Game Thread - #8 NC State at #1 South Carolina

[BlueDevils]

South Carolina desperately needs a point guard. Henderson/Cooke are more scoring/combo guards than pure point guards. Nothing wrong with that, especially, when you have floor general PG to mix in (Harris/Henderson/Cooke).

Right now the SC guards are adjusting to knowing when to find their shot and when to get their teammates involved. So far as a team (56ast 47TO). To their credit they’ve been playing some QUALITY competition. I for one commend them on that.

All in all, SC is not a team I would want to see down the road. The lineup of Henderson, Cooke, Grisset, LA, and Boston has scary potential. Dawn is going to get that team right!

 

[Sched2345]

I think both teams are stronger and more efficient than they showed last night. I still do think SC is a much better team than NC State, but State made the plays and won the game fairly. They could deservedly be ranked #1 next week. Put another way, I think SC played further away from its potential than State did in this game.

I was surprised to see how many point-blank layups Boston, Beal, and Amihere missed. State packed the paint, but some of those shots just seemed too makeable to miss.

All in all—this one is over now and State proved there’s more to its game than Cunane. State doesn’t have too many real challenges ahead on its schedule; just ACC matchups with Louisville and Syracuse. You have to wonder if NC State put itself in the driver’s seat for a #1 seed last night—and if SC perhaps knocked itself to a #2.

 

[HuskylnSC]

Ty Harris was a good floor general.

FALSE - Ty Harris was a great floor general and her absence is the reason this SC team while really really good, is not up to last year's team. (I hope the all cap false isn't too harsh @DeeHusky. I just wanted to make a point about how important Ty was last year.)

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I know that your class for next year has a lot of athletic players, but do you have any shooters coming in to compare with the three shooters UConn has coming in (Azzi, Saylor, CD)? Next few years could be interesting with S Carolina’s athleticism versus UConn’s ability to put the ball in the basket.

My impression of all four is that they have a pretty good all around game and that's a big part of their rating.

I know Raven Johnson and Hall dramatically improved their percentages last season and that had a lot to do with their rise in rankings.

Rivers I generally see praised for being a slasher, but her jumper doesn't look broken in highlights and I think it would be hard to rise to #2 without being fairly adequate there.

I'll defer to more educated opinions though. I haven't gotten to see a whole lot of actual game footage on them, just highlights.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I think both teams are stronger and more efficient than they showed last night. I still do think SC is a much better team than NC State, but State made the plays and won the game fairly. They could deservedly be ranked #1 next week. Put another way, I think SC played further away from its potential than State did in this game.

I was surprised to see how many point-blank layups Boston, Beal, and Amihere missed. State packed the paint, but some of those shots just seemed too makeable to miss.

All in all—this one is over now and State proved there’s more to its game than Cunane. State doesn’t have too many real challenges ahead on its schedule; just ACC matchups with Louisville and Syracuse. You have to wonder if NC State put itself in the driver’s seat for a #1 seed last night—and if SC perhaps knocked itself to a #2.

Some of those close misses were well defended and I think that State's collapsing defense sped some of them up.

I don't think Boston is by nature ball dominant. I think she is comfortable just playing in the flow. That's kind of what she did last season and it was her role on Team USA. I think she will get better at finishing in that situation, because she will see a lot of it.

The interesting dynamic is how hungry and aggressive Amihere is. The preseason talk was about how she had a lot of dog in her and that's a fact. She is more than willing to take the touches and make them her on. I think she has looked great, but she needs to work on her court awareness. Someone had posted awhile back that Amihere might end up being the more dominant player and I had kind of dismissed it. But I can see it now.

I tend to get frustrated with Cooke's decision making.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I think both teams are stronger and more efficient than they showed last night. I still do think SC is a much better team than NC State, but State made the plays and won the game fairly. They could deservedly be ranked #1 next week. Put another way, I think SC played further away from its potential than State did in this game.

I was surprised to see how many point-blank layups Boston, Beal, and Amihere missed. State packed the paint, but some of those shots just seemed too makeable to miss.

All in all—this one is over now and State proved there’s more to its game than Cunane. State doesn’t have too many real challenges ahead on its schedule; just ACC matchups with Louisville and Syracuse. You have to wonder if NC State put itself in the driver’s seat for a #1 seed last night—and if SC perhaps knocked itself to a #2.

Carolina probably has the toughest non-conference in the country.

one loss isn't going to matter a bit for seeding.

Losses that confirm this one? Sure.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

South Carolina desperately needs a point guard. Henderson/Cooke are more scoring/combo guards than pure point guards. Nothing wrong with that, especially, when you have floor general PG to mix in (Harris/Henderson/Cooke).

Right now the SC guards are adjusting to knowing when to find their shot and when to get their teammates involved. So far as a team (56ast 47TO). To their credit they’ve been playing some QUALITY competition. I for one commend them on that.

All in all, SC is not a team I would want to see down the road. The lineup of Henderson, Cooke, Grisset, LA, and Boston has scary potential. Dawn is going to get that team right!

I disagree mildly.

Henderson is playing pretty well at point guard, but it prevents her from playing off the ball. She's not at Ty Harris's masters level, but she's way better than average.

Carolina only has two guards at the moment and that is a problem. And their wings can't shoot. Another problem.

 

[donalddoowop]

Who is calling Boston a generational player???

You must not have read the Boneyard last season. One thing for sure, for now, people can drop the "generational" from the front of her name unless generations are a lot shorter than they used to be.

 

[DeeHusky]

What’s up with the development of Destiny Littleton? I would’ve thought she’d be much further along by now

 

[Gamecockfan77]

What’s up with the development of Destiny Littleton? I would’ve thought she’d be much further along by now

She had surgery on both ankles (I think ankles).

I don't think she was out of casts and full go until the summer though all time runs together in Covid.

After seeing the difference in Amihere, I'm willing to give anybody the benefit of the doubt. I'm kind of wondering about her though.

 

[triaddukefan]

I'll poke my head back into this thread for a minute... The Statewide Cable Sports Program led off with this game. First time I can recall the Show leading off with women sports. Coach Moore was a guest on a Statewide sports Radio Show this afternoon... and they are talking alot about the game on another sports radio show right now. I didnt see it.... but apparently they talked about this game on the ACC Network's Packer and Durham show this morning. Glad to see WCBB get some recognization.

 

[Anchor Town]

You must not have read the Boneyard last season. One thing for sure, for now, people can drop the "generational" from the front of her name unless generations are a lot shorter than they used to be.

Yeah generational talents typically mean "only come around once every 10 years" type hype. Boston doesnt even look like a top 5 forward in the country this year.