OT: Can South Carolina WBB Take the Next Step This Season?

[Charliebball]

Can South Carolina take the next step?

 

[Ellie]

Can South Carolina take the next step?

Sure they can do it as long as they don't slip on some Irish moss.

 

[triaddukefan]

If they have a reliable PG.

 

[Tonyc]

You almost cant win a NC without a really good point guard.

 

[JordyG]

Absolutely they can. Will they is the question. SC frontcourt is solid, their backcourt, not so much. What can a talented Harris do for them this year? Can Cliney have a significant So. leap? Can Davis show the leadership this team is going to need? Is Melanie Balcomb the answer to moving them toward a championship offense? This season will tell with early games against OSU, Louisville and Texas.

 

[stwainfan]

I think guard play will be the for them.

 

[SCspur]

Absolutely they can. Will they is the question. SC frontcourt is solid, their backcourt, not so much. What can a talented Harris do for them this year? Can Cliney have a significant So. leap? Can Davis show the leadership this team is going to need? Is Melanie Balcomb the answer to moving them toward a championship offense? This season will tell with early games against OSU, Louisville and Texas.

I highly agree with you our Frontcourt is very good, I wasn't even surprised that our freshman forward Kiki Herbert Harrigan led the team in the exhibition with 23 points and 12 rebounds. She was an under the radar STEAL! She's going to suprise ALOT of teams this year. As for our backcourt I like where we stand. Yeah some people think cuevas is incapable of running the point but she's going to prove a lot of people wrong. She and Ty combined for 12 points and 12 assists in our exhibition win with one TO amongst them. Allisha Gray is now known as a "SharpShooter" with a complete game. Dawn says she can score from all angles and is in Midseason form already. Kaela offensively is going to be very tough to stop. Dawn says she's going to play positions 1 through 4 and take on the "Defensive Stopper" role it remains to be seen if she takes in this role. Cliney will be a good role player for us this year so I expect her to make some type of leap in her game. I'm super excited about the season starting in a couple of days and looking forward to see how Balcombs schemes impact a team that was offensively challenged over the past couple years.

 

[CBear01]

I think guard play will be the for them.

Agreed. Dawn Staley was one of the best guards to ever play the game I'm confident she can get her players (although not the caliber of guards on, let's say, a team like ND) to emerge. Cuevas is a corvette still in the garage. I'd like to see Dawn finally take that one out of storage but it's really on Cueva's shoulders. She has to make that leap to the next cliff (as the article alludes). With the front court tandem SC has, being IMO the best in the nation, the only way they don't make it back to the final 4 will be some grave mistakes made in the regionals.

Without captain Tiffany I can surely see this a daunting goal. But with Dawn at the helm you have to think it's more than possible.

 

[triaddukefan]

You almost cant win a NC without a really good point guard.

Most of the top teams this season have question marks at the PG. Ohio State, Lower Carolina, Louisville, Maryland, i dunno if Texas has a legitimate PG or not.

 

[CBear01]

Most of the top teams this season have question marks at the PG. Ohio State, Lower Carolina, Louisville, Maryland, i dunno if Texas has a legitimate PG or not.

Where is the question mark on Kelsey Mitchell? 2 years running and one of the nation's primer scorers and floor generals? She's a junior this year I can't see her numbers going down too much, even with the transfer additions.

 

[SCspur]

Where is the question mark on Kelsey Mitchell? 2 years running and one of the nation's primer scorers and floor generals? She's a junior this year I can't see her numbers going down too much, even with the transfer additions.

She shoots entirely too much and plays 0 defense. She's a great player but if she can't become a pass first player with all the talent around her then I don't see them succeeding that much this year

 

[triaddukefan]

Where is the question mark on Kelsey Mitchell? 2 years running and one of the nation's primer scorers and floor generals? She's a junior this year I can't see her numbers going down too much, even with the transfer additions.

For some reason i was thinking she would be the SG..... but ok.. thanks for the correction.

 

[CBear01]

For some reason i was thinking she would be the SG..... but ok.. thanks for the correction.

In your defense I don't really believe she is a true point guard. And you are very correct, the 2 suits her style much better. but there really shouldn't be any question on her productivity, it should heighten especially with the edition of the tranfers.

I also have to agree with SCspur, she will need to improve her passing presence (or lack there of) if tOSU wants to compete and have a chance at upper echelon teams like ND, Baylor, SC and UCONN

 

[Wally East]

Most of the top teams this season have question marks at the PG. Ohio State, Lower Carolina, Louisville, Maryland, i dunno if Texas has a legitimate PG or not.

Go ahead. Write "Lesser." You'll feel better

 

[SCGamecock]

Most of the top teams this season have question marks at the PG. Ohio State, Lower Carolina, Louisville, Maryland, i dunno if Texas has a legitimate PG or not.

It's going to be amazing when we turn your arena into Colonial Life-North again this season.

 

[SCGamecock]

Agreed. Dawn Staley was one of the best guards to ever play the game I'm confident she can get her players (although not the caliber of guards on, let's say, a team like ND) to emerge. Cuevas is a corvette still in the garage. I'd like to see Dawn finally take that one out of storage but it's really on Cueva's shoulders. She has to make that leap to the next cliff (as the article alludes). With the front court tandem SC has, being IMO the best in the nation, the only way they don't make it back to the final 4 will be some grave mistakes made in the regionals.

Without captain Tiffany I can surely see this a daunting goal. But with Dawn at the helm you have to think it's more than possible.

I agree with this 100%. When it comes to this team, there are few things I would like more than to see Cuevas finally hit that switch and put it all together. She has all of the intangibles... speed, elusiveness, determination, fearlessness, she can shoot, she's a flashy passer (historically, almost too flashy). Everything you need to be a good to great PG. But like you said, it's entirely on Cuevas' shoulders. What I do know for sure is that Tyasha is pushing her.. hard.

FWIW, I think Cuevas will find her role expanding on this team. In the past, Cuevas' style of play was just way too fast for the team. We had the steady PG in Sessions who was better than average at orchestrating half court offense so Dawn was determined to stay in a plodding half court offense with very little transition or uptempo.. but if I've learned anything from that exhibition it's that this team can RUN.. RUN.. and RUN some more. Even in the half court offense we played fast and there was constant motion on the court. Cuevas should thrive in this new style of play.

 

[bballnut90]

I agree with this 100%. When it comes to this team, there are few things I would like more than to see Cuevas finally hit that switch and put it all together. She has all of the intangibles... speed, elusiveness, determination, fearlessness, she can shoot, she's a flashy passer (historically, almost too flashy). Everything you need to be a good to great PG. But like you said, it's entirely on Cuevas' shoulders. What I do know for sure is that Tyasha is pushing her.. hard.

FWIW, I think Cuevas will find her role expanding on this team. In the past, Cuevas' style of play was just way too fast for the team. We had the steady PG in Sessions who was better than average at orchestrating half court offense so Dawn was determined to stay in a plodding half court offense with very little transition or uptempo.. but if I've learned anything from that exhibition it's that this team can RUN.. RUN.. and RUN some more. Even in the half court offense we played fast and there was constant motion on the court. Cuevas should thrive in this new style of play.

Cuevas' ability to run the show will make or break this team. You mention Cuevas has all of the tools, but poor judgement and playing out of control are two intangibles that are very difficult to improve upon. She didn't show any improvement in these areas her sophomore year, so I think it's a big assumption that she'll be able to make that transition this year. I do think she'll develop over the course of the season, but fear she'll be the obvious weak link for SC. 37% FG, 26% 3pt and a 1:1 A/TO ratio isn't going to cut it. At a minimum, she needs to shoot at least 40% from the floor, 35% from long range and have a 1.5+ A/TO ratio paired with 4+ assists per game if she is going to be the point guard for a title contending team.

The new wings for SC are outstanding. Gray is an assassin from all over the court and should be an impact player from day 1. I also think Davis will shoot significantly better than she did at Georgia Tech. She'll have better teammates, get better looks and will be in a more team oriented environment. She could be the best player on their roster this year. On paper they look mighty good, but they'll need to blend into the offense and need a lead guard to step up and play very well.

 

[SCspur]

Cuevas' ability to run the show will make or break this team. You mention Cuevas has all of the tools, but poor judgement and playing out of control are two intangibles that are very difficult to improve upon. She didn't show any improvement in these areas her sophomore year, so I think it's a big assumption that she'll be able to make that transition this year. I do think she'll develop over the course of the season, but fear she'll be the obvious weak link for SC. 37% FG, 26% 3pt and a 1:1 A/TO ratio isn't going to cut it. At a minimum, she needs to shoot at least 40% from the floor, 35% from long range and have a 1.5+ A/TO ratio paired with 4+ assists per game if she is going to be the point guard for a title contending team.

The new wings for SC are outstanding. Gray is an assassin from all over the court and should be an impact player from day 1. I also think Davis will shoot significantly better than she did at Georgia Tech. She'll have better teammates, get better looks and will be in a more team oriented environment. She could be the best player on their roster this year. On paper they look mighty good, but they'll need to blend into the offense and need a lead guard to step up and play very well.

I think this is still Aja's team but Kaela will be a HUGE contributor. A lot of teams will be surprised by the growth of Aja. She said she worked a lot on her 3 point shooting and passing this summer and expect to have it in her arsenal. If she does this she will be very hard to stop.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

If they have a reliable PG.

Ask me after the Ohio State game. I think Bianca is ready for the job. On another note, Mikiah (Kiki) Herbert Harrigan is going to be special. Someone didn't do a good job with her recruiting rankings, in my opinion. I am so excited to watch her play.

 

[triaddukefan]

It's going to be amazing when we turn your arena into Colonial Life-North again this season.

Fried and BBQ Chicken tastes awfully good on a Sunday afternoon in early december. I'll take mine with a side of potato salad

 

[Checkmate]

Ask me after the Ohio State game. I think Bianca is ready for the job. On another note, Mikiah (Kiki) Herbert Harrigan is going to be special. Someone didn't do a good job with her recruiting rankings, in my opinion. I am so excited to watch her play.

The Ohio State is not going to be a good test for Cuevas..... no one plays defense... at least until Harper can play

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Fried and BBQ Chicken tastes awfully good on a Sunday afternoon in early december. I'll take mine with a side of potato salad

Unfortunately, I'm skipping that game.

 

[triaddukefan]

Unfortunately, I'm skipping that game.

Think imma go ahead and purchase my ticket this week.... i was surrounded by chicken fans last time. I dunno what your schedule looks like.. but hopefully yall will be unbeaten upon your arrival to Durham.

 

[Carnac]

Sure they can do it as long as they don't slip on some Irish moss.

LOL, Good one Ellie!!

 

[Carnac]

Absolutely they can. Will they is the question. SC frontcourt is solid, their backcourt, not so much. What can a talented Harris do for them this year? Can Cliney have a significant So. leap? Can Davis show the leadership this team is going to need? Is Melanie Balcomb the answer to moving them toward a championship offense? This season will tell with early games against OSU, Louisville and Texas.

You're right. IF SC can come out on the other side of these 3 games without a loss, then I'd be more incline to believe they have a chance of making it to Dallas in April. All 3 of these games will test their mettle to the core.