Saniya Rivers to South Carolina

[hoopsfan22]

You guys wouldn't have enough money

Doesn't UConn already have the highest paid WCBB coach?

 

[triaddukefan]

Doesn't UConn already have the highest paid WCBB coach?

You know good and well a SEC school like SCarolina would go overboard to keep Staley. Plus.. women's basketball is the only quality program they have. Anyway... I doubt she is far behind in total compensation at this point.

 

[bballnut90]

Watching more of Rivers, her game reminds me a lot of Angel McCoughtry. Long, athletic, really good in the open court, lots of steals, more of an attack the basket type but has a good stroke from deep too. I think she's going to be special.

 

[jumpstart]

Why do you read sickening posts? I doubt if she needs you to defend her.

I read every post...including this one. I don't think you can know it's sickening unless you read it....so...what you said makes little to no sense. I also didn't say Dawn needed me to defend her....but I will if it's unjustified garbage as most of the posts here are.

 

[jumpstart]

Doesn't UConn already have the highest paid WCBB coach?

I love the UCONN program (all WBB programs for that matter) but the athletic department was already in financial trouble before this pandemic hit. I would think the last thing they could afford to do is get into a bidding war with any Power 5 school.....

 

[donalddoowop]

I read every post...including this one. I don't think you can know it's sickening unless you read it....so...what you said makes little to no sense. I also didn't say Dawn needed me to defend her....but I will if it's unjustified garbage as most of the posts here are.

Your post said "don't make me defend her anymore". Just what garbage have you seen and is their such a thing as justified garbage?

 

[SECbbfan24]

SCarolina would go overboard to keep Staley. Plus.. women's basketball is the only quality program they have

 

[SCGamecock]

I mean, they didn't lie. Our women's programs in general are so much better than the men's right now.. across the board.

 

[jumpstart]

Your post said "don't make me defend her anymore". Just what garbage have you seen and is their such a thing as justified garbage?

There is no such thing as justifiable garbage....so you just proved my point that it's unjustifiable. I said "don't make me defend her anymore"...because the garbage should stop. The garbage is that some of these players didn't get a UCONN invite...that South Carolina was not great last year...that Dawn is not a proven coach...the list goes on. I would think that a thread about a player committing to South Carolina would be void of the trash talk about Dawn...but that seems to be the standard that has been for a while on the Boneyard. The premiere WBB programs fans should be way above that. There's not a new power...the power has been spread around. UCONN still has Oregon, Baylor, and many others that are moving up the totem pole to worry about, not just South Carolina.

 

[SECbbfan24]

I mean, they didn't lie. Our women's programs in general are so much better than the men's right now.. across the board.

At LSU, we have a lot of great programs but our WBB program is very very average.

 

[CocoHusky]

There is no such thing as justifiable garbage....so you just proved my point that it's unjustifiable. I said "don't make me defend her anymore"...because the garbage should stop. The garbage is that some of these players didn't get a UCONN invite...that South Carolina was not great last year...that Dawn is not a proven coach...the list goes on. I would think that a thread about a player committing to South Carolina would be void of the trash talk about Dawn...but that seems to be the standard that has been for a while on the Boneyard. The premiere WBB programs fans should be way above that. There's not a new power...the power has been spread around. UCONN still has Oregon, Baylor, and many others that are moving up the totem pole to worry about, not just South Carolina.

While you are at it can you define the "BY standard" about how we should treat all the other coaches as well.
My BY experience tells me that Dawn gets plenty of credit here and some justifiable criticism-just like every other coach including Geno.

 

[donalddoowop]

There is no such thing as justifiable garbage....so you just proved my point that it's unjustifiable. I said "don't make me defend her anymore"...because the garbage should stop. The garbage is that some of these players didn't get a UCONN invite...that South Carolina was not great last year...that Dawn is not a proven coach...the list goes on. I would think that a thread about a player committing to South Carolina would be void of the trash talk about Dawn...but that seems to be the standard that has been for a while on the Boneyard. The premiere WBB programs fans should be way above that. There's not a new power...the power has been spread around. UCONN still has Oregon, Baylor, and many others that are moving up the totem pole to worry about, not just South Carolina.

Then why didn't you just say garbage? Some of the negative comments about Dawn were not deserved, but some were, imo.

 

[BobbyJ]

There is no such thing as justifiable garbage....so you just proved my point that it's unjustifiable. I said "don't make me defend her anymore"...because the garbage should stop. The garbage is that some of these players didn't get a UCONN invite...that South Carolina was not great last year...that Dawn is not a proven coach...the list goes on. I would think that a thread about a player committing to South Carolina would be void of the trash talk about Dawn...but that seems to be the standard that has been for a while on the Boneyard. The premiere WBB programs fans should be way above that. There's not a new power...the power has been spread around. UCONN still has Oregon, Baylor, and many others that are moving up the totem pole to worry about, not just South Carolina.

You’re painting with a very broad brush. 98% of UConn’s fans are above that. Focus on the handful that aren’t.

 

[Knoxville]

With these 6 (or 7) guards onboard for next year, just where would Saniya get minutes?
5' 10" PG Muhl
5' 11" G Williams
5' 11" PG Bueckers
6' 0" G Westbrook
6' 1" G Makurat
6' 2" G Poffenbarger
5' 11" G Fudd (in all probability she chooses UCONN)

Saniya simply missed the window to get to UCONN; methinks, Poffenberger grabbed that spot.

Take this to the bank: there won't be a single "National Championship" in her four years at SC.

Oh like Crystal Dangerfield had no championship at UConn?

 

[bballnut90]

With these 6 (or 7) guards onboard for next year, just where would Saniya get minutes?
5' 10" PG Muhl
5' 11" G Williams
5' 11" PG Bueckers
6' 0" G Westbrook
6' 1" G Makurat
6' 2" G Poffenbarger
5' 11" G Fudd (in all probability she chooses UCONN)

Saniya simply missed the window to get to UCONN; methinks, Poffenberger grabbed that spot.

Take this to the bank: there won't be a single "National Championship" in her four years at SC.

She would've been in the lineup for sure--she's extremely talented. Fudd isn't on board and who knows if Westbrook will be back for a 5th year and she'd be ahead of Poffenbarger on the depth charts. Likely starts as a sophomore while being a sparkplug off the bench as a freshman. Pretty much a similar spot she'll be in at SC.

And that's a bold statement to make about not winning a title. If the 2023 graduating class sticks together they'll be an absolute terror for WBB by the time they're seniors. We saw what a group of players sticking together for years did at Oregon with their 2020 class, at Notre Dame with their 2019 class, and at UCONN with their 2016 class. Familiarity year after year and bring phenomenal results, and they were phenomenal this year with Boston, Cooke and Beal all showing they're very capable players. If all of those players stick together and they add in a loaded 2021 HS class, look out.

I'm not a Dawn fan but she's building a true powerhouse down in Columbia and is landing players who fit into spots very well. Makes me nervous to think how cocky the SC fans become on here, although it will be deservedly so if the program can live up to the hype.

 

[DeeHusky]

Statistically, yes this past year was Dawn’s best team. Talent, no it was not. Head to head I don’t think they could handle Tiffany Mitchell, Aja Wilson, Aleighsa Welch, Alaina Coates, Elem Ibiam, Tina Roy that was a good team, the year they loss in the final four to Notre Dame on a Maddie Cable reverse put back if I remember correctly.

The title team was probably the most talented team. Gray, Davis, Wilson, Harris, Herbert-Harrigan, Coates are all first round WNBA picks.

I don’t think the team this year could beat either. It was too much inside 14-15 and 16-17, nobody from this past squad could stop A’ja Wilson not even Boston.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

SC is not the only program that really feels it could have won it all. Baylor and Oregon can give you chapter and verse on how and why THEY would have won the NC if given the chance. You're right Don, We'll never know. SC has just begun to write their legacy. As long as Dawn is there, look for that program to grow and prosper. Sania Feagin (hoopgurlz #6 2021) is their 3rd commit in 1 week. Staley has the FULL support of her administrators and the fans. The elite players want to play for her.

https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/university-of-south-carolina/usc-womens-basketball/article237758679.html

The 2019-2020 season is not one I care to remember or contemplate about. It was not a good year for UConn. We "shrunk" in the 3 biggest games of the year. We were "handled" in all 3 games. Especially the SC game. Two points in the 1st quarter, and 11 in the 4th. We did not look like a normal UConn team. We didn't strike fear in the hearts of any of those opponents. In fact, they looked forward to playing us.

We must return to the glory days of yesteryear, when teams dreaded playing UConn. I look forward to the days when UConn is bad of WCBB, and we go back to beating the top 5 teams on a regular basis. THAT is the true measure of a good team. How do you fare against the top 5 teams in WCBB? It's a given that you should win all of your other games (as UConn did last year).

South Carolina and Baylor are reloading, and remain top tier teams. Oregon lost their 2 best players. We'll have to wait and see how competitive head coach Kelly Graves' team will be this season. Maryland, Stanford, NC State and UCLA should all vie for conference championships again this year. Texas and Notre Dame need two more years of adding transfers and new recruits from the next two classes to return to top 10 prominence.

I agree nearly completely! Only thing that I would change is that it is a measure of a GREAT team in how they compete against top FIVE teams [RPI, now NET, and rankings]. Outstanding support to your arguments!

 

[visitingcock]

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arr-TEE-yah
@TeyaSophia

Have we decided how we'll verbally distinguish between Destanni and Destiny, Brea and Bree, and Sania and Saniya. I need nicknames or something. Right now, all I have is Henny. Y'all help me.

#eliteproblems

 

[triaddukefan]

I mean, they didn't lie. Our women's programs in general are so much better than the men's right now.. across the board.

I may do many things on this board, but lie isn't one of them.

 

[bballnut90]

Statistically, yes this past year was Dawn’s best team. Talent, no it was not. Head to head I don’t think they could handle Tiffany Mitchell, Aja Wilson, Aleighsa Welch, Alaina Coates, Elem Ibiam, Tina Roy that was a good team, the year they loss in the final four to Notre Dame on a Maddie Cable reverse put back if I remember correctly.

The title team was probably the most talented team. Gray, Davis, Wilson, Harris, Herbert-Harrigan, Coates are all first round WNBA picks.

I don’t think the team this year could beat either. It was too much inside 14-15 and 16-17, nobody from this past squad could stop A’ja Wilson not even Boston.

It's not just talent, it's cohesion which was the biggest strength of this team. And 2020 started 5 likely top 10 draft picks, they stack up with any of SC's title teams. Harris and MHH are lightyears better as seniors compared to when they were freshmen on the 2017 title team. Davis was wildly inconsistent, and Coates/Wilson didnt play great together. The team improved when Coates went down freeing up space for Aja, but the lineup was much smaller.

Boston was better than 2015 Aja. Her and MHH is a better frontcourt than either 2015 or 2017. Statistically they were far and away a better rebounding and blocking team than 2015 or 2017.

I dont see it at all.

 

[Rb335]

South Carolina, if they retain all players, could be incredibly difficult to beat. In 2021 their roster will feature 11 top 50 hoopgurlz ranked players. #3 Boston, #3 Rivers, #4 Cooke, #6 Faegin, #6 Henderson, #10 Amihere, #11 Beal, #26 Hall, #33 Littleton, #43 Russell, and #47 Saxton.

Compared to Uconn, who will have 10 top 40 players. #1 Williams, #1 Bueckers, #2 Westbrook (if she stays), #4 Deberry, #5 ONO, #17 Poffenbarger, #21 Griffin, #23 Edwards, #25 McLean, #37 Ducharme.

Not to mention Uconn has a pair of international players who would have definitely been in the top 100 if playing in the states.

At first glance, SC will have more top talent balanced among all positions, where uconn has a lot of G/W depth. I hope that the series continues because these will be two of the top teams for the next few years.

 

[jumpstart]

Then why didn't you just say garbage? Some of the negative comments about Dawn were not deserved, but some were, imo.

Because they tried to justify it with garbage...geez....

 

[jumpstart]

You’re painting with a very broad brush. 98% of UConn’s fans are above that. Focus on the handful that aren’t.

I may agree...but 98% are not posting here...lol...so my apology to the ones that don't post. I say that in jest but your point is taken.

 

[ReadR00ster]

And Azzi Fudd still lingers. I am not saying she will go to SC but if she does it's GAME OVER. It would be even better then their 2019 class.

 

[Mdoggie]

Oh like Crystal Dangerfield had no championship at UConn?

You still mad about not landing Maya I mean Crystal? Hahaha Hahaha. Think of ALL those Vol recruits since 2008 that haven’t won squat. But I’m not mad.

 

[CocoHusky]

South Carolina, if they retain all players, could be incredibly difficult to beat. In 2021 their roster will feature 11 top 50 hoopgurlz ranked players. #3 Boston, #3 Rivers, #4 Cooke, #6 Faegin, #6 Henderson, #10 Amihere, #11 Beal, #26 Hall, #33 Littleton, #43 Russell, and #47 Saxton.

Compared to Uconn, who will have 10 top 40 players. #1 Williams, #1 Bueckers, #2 Westbrook (if she stays), #4 Deberry, #5 ONO, #17 Poffenbarger, #21 Griffin, #23 Edwards, #25 McLean, #37 Ducharme.

Not to mention Uconn has a pair of international players who would have definitely been in the top 100 if playing in the states.

At first glance, SC will have more top talent balanced among all positions, where uconn has a lot of G/W depth. I hope that the series continues because these will be two of the top teams for the next few years.

Agree entirely. The acquisition of Rivers tips the scale in SC's favor IMO because she is an elite perimeter defender and is capable of negating the UCONN advantage of G/W depth. SC defenders against UCONN last year were extremely brave and overplayed the UCONN perimeter ball handlers very hard. Dawn basically dusted off the Mississippi State blue print from the FF. Rivers will embolden SC even more and Boston is a very capable back stop and defensive anchor.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

It's not just talent, it's cohesion which was the biggest strength of this team. And 2020 started 5 likely top 10 draft picks, they stack up with any of SC's title teams. Harris and MHH are lightyears better as seniors compared to when they were freshmen on the 2017 title team. Davis was wildly inconsistent, and Coates/Wilson didnt play great together. The team improved when Coates went down freeing up space for Aja, but the lineup was much smaller.

Boston was better than 2015 Aja. Her and MHH is a better frontcourt than either 2015 or 2017. Statistically they were far and away a better rebounding and blocking team than 2015 or 2017.

I dont see it at all.

I'm still not 100% certain that losing Coates was particularly helpful to the 2017 team, but it certainly didn't seem to be a big problem.

Still the 2020 team lost 1 game and that one early away from home, and the 2016 team lost 4.

The 2020 team was a better shooting team. The 2020 team was deeper.

The 2016 team had the best individual player and more experience in the starting lineup.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Agree entirely. The acquisition of Rivers tips the scale in SC's favor IMO because she is an elite perimeter defender and is capable of negating the UCONN advantage of G/W depth. SC defenders against UCONN last year were extremely brave and overplayed the UCONN perimeter ball handlers very hard. Dawn basically dusted off the Mississippi State blue print from the FF. Rivers will embolden SC even more and Boston is a very capable back stop and defensive anchor.

South Carolina was really good defensively and UCONN didn't have a great offensive team is how I would say it.

I don't know that South Carolina did anything differently than it did against anyone else defensively.

When you don't have the horses, you don't have the horses.

Now I don't know what the additions to South Carolina and Uconn will mean for future matchups.

What I can plainly see from the players coming in is that South Carolina figures to continue to be very, very good defensively and it seems to me that the overall talent level is going up.

Who knows whether chemistry and development will play out positively, but Staley has more baseline talent to work with than she ever has.

 

[SCspur]

I like the defensive potential the team will have. Beal, Rivers, Hall, and Cooke all have lockdown capability on the perimeter and then there’s the enforcers down low in Boston, Amihere, Saxton, and Feagin. Very exciting times ahead.