paopao’s greatest gift to the Gamecocks is her ability to hold things down while the rest of the team continues to figure things out.
In 12 games this season, South Carolina has had six different leading scorers. That’s in part because of Paopao’s ability to read situations and find the hot hand but also in part because as individuals, the Gamecocks are still ironing out the kinks in their offense. One night a player might be on fire, and the next, she might be prone to mistakes. That’s what it means to have a young team.
But regardless of what the rest of the team is doing, Paopao has remained consistent.
“You can’t discount experience. You can’t discount efficiency,” Staley said of Paopao after the win over Utah. “She’s a low-maintenance, high-performance person.”
The next-most experienced player on the roster is Kamilla Cardoso, who is averaging a double-double with 13.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game.
At 6-foot-7, Cardoso is a force on offense and defense, but even while averaging such high numbers, she could likely do more. Cardoso is capable of taking over games with her skill on both ends of the court, but the Gamecocks haven’t seen her do it — yet.
South Carolina continues to work on its offense, and Cardoso is taking advantage of her touches, but Staley said she’d like to see the Gamecocks go inside more often. Especially considering how efficient Cardoso is with the ball, making 61.7% of her shot attempts.
“We will continue to work with Kamilla,” Staley said after the Utah game. “We have to get her the ball a little bit more. A lot more. A lot, lot more.”
After Paopao and Cardoso, South Carolina’s remaining starters and key bench players are less experienced, but it’s easy to see their potential.
Chloe Kitts, who enrolled in January of last season, is starting alongside Cardoso in the paint. The 6-foot-2 forward is averaging 10.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game and has shown off her ability to score at the rim through contact or in the midrange.
Kitts averaged only 6.9 minutes per game last season but has clearly earned Staley’s trust, holding a starting spot and playing in crucial situations throughout the season.
The Gamecocks also have no shortage of talented guards, as Bree Hall and Raven Johnson round out the starting lineup, and freshman sensation MiLaysia Fulwiley comes off the bench.
Each guard brings a different skill set to the court, and all three are capable of leading the Gamecocks in scoring, which makes South Carolina that much more difficult to game-plan against.
At 6-foot, Hall is a lengthy guard who matches up well on the defensive end. She came into South Carolina in 2021 heralded as a shooter, but her numbers have seen a massive increase this season. In her first two years as a Gamecock, Hall shot 30.4% and 35.9% from long range. This season, she’s making 42.9% of her attempts, for just under two 3-point makes per game.
Johnson was the country’s No. 2 recruit in 2021 and was expected to make an impact for the Gamecocks, but an injury ended her season after just two games. She started three games last season, and this season, she serves as a second point guard alongside Paopao.
Johnson is quick on the attack and boasts a high basketball IQ. She leads South Carolina in both assists (5.9) and steals (2.5).
Last season, the guard shot just 24.1% from long range and was one of the players Iowa sagged off in the Hawkeyes’ Final Four victory. In a viral video, Iowa star Caitlin Clark can be seen waving Johnson off, in a signal to the arena that she didn’t have to guard her.
Johnson said she was hurt by that moment, but she clearly used it as motivation, and this season, she’s a 3-point threat, making 42.3% of her attempts.
Then there’s Fulwiley, who became an overnight sensation after a highlight-reel-worthy performance against Notre Dame to open the season. Staley has called the freshman a “generational talent,” and at times, Fulwiley has looked the part.
The freshman is South Carolina’s second-leading scorer, with 12.1 points per game, but her minutes have fluctuated throughout the season. Staley has been intentional with Fulwiley, putting the young player in position to succeed. When she’s playing well, Staley gives Fulwiley extended minutes, and when she makes mistakes, the freshman is pulled aside and given the coaching she needs.
Fulwiley’s development can be likened to this South Carolina team as a whole: already scary talented but with plenty of room for growth.
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
