Third best shooter in the class honestly.check the article regarding Kitts joining the squad early. sounds like the potential ‘shooter’ aspect regarding our incoming class may be on display at some point later this season, per DS herself:
Why her family, USC opted to fast-track Chloe Kitts to join Gamecocks’ roster midyear
Dawn Staley is high on the five-star forward: “She’s not gonna be punked at all.”www.yahoo.com
Exactly! We’ve always recruited them but couldn’t land any until this current cycle. Had Dawn landed some prior ones then we could’ve been even more successful than we are now and that’s saying a lot! Having accurate shooter will go a long way and with the way teams struggle to keep us off the boards it’s going to be even tougher when they can’t sag.
Yes, Beal can possibly shoot in the 35-40% range from 3. She’s at 36% now but that’s only 9 for 25 in 10 games. She still often just passes off on offense and doesn’t look to take her own shot. This season the Gamecocks need for her to be a scoring threat more than anytime she’s been in Columbia.
SC is already the favorite to win the title. Why waste an entire year of eligibility so Kitts can play some minor minutes? I know SC needs shooters, but there's no reason that should not have already been addressed with ALL that talent on the bench. If Dawn needed shooters she could get them. IMO, Dawn should be able to coach that team comfortably to a national title without Kitts.
Or less successful. Sometimes a style fits a program and Coach.
I agree with some of your points, however this can't be laid solely at the feet of NCAA coaches. With the goal of the making it to the pros, AAU coaches, prep programs and families are also part of this is.
I tend to agree the families are big drivers but the college coaches could always say no. This has been happening in football for many years now and I just don't understand the rush. In fact, I would speculate that a high school football player who choses to graduate in May with their traditional class and not join a program for spring practice wouldn't be viewed the same way by the coaching staff. Of course, this is a WBB board and the worlds are completely different but I wonder if this could become a thing in future years.
In agreement with you there. From my view, I think all parties involved should be noted, not just the coaches. The parents have just as much responsibility in deciding if enrolling early makes sense.
If Kitts can offer something we lack, and she can compete, she should play. She has only missed 10 games so far. This will give her a head start on her learning curb for next year. We will need more experience next year.
More importantly she's missed six months of practice and conditioning.
I mean it’s not like she was just sitting around waiting to get eligible. While she was working to complete her HS credits she was also training extensively 3 times a day to get ready for College. I understand your reservations on the topic but hearing how assuring Dawn was talking about her skill set and how she’ll be used I don’t think her coming in early is a waste, especially knowing how inexperienced we’ll be next year. The more players that gets experience this year the better. Losing nearly half your team is tough, even for the best teams.
