Gamecocks 2025-2026 Season

[Phil]

I was laughing really hard at Kim's halftime interview when she said this was "basketball played at the highest level." I'm sorry, but that is not what I saw. With the exception of Raven's exceptional game and Joyce's stalwart play -- those two are tremendous basketball players -- the game looked pretty ragged.

I agree.

I felt differently watching the first LSU South Carolina game, it seemed to be plated a fairly high level very athletic moves and not too many blunders but this one was very different

 

[Bone Dog]

This board loves the 50/40/90 stat so I thought I would give a shout-out to Raven for shooting 51/41/84 so far this season! She is also averaging 5.4 assists/game and is #4 in the nation in assist to turnover ratio. Then on top of that she was the SEC DPOY!

Is there a better all-around PG in the nation this season?! The fact that she didn't make first team All-SEC is a disgrace.

What I mainly see is someone who made a really good decision to return for a final year. I think she’s really enhanced her draft position. The one question mark about her before this season was her shooting, and especially her ability to hit 3s. Well, she’s absolutely answered those questions. Dawn has really done right by Raven.

 

[ABCDFE]

I am a huuuge fan of Raven Johnson. She has a place in the WNBA.

 

[visitingcock]

This board loves the 50/40/90 stat so I thought I would give a shout-out to Raven for shooting 51/41/84 so far this season! She is also averaging 5.4 assists/game and is #4 in the nation in assist to turnover ratio. Then on top of that she was the SEC DPOY!

Is there a better all-around PG in the nation this season?! The fact that she didn't make first team All-SEC is a disgrace.

The point guards for UConn, UCLA, South Carolina and Texas are ALL in the top 5 inn assist/turnover ratio.

Hmmmmmmm

 

[Gamecockfan77]

One more thing… I was surprised not to see McDowell and Tournebize play. The only thing I can imagine is Dawn really wanted this one in order to eliminate any doubts that South Carolina is a #1 seed in the NCAAs, so she played her starters more minutes than normal. There was little margin for error… LSU played tough.

She's going to ride the starters in those kinds of games.

For better or worse she chose Dauda in Baton Rouge and that's the way it's gonna be.

We'll see the others if they can get daylight with the lead.

Although the zone might well reappear and that's where Dawn seems a little more comfortable with Tournebize.

Looks like Dauda was -11 yesterday. I did think her score was the most agressive play she's made this season.

 

[visitingcock]

A fine feast of a season capped off with a dessert of humble pie. Congrats to the Longhorns.

 

[USMC(ret)]

Texas 78, South Carolina 61… the first 10 minutes of the game made most of the difference. Some observations:

• The Gamecocks were caught flat-footed by the Texas full court press right out of the gate. And that’s on our coaching staff. Texas has done this before… we should have anticipated it. Props to Texas.
• Texas was tougher, more physical.
• Texas shot 61% in the first half, which complemented their ferocious defense.
• None of our players had their best game. As is typical in our wins, this loss was a team effort.
• Hoping this loss does not cost us a one seed in the NCAA tournament. It may cost us the slot in Fort Worth, and bump us to Sacramento, which would stink… three time zones away, on the other side of the continent.
• We got whipped. No excuses. Gotta get things fixed for the Big Dance.

 

[WBBTakeover]

Texas 78, South Carolina 61… the first 10 minutes of the game made most of the difference. Some observations:

• The Gamecocks were caught flat-footed by the Texas full court press right out of the gate. And that’s on our coaching staff. Texas has done this before… we should have anticipated it. Props to Texas.
• Texas was tougher, more physical.
• Texas shot 61% in the first half, which complemented their ferocious defense.
• None of our players had their best game. As is typical in our wins, this loss was a team effort.
• Hoping this loss does not cost us a one seed in the NCAA tournament. It may cost us the slot in Fort Worth, and bump us to Sacramento, which would stink… three time zones away, on the other side of the continent.
• We got whipped. No excuses. Gotta get things fixed for the Big Dance.

Still a 1 seed but headed to Sacramento.

 

[jumpstart]

The South Carolina girls were happy and content. The Texas girls were pissed and ready to play hard. That was the difference. Vic had them pissed about the loss last year there and the fact they have to travel to a South Carolina destination. He used it as motivation and South Carolina had no answer to that. The NCAA Tournament will flip that if they meet again. South Carolina will be the pissed team. I see a UCLA/UCONN final anyway.

 

[oldude]

Last season when SC lost to UConn in Columbia by 29, Dawn as well as many in the media chalked it up to the team lacking focus during the middle of a grueling SEC schedule, etc. At the time, I felt those explanations for SC’s loss didn’t quite ring true.

Yesterday’s 17 point loss in the conference championship game has elicited similar explanations from some SC supporters. Here again, I think such explanations are more aspirational than accurate.

SC is clearly one of the top 4 teams in the nation. But at this point late in the season, there are 3 teams that appear to be more talented, executing at a higher level, with a better opportunity to win the national championship.

Of course I could be wrong. If SC meets and defeats UConn in the national semifinals, I will be eating a healthy serving of crow…..

 

[GamecockFam]

Last season when SC lost to UConn in Columbia by 29, Dawn as well as many in the media chalked it up to the team lacking focus during the middle of a grueling SEC schedule, etc. At the time, I felt those explanations for SC’s loss didn’t quite ring true.

Yesterday’s 17 point loss in the conference championship game has elicited similar explanations from some SC supporters. Here again, I think such explanations are more aspirational than accurate.

SC is clearly one of the top 4 teams in the nation. But at this point late in the season, there are 3 teams that appear to be more talented, executing at a higher level, with a better opportunity to win the national championship.

Of course I could be wrong. If SC meets and defeats UConn in the national semifinals, I will be eating a healthy serving of crow…..

Dawn is never the type to explain our weaknesses to the public. She uses a lot of "coach speak" when talking to the public.

I think South Carolina panicked yesterday when things got out of hand and I saw very uncharacteristic play that wasn't part of our habits. Like I think Joyce Edwards shooting that corner three is pretty emblematic of that. I saw the same against UConn last year and during Oklahoma this year.

We're not a very experienced team at having to dig ourselves out from a big deficit because we're not in that situation that often, so maybe this experience will help with the tournament if we face that situation again. When things go south we take bad/hurried shots, play at the opponents pace and break from the game plan. It takes us a whole quarter to calm down which is where the problem lies. We need to self-correct while on the court and cut down on the time it takes to self-correct. I think that is why Dawn was not calling a timeout -- she knew we needed to learn how to do that without calling a timeout.

If anything, I think Raven knew what to do but the team wasn't following, so I think the biggest message is to have a few "exhale" possessions where we slow down and be intentional in our offense. Raven also needs to take ownership after the game and in the locker room. I hope she scolded her teammates from breaking away from the plan and not following her lead.

 

[WBBTakeover]

If anything, I think Raven knew what to do but the team wasn't following, so I think the biggest message is to have a few "exhale" possessions where we slow down and be intentional in our offense. Raven also needs to take ownership and after the game in the locker room. I hope she scolded her teammates from breaking away from the plan and not following her lead.

I hope the first person she held accountable was herself because she had some pretty egregious turnovers during the game (including one very early on that set the tone). That she wasn't answering questions postgame (and two sophomores were instead) is not the kind of visual that anyone affiliated with the team needed to see yesterday after a brutal team performance. Dawn should've known better. This wasn't a good look in terms of leadership.

This is Raven's team. She's the fifth-year senior. OWN IT.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Always good to read about folks' concerns about South Carolina.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

I was at the game on Sunday. We had a more difficult and emotionally draining semi, and we were mentally tired on Sunday. Personally, I wasn't as up for Sunday's game, either. I was so fired up after the LSU game that I ran all the way back to my car, almost a mile away, to burn off some energy. For perspective, I'm 62 years old and have never been a runner.