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

[Baylor1994]

There was a lot of one on one basketball going on this game on both sides

 

[Argonaut]

When I was in high school, I remember the dread of a practice after a game you knew the whooooooole team ****** up in. And from the time I hit the pillow until the time I got to practice the next day, it was nothing but pure dread. And the whole time it was happening, I was certain I was going to die.

I don’t think I can really imagine what one of those practices would look like for a team like SC (or any of the top teams in any collegiate sport...), but I bet if I was a fly on the wall in Columbia tomorrow, I’d find out.

 

[SCGamecock]

When I was in high school, I remember the dread of a practice after a game you knew the whooooooole team ****** up in. And from the time I hit the pillow until the time I got to practice the next day, it was nothing but pure dread. And the whole time it was happening, I was certain I was going to die.

I don’t think I can really imagine what one of those practices would look like for a team like SC (or any of the top teams in any collegiate sport...), but I bet if I was a fly on the wall in Columbia tomorrow, I’d find out.

I so wish the next practice was an open one lol

 

[Baylor1994]

I so wish the next practice was an open one lol

It’d be entertaining for sure! Like Geno and Kim, Staley doesn’t mess around with their words

 

[donalddoowop]

Both teams are not even Top 25 team ..poor shooting.

This statement is hilarious Kaizen, just hilarious. In fact, most of the comments about this game are hilarious.

 

[Baylor1994]

I so wish the next practice was an open one lol

Go sneak in and get the intel

 

[Kaizen]

This statement is hilarious Kaizen, just hilarious. In fact, most of the comments about this game are hilarious.

A good day, UConn men won the game, and ND, South Carolina women lost the game .

 

[JDuro]

When I was in high school, I remember the dread of a practice after a game you knew the whooooooole team ****** up in. And from the time I hit the pillow until the time I got to practice the next day, it was nothing but pure dread. And the whole time it was happening, I was certain I was going to die.

I don’t think I can really imagine what one of those practices would look like for a team like SC (or any of the top teams in any collegiate sport...), but I bet if I was a fly on the wall in Columbia tomorrow, I’d find out.

A couple years ago SC played a game @ Purdue, a game they won in OT. Far and away the best player for the Gamecocks was Kiki Herbert-Harrigan. I think she had like 19 pts and 15 rebs. A couple days later they had a practice which about 30-40 of us fans got to attend and Dawn spent a great deal of that practice yelling at her team. She was not pleased with how they were practicing. The player she layed into the heaviest - Kiki Herbert-Harrigan. It was pretty brutal. We felt so bad for her. After practice, when the players came over to high five us and thank us for coming, the look and body language on Kiki could have froze molten lava.

 

[Argonaut]

A couple years ago SC played a game @ Purdue, a game they won in OT. Far and away the best player for the Gamecocks was Kiki Herbert-Harrigan. I think she had like 19 pts and 15 rebs. A couple days later they had a practice which about 30-40 of us fans got to attend and Dawn spent a great deal of that practice yelling at her team. She was not pleased with how they were practicing. The player she layed into the heaviest - Kiki Herbert-Harrigan. It was pretty brutal. We felt so bad for her. After practice, when the players came over to high five us and thank us for coming, the look and body language on Kiki could have froze molten lava.

So... are you saying she was Mad Kiki?

 

[donalddoowop]

The pandemic has wreaked havoc on this season. Not being able to practice as in years past, the season starting late, very few or no fans, and postponements or cancellations are the reasons we will see more games like this one. The top teams are not immune from this as we saw tonight. Remember this game so that when Ono struggles in a game she won't be criticized so harshly. Boston and Cunnane struggled and Boston looked nothing like a generational player. She looked as if she could not believe NC State would not let her have her way.

 

[Baylor1994]

The pandemic has wreaked havoc on this season. Not being able to practice as in years past, the season starting late, very few or no fans, and postponements or cancellations are the reasons we will see more games like this one. The top teams are not immune from this as we saw tonight. Remember this game so that when Ono struggles in a game she won't be criticized so harshly. Boston and Cunnane struggled and Boston looked nothing like a generational player. She looked as if she could not believe NC State would not let her have her way.

Agreed! Nalyssa Smith has been horrible for Baylor too! Bigs are struggling! Egbo played amazing on Tuesday though

 

[SECbbfan24]

Agreed! Nalyssa Smith has been horrible for Baylor too! Bigs are struggling! Egbo played amazing on Tuesday though

R. Howard for Kentucky today was a hot mess shooting as well. Some very weird performances early but I suspect these top players will get in groove pretty quickly

 

[Gamecockfan77]

it’s always a mistake to making too many conclusions from one game. Having said that, from what I saw, S. Carolina needs better offensive sets, better spacing, less dribbling, more passing and, definitely, better outside shooting. Do they have a spot up outside shooter on the team to stretch a defense?

Henderson and Cooke are better than they showed but beyond that not really.

A former walk on and Eniya Russell are all we didn't really show.

Olivia Thompson can shoot but not sure she can get on the floor defensively in a meaningful game.

Russell I assume is more of a slasher. Not sure how she will shoot it, but not someone you leave in a corner I don't think.

 

[Baylor1994]

R. Howard for Kentucky today was a hot mess shooting as well. Some very weird performances early but I suspect these top players will get in groove pretty quickly

I hope so! We need smith to step up to beat Arkansas on Sunday

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Mississippi State's 32 game win streak record is still intact as 2nd best all time for an SEC team.

Feel like you lost your last game last season so it's not intact.

And it's not a record.

But thanks for the info. : )

 

[Lorcan]

Honestly I can see that happen! I think y’all should be top 5 at least! I guess it depends on how Louisville or Baylor does this weekend

Right now mine would be:

1. Stanford
2. NC State
3. Louisville
4. Baylor
5. UConn (I can't rank them higher till they play. I've also considered not ranking them until they play at least one game.)
6. South Carolina

Feel like you lost your last game last season so it's not intact.

And it's not a record.

But thanks for the info.

I think the poster meant that it is intact as the second best in the SEC, meaning that SC failed to pass it, even though it’s no longer active.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I think the team was so frustrated by the lack of offense that players started freelancing trying to make something happen.

I'm not sure they got a lot of help, but this group had a relatively easy ride on the seniors last year and are going to have to learn to do it the hard way.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Right now mine would be:

1. Stanford
2. NC State
3. Louisville
4. Baylor
5. UConn (I can't rank them higher till they play. I've also considered not ranking them until they play at least one game.)
6. South Carolina


I think the poster meant that it is intact as the second best in the SEC, meaning that SC failed to pass it, even though it’s no longer active.

Yes, I'm pretty sure that's what was meant too.

 

[Anchor Town]

The pandemic has wreaked havoc on this season. Not being able to practice as in years past, the season starting late, very few or no fans, and postponements or cancellations are the reasons we will see more games like this one. The top teams are not immune from this as we saw tonight. Remember this game so that when Ono struggles in a game she won't be criticized so harshly. Boston and Cunnane struggled and Boston looked nothing like a generational player. She looked as if she could not believe NC State would not let her have her way.

Who is calling Boston a generational player???

 

[bballnut90]

True! But if Baylor and Louisville both win this weekend against ranked teams, do NC state jump them?

If I were a voter, I'd vote NC State #1. Beating South Carolina on the road (no crowd, but still) is a heck of a lot more impressive than beating DePaul or Arkansas. If I'm a betting guy, NC State probably wont end up being the best team in the country this year, but they have by far the most impressive win early in the season and for that, I think they deserve the #1 spot right now.

 

[Baylor1994]

If I were a voter, I'd vote NC State #1. Beating South Carolina on the road (no crowd, but still) is a heck of a lot more impressive than beating DePaul or Arkansas. If I'm a betting guy, NC State probably wont end up being the best team in the country this year, but they have by far the most impressive win early in the season and for that, I think they deserve the #1 spot right now.

No argument from me! Tbh all top teams has struggled early thanks to Covid and not having any exhibition games! I think Stanford has looked the best so far but they’ve only played 1 game so far. It’s going to be an interesting season!

 

[Zanzman]

Ready for my Gamecocks to show why they're ranked #1!

We’re ready too let us know when

 

[JonathanXIV]

Henderson and Cooke are better than they showed but beyond that not really.

A former walk on and Eniya Russell are all we didn't really show.

Olivia Thompson can shoot but not sure she can get on the floor defensively in a meaningful game.

Russell I assume is more of a slasher. Not sure how she will shoot it, but not someone you leave in a corner I don't think.

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.

 

[Jmsdawg]

Who is calling Boston a generational player???

I was but based upon last night I would say that generation was the “STONE AGE”!

 

[visitingcock]

4 of 11 free throws. Not a freak exhibition. We have shot fts poorly in all 4 games. Why?

do we blame coronavirus? That would be a cheap copout. The virus did not limit shooting 50 FTs per day off season.

teams are gonna jam the paint with bodies. We have to kick it outside or get fouled. If we don’t make them pay for the fouls at the line, we are going to see ugly games like this all year win or lose.
One thing that is lacking is Kiki keeping Boston fired up. Yes, we miss Kiki’s skills but we clearly miss her leadership too

 

[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.