Can South Carolina Take Next Step

[EricLA]

Judging by comments on this board during this time last year and just before last season started, USC didn't deserve top 10 ranking, didn't deserve the #1 seed in the 2014 NCAAT and shouldn't deserve a #1 seed in the '15 NCAAT, and most likely will be a sweet-sixteen team again, at best. They ended up having the shot in their hands - which they missed - that would have had them playing UConn for the national title this past season.

These are the comments i was referring to. Literally every single fan who had an opinion had SC in the top 10. Probably none lower than top 6. I said we all had them in the top 5 but apparently I had them at #6.

And like I said, they may have been "given" a 2 seed for the NCAA's 2 years ago, but flaming out in the sweet 16 indicates they were over ranked, over seeded, and over rated. Those were the points you missed. If you are going to come onto our board and rail about the "comments on this board", then at least get your facts correct. And after a link is provided to you, at least acknowledge you were wrong.

 

[SCGamecock]

Dawn Staley met with the media yesterday and talked about who she's bringing back, summer workout goals and needs, recruiting and her expectations for next season...

It's about 18 minutes but it's good stuff if you're a SC fan or somebody just interested in the program..

http://www.wach.com/sports/story.aspx?id=1194849#.VTkw7fnF81I

 

[Paul1969]

WE are going to eat them on their home court adn that's all that matters to me

 

[CocoHusky]

So when you look up her stats and you see "G/F Wilson" think of it as "W/F Wilson".. Wilson is capable of playing on the perimeter and mid range, the majority of us just haven't seen it yet. No, you will not see Wilson bringing the ball up the court (it did happen once this past season, which was weird) nor will you see Wilson guarding point guards and very athletic shooting guards... you will occasionally perhaps see her on the WING waiting for the kickout or driving to the goal like a FORWARD. The majority of the time though she'll be a power forward that regularly faces up defensively.

IMO Wilson is not a wing either by any definition. What I don't understand is South Carolina's refusal to end this Wilson is a Gurad/Wing charade and tell her, bluntly if necessary, you are a F/PF occasionally a C. Her confusion dates back to July 2012 when her AAU coach, Jerome Dickson complained about her USA basketball experience stating that she was “misused as a post player and she was really a guard”. From that pronounced by Dickson through today Wilson has labeled herself a guard. Surprising this charade continues today and even Dawn at the beginning of this season started Wilson at the Guard position-she was horrible. She is neither guard nor wing. A wing would have attempted more than 3 ThreePoint shots on the season.
Different energy (topic) for our South Carolina posters. I saw where the South Carolina Women’s basketball team was honored by the State House. A very positive and deserving honor. http://www.gamecocksonline.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/042215aaf.html
Has the team and or the University expressed a stance on the removal of the confederate flag from the state capital? It would seem to me that given the national brand that Dawn is trying to build that this specific item (confederate flag over state capital) might be counterproductive. For example, if South Carolina wanted to host a regional final in the future this might be an obstacle similar to the idiotic threat to common sense and decency that arose from Indy recently.

 

[stwainfan]

I'm not sold that they will win the SEC regular season title.

 

[easttexastrash]

I think Staley made a mistake by not starting Coates and Wilson this past season. I think that by coming off the bench they had a less aggressive attitude and that if they had been starters that they would have been more productive.

 

[fanatichusky]

i admit i was intrigued by Wilson even having never seen her play. she did come with the #1 billing and wanted her at uconn. But after seeing her play, i was disappointed, like Mercedes Russell. Wilson seems a good fit for Tenn-brick it up and get the rebounds for a junk score. No offense to her, just my opinion.

 

[fanatichusky]

I need some substantive uconn news! Tired of posting on SC, TN and whatever team. All are second tier and of no consequence really, meaning, without uconn there really is no wcbb for me.

 

[SCGamecock]

IMO Wilson is not a wing either by any definition. What I don't understand is South Carolina's refusal to end this Wilson is a Gurad/Wing charade and tell her, bluntly if necessary, you are a F/PF occasionally a C. Her confusion dates back to July 2012 when her AAU coach, Jerome Dickson complained about her USA basketball experience stating that she was “misused as a post player and she was really a guard”. From that pronounced by Dickson through today Wilson has labeled herself a guard. Surprising this charade continues today and even Dawn at the beginning of this season started Wilson at the Guard position-she was horrible. She is neither guard nor wing. A wing would have attempted more than 3 ThreePoint shots on the season.
Different energy (topic) for our South Carolina posters. I saw where the South Carolina Women’s basketball team was honored by the State House. A very positive and deserving honor. http://www.gamecocksonline.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/042215aaf.html
Has the team and or the University expressed a stance on the removal of the confederate flag from the state capital? It would seem to me that given the national brand that Dawn is trying to build that this specific item (confederate flag over state capital) might be counterproductive. For example, if South Carolina wanted to host a regional final in the future this might be an obstacle similar to the idiotic threat to common sense and decency that arose from Indy recently.

Again, like I've already said... just because you have not seen Wilson do something in a game does not mean she's incapable of doing it. REMINDER: SHE'S A FRESHMEN, her game is still growing. She wasn't asked to do much besides be under center this year and that will change. Next year, you will see more from her and then you'll understand why she's not your typical under the goal center. I've seen SC practice and A'ja is comfortable and natural at wing. She shoots threes and mid range jumpers and she drives comfortably and has great length. This year, Dawn wanted one thing from her post... to be ready for the feed. So that's all you saw from them. If you click on that link I posted you'll hear Dawn saying how we've barely scratched the surface of what Coates, Wilson and White can do.

What makes Wilson special is here versatility.. she can and will grow into quite the multifaceted player. To pigeonhole her into one position, like a center, would do her a disservice. Some players should be pigeonholed. Wilson is not one of them. You guys need to accept that she will NOT just be an under the goal center because it's happening regardless.

She's not a UCONN player anyway.. so if it's such a bad thing that Dawn wants to use Wilson all over the floor then that's better for your team. Right?

Or maybe you know that it's not such a bad thing.

 

[SCGamecock]

Has the team and or the University expressed a stance on the removal of the confederate flag from the state capital? It would seem to me that given the national brand that Dawn is trying to build that this specific item (confederate flag over state capital) might be counterproductive. For example, if South Carolina wanted to host a regional final in the future this might be an obstacle similar to the idiotic threat to common sense and decency that arose from Indy recently.

And FYI: the confederate flag no longer flies on top of the statehouse... it flies on a memorial on statehouse grounds.

Personally, I don't think it's the team's or school's place to speak on a matter that's so highly sensitive. Nobody benefits from that, especially the University/Team. At this point, it's a political issue.. and because SC can now host NCAA games, it's no longer a sports/school issue.. which it should not have been in the first place.

 

[Blueballer]

Let's see the next step would be beating Notre dame. Maybe but I doubt it

 

[CocoHusky]

Again, like I've already said... just because you have not seen Wilson do something in a game does not mean she's incapable of doing it. REMINDER: SHE'S A FRESHMEN, her game is still growing. She wasn't asked to do much besides be under center this year and that will change. Next year, you will see more from her and then you'll understand why she's not your typical under the goal center. I've seen SC practice and A'ja is comfortable and natural at wing. She shoots threes and mid range jumpers and she drives comfortably and has great length. This year, Dawn wanted one thing from her post... to be ready for the feed. So that's all you saw from them. If you click on that link I posted you'll hear Dawn saying how we've barely scratched the surface of what Coates, Wilson and White can do.

What makes Wilson special is here versatility.. she can and will grow into quite the multifaceted player. To pigeonhole her into one position, like a center, would do her a disservice. Some players should be pigeonholed. Wilson is not one of them. You guys need to accept that she will NOT just be an under the goal center because it's happening regardless.

She's not a UCONN player anyway.. so if it's such a bad thing that Dawn wants to use Wilson all over the floor then that's better for your team. Right?

Or maybe you know that it's not such a bad thing.

Honestly I give up. I eagerly look forward to A'ja translating what you have seen her do "in practice" to an actual game. I'm very confident that UCONN will locate and adequately defend A'ja regardless of her position. Your concern should be the other teams in your own conference which will do likewise.

 

[SCGamecock]

Your concern should be the other teams in your own conference which will do likewise.

As usual, I look forward to a very competitive SEC next season.

 

[Henry]

What's the next step? Winning a championship? In WBB the most dominant team tends to win. If they are the most dominant team and don't screw up in the sweet 16 or elite 8 they could win. However, they still have to get through us. Having been to the Final Four should give them some confidence but until you win you are never sure you can.

 

[Bayareahusky]

Not that I want to get in middle of this debate..... but i will to an extent..... one thing about the 5 or 6 times I saw SC last year is that they did not look like a well oiled machine...... no problem they had young team and learning to play at next level.....

but on Wilson..... when I saw her play..... I thought WOW! she is an ATHLETE..... running the floor..... has the potential to be soooo good if utilized properly..... which is why i posted earlier (forget if on this thread) to the effect that the guards have to seek her out and use her to maximum potential.....

USC has to bring it every night..... they have the talent..... just have to put it together and play as a unit..... the SEC will be interesting .... SC will go as far as Dawn will take them..... as opposed to Tenn which will go as far as DD will take them (sorry, little confidence in Holly).... and what of KY and A&M? Will they make a noise at all? Would be nice to see SEC in FF..... last few years it has been ACC.....

 

[EricLA]

Honestly I give up. I eagerly look forward to A'ja translating what you have seen her do "in practice" to an actual game. I'm very confident that UCONN will locate and adequately defend A'ja regardless of her position. Your concern should be the other teams in your own conference which will do likewise.

I actually think Wilson has a lot of potential. Just look at how much Moriah improved from freshman to sophomore years. And Wilson showed flashes of being a terrific post player.

Let me just, for the record, talk about her game as a guard. Not in a million years. She is not a guard, never has been, never will be. What she DOES have are terrific ball handling skills for a POST player. So let's just stop with calling her a guard. She's no more a guard than Parker, Griner, or Charde Houston was/are. Parker is great with the ball in the open court. Charde could bring the ball up single handedly against the press. And Griner is a whiz with the ball, and can dribble between her legs, etc.

Just because a player has great ball handling skills FOR A POST PLAYER does not make them anywhere close to a guard. Wilson's not even a wing. The best she can hope for is to develop a competent outside game and call herself a wing/forward.

 

[Go/huskies]

I actually think Wilson has a lot of potential. Just look at how much Moriah improved from freshman to sophomore years. And Wilson showed flashes of being a terrific post player.

Let me just, for the record, talk about her game as a guard. Not in a million years. She is not a guard, never has been, never will be. What she DOES have are terrific ball handling skills for a POST player. So let's just stop with calling her a guard. She's no more a guard than Parker, Griner, or Charde Houston was/are. Parker is great with the ball in the open court. Charde could bring the ball up single handedly against the press. And Griner is a whiz with the ball, and can dribble between her legs, etc.

Just because a player has great ball handling skills FOR A POST PLAYER does not make them anywhere close to a guard. Wilson's not even a wing. The best she can hope for is to develop a competent outside game and call herself a wing/forward.

Wilson was a 5'10? guard her freshman year of high school

 

[SCGamecock]

Not that I want to get in middle of this debate..... but i will to an extent..... one thing about the 5 or 6 times I saw SC last year is that they did not look like a well oiled machine. no problem they had young team and learning to play at next level.....

I agree here... that's the thing that kills me about SC. At times, they look unbeatable offensively, especially when we were moving the ball around quickly and our players were all over the court.. then other times the offense is almost pedestrian and unbearable. I'm hoping we take great strides and work on being more sharp offensively this offseason. Too many times last season it looked like we played individually and not as a team.

I was excited listening to Dawn yesterday as she talked about our need for better outside shooters and ball passers. And ESPECIALLY when she said SC will play with 5 players that can shoot at all times on the floor next year. That tells you exactly what she's working on this team with this summer. Too many times we got handicapped offensively this past season. If our guard play improves in these areas then we are a drastically improved team.

 

[EricLA]

Wilson was a 5'10? guard her freshman year of high school

So? Gabby Williams was a 5'10" guard for 4 years of high school.

 

[SCGamecock]

Wilson was a 5'10? guard her freshman year of high school

Exactly. Sure, she'll never be a 1 or 2 again... but she can still do some things offensively that are associated with guards. That's why she's considered a W/F. She's an athlete that can be used all over the court.

So? Gabby Williams was a 5'10" guard for 4 years of high school.

He was referring to you saying that Wilson was NEVER a guard. She was a guard "back in the day" or like 3 years ago lol..

 

[BroadwayVa]

http://www.thestate.com/sports/coll...na/usc-womens-basketball/article19250793.html

Five interesting questions asked. Most important question: Are they here to stay?? Answer is it's too early to say. Second question; Why no big time recruits? (paraphrasing)---Answer: When you are loaded it's harder to fill empty spots--few want to ride the bench.
Staley is good and she has recruited well (for last year and this). Geno credits recruiting and great recruits for Uconn's success--but we all know that is only a part of the equation---X (recruits) Plus Z (Geno) Plus ABC (Chris D, Shea R, Marissia) plus physically conditioning plus practice plus practice plus practice EQUALs 10 National Championships.
Seems to me the missing parts of Staley's equation is Geno, CD, Shea, Marissa
Geno got Gabby to (maybe temp) move to small Fwd--if she said not only no but heck no--Geno would not have forced it upon her--but I doubt she would have played even in Cleanup times--Players play where college- coaches believe they are needed--not where their HS coach says they should==in the old daze we'd call that gigantic gall. Few are that important. Is this why Uconn didn't get you know who?

 

[Bayareahusky]

I agree here... that's the thing that kills me about SC. At times, they look unbeatable offensively, especially when we were moving the ball around quickly and our players were all over the court.. then other times the offense is almost pedestrian and unbearable. I'm hoping we take great strides and work on being more sharp offensively this offseason. Too many times last season it looked like we played individually and not as a team.

I was excited listening to Dawn yesterday as she talked about our need for better outside shooters and ball passers. And ESPECIALLY when she said SC will play with 5 players that can shoot at all times on the floor next year. That tells you exactly what she's working on this team with this summer. Too many times we got handicapped offensively this past season. If our guard play improves in these areas then we are a drastically improved team.

Yeah if the guards can feed the studs down low why can't you guys expect greatness next year.... and one more thing I thought of .... you have a step up on rival Tenn..... cause as everyone knows Holly doesn't give offense much credence.... so by definition that helps your defense.....

Last year your first time in the bright lights .... time to take next step this coming year..... for my part.... i hope my TV package out west here will incorporate more of your games.....

 

[BroadwayVa]

USC will be fine this year.... and I hope they have a good season..... this conversation of this player and that player playing this function and that hybrid position makes me think to the importance of guard play. SC will be so strong at front line everyone can agree.... against the top especially though, they will need to depend on their guards to create opportunities for them

Tiffany.... wow I love to watch her play....yes.... let the creators create!!!! the smaller players who are better able to handle the ball can create situations which set up the bigs for everything they do..... I think of our Moriah Jefferson, who, despite getting her share of publicity and praise, still does not get enough in my estimation. She is multifaceted..... creates much of the offense and transition.... not to mention smothering defense..... I think of Jim Calhoun, who always stacked his team with small forwards.... I think if he could have 10 of them on his roster he would have..... largely because they could create..

USC this year will need Mitchell and her cohorts back there on the back line to produce in a big way to bring out the greatness of those on the front line.

I have to agree USC was fun to watch (except the Duke game). In the final game against ND I was impressed at how USC's small guard played more like Jefferson than in the UConn/USC game earlier. Dawn Staley during in game interview spoke of how important that guard was to their game plan.

 

[BroadwayVa]

LOL, didn't know you were a Lady Vols fan:



That was on the first page....

Your knowledge base is that of a fan who only lives inside the bubble of their own favorite team's history, and think every other program has had the same opportunities and just failed. In 2013-2014 USC was a team that had 0 5* players, 1 McDonald's All-American player (as a freshman), and a total of Five (5) players rated above 3*. Reaching the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAAT was once a novelty for even their head coach. By most rating services USC had a top-25 SOS for '13-'14. No, they did not deserve a #1 seed for the NCAAT that year, but they've been trashed on here for playing a NAIA-type cupcake schedule - as if they played the AAC conference - when truth was although they didn't play a TOP FIVE schedule strength, their schedule strength wasn't bad at all. This past season, USC's schedule was actually rated above UConn's by most online services....

I'm not part of the argument but two things popped out to me: 1. AAC cupcake schedule??? Must have been really bad--how could any of those teams win their 10 NC?? 2. Being locked into Uconn Women BB on a Uconn Women BB site seems the thing to do--I like all GOOD WBB at the College level---I'm a CAA WBB fan too--but my blind loyalty is with Uconn WBB and I do drink the Geno aide
am I on the wrong site??? I enjoyed the USC/ND game and cheered for USC (maybe I'm just anti ND?)(not) But you must admit that every other Major Div 1 CWBB teams had the same opportunities as UConn--operative word opportunity..

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

but flaming out in the sweet 16 indicates they were over ranked, over seeded, and over rated. Those were the points you missed.QUOTE]

As an aside, it can also mean it was a bad matchup, which happens.

2010, men's NCAA Tournament. Kentucky loses to West Virginia, which loses to Duke in the Final Four. No way Duke would have defeated Kentucky. But WVU matched up better with the Wildcats, and Duke matched up better with West Virginia.

This is one of the unpredictable parts (which DobbsRover cannot grasp in the other thread regarding Charlie Creme and predictions). You cannot predict your regions, draw, or matchups.