- Joined
- Nov 1, 2014
- Messages
- 4,471
- Reaction Score
- 31,882
South Carolina's women's basketball team next year will be more talented than the one that made it to the Final 4 before losing by a point to Notre Dame, USC coach Dawn Staley says.
The reason is quite simple. With the departures of two starting seniors in Aleighsa Welch and Elem Ibiam and a third key role player in Olivia Gaines - each of whom were instrumental to USC's run to Tampa, it should be noted - the Gamecocks will have more playing time to offer younger players with more potential.
That could mean a starting role for forward A'ja Wilson, the nation's top recruit a year ago, who came off the bench as a freshman last season and scored 13.1 points per game - the second most on the team behind two-time SEC Player of the Year Tiffany Mitchell.
And one for forward Alaina Coates, who scored 11.1 points and grabbed a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game off the bench last season as a sophomore and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Greensboro Regional.
Toss in more minutes for speedy guard Bianca Cuevas, another former McDonald's All-American who gave USC a spark of life off the bench last year, and the Gamecocks' regular rotation for next year could be deadly.
[LINK]
The reason is quite simple. With the departures of two starting seniors in Aleighsa Welch and Elem Ibiam and a third key role player in Olivia Gaines - each of whom were instrumental to USC's run to Tampa, it should be noted - the Gamecocks will have more playing time to offer younger players with more potential.
That could mean a starting role for forward A'ja Wilson, the nation's top recruit a year ago, who came off the bench as a freshman last season and scored 13.1 points per game - the second most on the team behind two-time SEC Player of the Year Tiffany Mitchell.
And one for forward Alaina Coates, who scored 11.1 points and grabbed a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game off the bench last season as a sophomore and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Greensboro Regional.
Toss in more minutes for speedy guard Bianca Cuevas, another former McDonald's All-American who gave USC a spark of life off the bench last year, and the Gamecocks' regular rotation for next year could be deadly.
[LINK]