SEC 25-26

[Geew1992]

I'd be shocked if SoCar isn't back in the FF. Your team is a beast again this year. As is UCONN. And Texas tough too. And I think UCLA probably too. Just like last year these are the 3-4 beasts.

Not disagreeing, but I think the fear is the bench. Someone said something in regards to if an injury happens... Ya know the rest

 

[visitingcock]

Yeah, you don't add a scoring machine like Latson and expect missing the Final Four for the first time since . . .

Depth is the question. We only have 11 players on the roster.

Point: Raven, Maddie

SG: Latson, Tessa, freshman TBD maybe Makeer

Wing: Tessa, maybe Dauda or Kitts in big lineup , a freshman TBD maybe McDowell

Forward: Edwards rotating with Kitts, Dauda 3rd

Center: Okot, Tac, Kitts in Small lineup, Dauda

Dawn has a lot of work to do in November to get ready for the back to back with Duke and/or Texas/ UCLA . Hopefully the 8 deep will be settled before the SEC season kicks in.

 

[Bone Dog]

Not disagreeing, but I think the fear is the bench. Someone said something in regards to if an injury happens... Ya know the rest

Srsly? You didn’t really release these awful words and ideas into the ether, did you? Karma has eyes everywhere.

 

[southie]

Depth is the question.

If South Carolina is concerned about their depth, I don't know what that says about the rest of the programs 🤣

 

[cancontent]

Srsly? You didn’t really release these awful words and ideas into the ether, did you? Karma has eyes everywhere.

Maybe a virtual sage burning will help cleanse the negativity. 😉

 

[JellyBean]

Any Oklahoma Sooner fans here? Curious to hear their take on the season. I caught a social media video of the team during a workout session. Aaliyah has a great basketball IQ. I love her energy. The future of women's basketball is in great hands.

 

[Bone Dog]

If South Carolina is concerned about their depth, I don't know what that says about the rest of the programs 🤣

They should be concerned. Dawn has awesome talent on her bench. But it is perhaps a bit mismatched. In the front court last season, too much pressure had to be placed on Chloe to provide the muscle in the post next to Joyce and Sania, and she was exposed in the tournament. This wasn’t fair to her. With Ashlyn stepping back next season this same problem looms and now without Sania. There are backups who can fill in for her and give Chloe some help, but each one has a huge question mark.

A similar depth problem looms in the backcourt. The starting three of Latson Johnson & Johnson look really solid, but there isn’t much backing them up. Maddy McDaniel looks really promising but her defense is occasionally sketchy and she is foul prone. Will a freshman step up? Who knows?

If everything breaks Dawn’s way, she could run the table in the SEC and make a final four run. And I don’t doubt Dawn’s ability to find the right path to this result. But things could go south as well and it wouldn’t take much to derail this train.

 

[southie]

I didn't realize SC only had 11 players on their roster; thought they had 13-14 at least.

 

[visitingcock]

I didn't realize SC only had 11 players on their roster; thought they had 13-14 at least.

I think Dawn went undefeated the last time we only had 11. But, yeah, it's a bit scary

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Yeah, you don't add a scoring machine like Latson and expect missing the Final Four for the first time since . . .

Team is really going to have to get used to playing without our key player Watkins though. Expect growing pains.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

If South Carolina is concerned about their depth, I don't know what that says about the rest of the programs 🤣

If you aren't four deep with McD's AAs I'm not sure why you even suit up.

 

[stwainfan]

Could Arkansas be a team that surprises? And does better than expected.

 

[WFFL]

I think Texas takes a step back this season , watching them lose to canada really exposed how much they will miss the 2 big girls down low . Cunningham is a great big but she wont be as much of an enforcer down low as Mwenentanda or Taylor Jones. Suprised i dont remember seeing oldacre play this game but if she can stay in shape shes going to be a force again.

 

[cancontent]

I think Texas takes a step back this season , watching them lose to canada really exposed how much they will miss the 2 big girls down low . Cunningham is a great big but she wont be as much of an enforcer down low as Mwenentanda or Taylor Jones. Suprised i dont remember seeing oldacre play this game but if she can stay in shape shes going to be a force again.

Oldacre didn't play against Canada during the event. She suffered a leg injury in their first game against Puerto Rico. Don't think I've seen any updates on her situation though.

 

[Bone Dog]

Suprised i dont remember seeing oldacre play this game but if she can stay in shape shes going to be a force again.

Color me surprised too, but I don’t remember Oldacre ever being a consistent force. She has shown flashes of brilliance, some against tough opponents, but mostly her conditioning has not been up to sustained excellence across a season. If this injury gets in the way of her improving her conditioning (again?) I’m afraid this season will look like another missed opportunity, and that would be very disappointing given Jones’ departure.

 

[hoophuskee]

I didn't realize SC only had 11 players on their roster; thought they had 13-14 at least.

Eleven players is more than enough. All that is needed is a decent bench. You win with your superstars. Look at SoCarl last 4 years (21-22 to now). Before last year for 3 straight years in NCAA they won 2 titles and had 2 superstars. And the team that beat them before last year was Iowa - a freak superstar. And who wound up beating Iowa? Another team with a superstar. The game SoCar lost was close. And during the reg season, the 1st year they lost with Boston, the two losses were tight.

And who blasted SoCar this past year like they haven't been blasted in the past 5? It was two teams that crushed them. UCLA and UCONN. And both teams featured superstars. They were crushed. No way that happens that often if they had superstars. Dawan had superstars the prior 3 or 4 and if her team lost it was close And in NCAA's only beaten by other teams with superstars, or the super tactician coach Tara V.

UCONN 2 years ago was seconds away from getting to the finals with just 7 players. They got there with one superstar and Edwards who was extremely good. There is no reason why SoCar fans should be so "concerned" because they "only" have 11 players. They have potentially two superstars. IS SoCar so wimpy that they can't have 8 plus players? They aren't. They are tough. Gritty and extremely well coached. They are going to blow out many teams and as a result going 8 plus instead of what UCONN had to deal with, SOCar fans should enjoy the season knowing that their team is a beast. When they get to FF- anything from getting blown out to blowing out others and anything in between. But it should be nothing like last year when they got wiped out 3 times.

 

[Bone Dog]

Eleven players is more than enough. All that is needed is a decent bench....

There is no reason why SoCar fans should be so "concerned" because they "only" have 11 players. They have potentially two superstars. IS SoCar so wimpy that they can't have 8 plus players? They aren't. They are tough. Gritty and extremely well coached. They are going to blow out many teams and as a result going 8 plus instead of what UCONN had to deal with, SOCar fans should enjoy the season knowing that their team is a beast. When they get to FF- anything from getting blown out to blowing out others and anything in between. But it should be nothing like last year when they got wiped out 3 times.

I agree they are likely to be a dominant team, even a powerhouse. But I can see why SC fans are concerned. It's not the number 11, it's who the second 6 are. I imagine a starting lineup of Raven Joyce Taniya Tessa and Chloe. This is a formidable offensive unit, though it is small, and a similar one last season was severely outplayed in the biggest games even when it included Sania. Without her, things could be tough against bigger teams.

Joyce is a superstar, and Chloe is very good, but the rest of the front court is a huge question mark. Adhel Maryam Madina -- there's really no telling what they can produce at this level. Maybe (big maybe) Madina will step up. But if she doesn't, then Chloe is going to be forced to play power forward most of the game, a position she could not really hold down in the big games last season. Even though she's tall, she is willowy for a power forward. And Maryam and Adele have yet to prove themselves in the big games.

In the backcourt, Raven and Tessa are solid, and Taniya may be a superstar (though I have doubts). But after them it's just Maddy, Ayla and Agot. So far Maddy has shown flashes of brilliance, but also defensive lapses, and there is really no telling what the freshmen can provide in a pinch.

What this means is Dawn has a top notch starting 5 + Maddy, followed by some stark question marks. If everything breaks her way, Dawn might craft a formidable front court with Madina providing the muscle for Joyce and Chloe, and backed up occasionally by Adhel and Maryam. This could give Chloe the protection she needs. But there are really no guarantees here. This is quite similar to what Geno faced two seasons ago, with a razor thin roster and a couple of staunch freshmen who stepped up. It was a heroic season, but come tournament time, the team was exhausted. We could see something similar happen at SC. In my opinion, this means a final four appearance is a likely result, but an NC is a long shot -- which is exactly what Geno managed to achieve two seasons ago.

 

[GoChips20]

I think a few reasons people are worried about SC are:

1. On a team that’s just 11 deep, there are two freshman, two players who weren’t at all productive last year (Tac and Dauda), and a promising but unproven player in McDaniel. Less experience here than most recent SC squads.
2. Like last year, this team doesn’t have a dominant center as of now. The MSST transfer (her name is escaping me) could be that and is probably SC’s best chance at a very good post.
3. Shooting is a question mark. Latson is as good a scorer as you’ll find in the country but more of a scorer than a shooter IMO. Paopao will be missed, as will Fulwiley, who was streaky and unpredictable but could get hot from three.

I would be very surprised if Dawn doesn’t figure this out. This past season’s team was one of her very best coaching jobs and they’ve gained a go-to guard in Latson that they’ve never really had before. They need Raven Johnson to be the 2023-24 version of herself rather than last year though. With coaching and talent combined, they’re still as loaded as anyone in the country aside from maybe UConn.

 

[visitingcock]

I think a few reasons people are worried about SC are:

1. On a team that’s just 11 deep, there are two freshman, two players who weren’t at all productive last year (Tac and Dauda), and a promising but unproven player in McDaniel. Less experience here than most recent SC squads.
2. Like last year, this team doesn’t have a dominant center as of now. The MSST transfer (her name is escaping me) could be that and is probably SC’s best chance at a very good post.
3. Shooting is a question mark. Latson is as good a scorer as you’ll find in the country but more of a scorer than a shooter IMO. Paopao will be missed, as will Fulwiley, who was streaky and unpredictable but could get hot from three.

I would be very surprised if Dawn doesn’t figure this out. This past season’s team was one of her very best coaching jobs and they’ve gained a go-to guard in Latson that they’ve never really had before. They need Raven Johnson to be the 2023-24 version of herself rather than last year though. With coaching and talent combined, they’re still as loaded as anyone in the country aside from maybe UConn.

Well, Tessa may be the second best 3 pt shooter we have ever had. But will she continue to be an over 40% shooter as a starter rather than a dagger off the bench?

 

[JellyBean]

Team is really going to have to get used to playing without our key player Watkins though. Expect growing pains.

I think you all will be okay. A lot just depends on the players and their offense habits. Who is working on their craft? Who is taking the summer off? We shall see.

 

[GamecockFam]

I think a few reasons people are worried about SC are:

1. On a team that’s just 11 deep, there are two freshman, two players who weren’t at all productive last year (Tac and Dauda), and a promising but unproven player in McDaniel. Less experience here than most recent SC squads.
2. Like last year, this team doesn’t have a dominant center as of now. The MSST transfer (her name is escaping me) could be that and is probably SC’s best chance at a very good post.
3. Shooting is a question mark. Latson is as good a scorer as you’ll find in the country but more of a scorer than a shooter IMO. Paopao will be missed, as will Fulwiley, who was streaky and unpredictable but could get hot from three.

I would be very surprised if Dawn doesn’t figure this out. This past season’s team was one of her very best coaching jobs and they’ve gained a go-to guard in Latson that they’ve never really had before. They need Raven Johnson to be the 2023-24 version of herself rather than last year though. With coaching and talent combined, they’re still as loaded as anyone in the country aside from maybe UConn.

TL;DR:
I think we're going to be dominant again in the front court with a four deep of (4) Kitts/Edwards and (5) Okot/Dauda. Also, all four players look to be working of their three point shot this off-season.

Full thoughts:
I think you're underselling Dauda a tad. She is an experienced SEC post player who had flashes of brilliance last year but struggled getting adjusted to Coach Staley's system. I am very optimistic that another season of experience will allow her to play more freely. We forget she was already a great shot blocker at Arkansas (#3 in SEC behind Cardoso and Watkins) and she is also not afraid to shoot the 3.

I have a feeling we're going to experiment with 5 out offense this next year based on what I am seeing/hearing our frontcourt players practicing this off-season. Kitts already has a good 3 pointer and Joyce Edwards looked really natural shooting the 3 in 3x3 this past summer.

Based on what the players are saying, Okot is turning heads in summer shoot around. They thought they were getting a Cardoso-like replacement but apparently her style is more similar to Jonquel Jones. Based on Raven's statements, she is lights-out from 3, and is not afraid to shoot the 15 footer, while also having a great post game. She basically averaged a double-double at Miss. St. -- 11.3 points, 9.6 rebounds (#3 in SEC last year behind Morrow and Strack) on 65% shooting (#1 in the SEC last year). I really think she'll be starting at the 5 with Dauda backing her up.

 

[Bone Dog]

Kitts already has a good 3 pointer and Joyce Edwards looked really natural shooting the 3 in 3x3 this past summer.

Excellent post overall. But this really stood out as an exceedingly optimistic reading of Chloe's 3pt shooting. She's taken a total of 27 3s in her time at SC and made 9 of them. 33.3% on 27 attempts is not finally all that good -- I don't mean as a percentage, but as a rate of production. The adjective for Chloe's perimeter ability is serviceable. But for whatever reason, in the big games, when it might have really helped, she passed up open 3s over and over again. Was that on Dawn's instructions, or does she really lack confidence in her perimeter shot? I get that Te'Hina was always a better option, but part of what went wrong in the two losses to UConn was that not enough perimeter shots were taken when it might have mattered. Don't get me wrong, I really like Chloe's offensive game. She is a very clever scorer in the lane and has a solid midrange shooting game.

As for Joyce, though I really like her game a lot, a perimeter shooter she is not. For her SC career she is exactly 0-0, which I suppose could arguably be 100% or maybe even infinity percent. Could she really turn it on and develop a serviceable 3pt shot this season? Yes. I mean, Olivia Miles turned her perimeter game around in one season. But I think this is unlikely for Joyce. Besides, every other aspect of her game is so good, I wouldn't want to tinker with it.

I share @visitingcock 's thought: Tessa is really the great hope for this squad as a perimeter shooter. Not Chloe, not Taniya, not Joyce. I've watched her since high school and I really believe the sky is the limit for her, if she's used the right way. It's up to Dawn to get the most out of her... and I have a ton of confidence in Dawn's abilities in this respect.

 

[hoophuskee]

Four points and being a little silly to boot:

1--- Superstars are superstars because they make players better. Last year SoCar had zero but had the heart of a champion and still got to Finals. The super players are going to make players 3 thru whatever better. Otherwise they aren’t a superstar. IMO both are. So they have two not just 1.

2—The team has experience in regard to jr’s and sr’s and all the winning they’ve done. And with Dawn she did the Geno/Dawn thing when Geno initially had Maya Moore come off the bench and Dawn when she had Cardosa only play 13.3 minutes her 1st year. So, while a player like Dauda and others may not have had big minutes last year, if she was a bust or others like Tac or others, some would probably be gone. And a player like Dauda was pretty good. And now she has superstars on her team while continuing to be coached up. The SoCar bench is fine because of the superstars and Dawn.

3--- I’m a guy that likes a lot of war movies. A movie I liked was Battle of the Bulge. Robert Shaw playing a Colonel at the beginning was mocking his superior General for showing him German war toys. Later when the General gave him a tour of the actual toys (tanks) as real, The Colonel said "Today, I was given a brigade of Tiger tanks. When I have a brigade of tanks, THAT is reality.". Give Dawn superstars and THAT is reality. The bench players will feed off the reality of how good the superstars are. Bench players feed off the superstar(s).

4--- This is similar to Auriemma. The SoCar team had the luxury of before last year that UCONN was badly damaged. SOCar never really had a rival the 3 years prior thatwas able to match their talent other than a fluke game because their main rival, UCONN was so damaged. And last year SOCar had a hole with no superstar. This year is different for both teams. Just want to make it clear that SoCar deserved its championships etc. And while I believe barring injury both teams are a lock for FF, I believe other teams that get to FF can beat them at that point too. But UCONN and SoCar are scary good if/when they have a healthy team with their superstars more so than nearly all others. Both teams are a beast.

I just recommend to SoCar fans to just enjoy the season and not get so hung up on any picky thing that isn’t perfect as if telling water not to be wet. Dawn and Geno are loaded. Fear them.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I agree they are likely to be a dominant team, even a powerhouse. But I can see why SC fans are concerned. It's not the number 11, it's who the second 6 are. I imagine a starting lineup of Raven Joyce Taniya Tessa and Chloe. This is a formidable offensive unit, though it is small, and a similar one last season was severely outplayed in the biggest games even when it included Sania. Without her, things could be tough against bigger teams.

Joyce is a superstar, and Chloe is very good, but the rest of the front court is a huge question mark. Adhel Maryam Madina -- there's really no telling what they can produce at this level. Maybe (big maybe) Madina will step up. But if she doesn't, then Chloe is going to be forced to play power forward most of the game, a position she could not really hold down in the big games last season. Even though she's tall, she is willowy for a power forward. And Maryam and Adele have yet to prove themselves in the big games.

In the backcourt, Raven and Tessa are solid, and Taniya may be a superstar (though I have doubts). But after them it's just Maddy, Ayla and Agot. So far Maddy has shown flashes of brilliance, but also defensive lapses, and there is really no telling what the freshmen can provide in a pinch.

What this means is Dawn has a top notch starting 5 + Maddy, followed by some stark question marks. If everything breaks her way, Dawn might craft a formidable front court with Madina providing the muscle for Joyce and Chloe, and backed up occasionally by Adhel and Maryam. This could give Chloe the protection she needs. But there are really no guarantees here. This is quite similar to what Geno faced two seasons ago, with a razor thin roster and a couple of staunch freshmen who stepped up. It was a heroic season, but come tournament time, the team was exhausted. We could see something similar happen at SC. In my opinion, this means a final four appearance is a likely result, but an NC is a long shot -- which is exactly what Geno managed to achieve two seasons ago.

That's very concerning.

 

[GamecockFam]

Excellent post overall. But this really stood out as an exceedingly optimistic reading of Chloe's 3pt shooting. She's taken a total of 27 3s in her time at SC and made 9 of them. 33.3% on 27 attempts is not finally all that good -- I don't mean as a percentage, but as a rate of production. The adjective for Chloe's perimeter ability is serviceable. But for whatever reason, in the big games, when it might have really helped, she passed up open 3s over and over again. Was that on Dawn's instructions, or does she really lack confidence in her perimeter shot? I get that Te'Hina was always a better option, but part of what went wrong in the two losses to UConn was that not enough perimeter shots were taken when it might have mattered. Don't get me wrong, I really like Chloe's offensive game. She is a very clever scorer in the lane and has a solid midrange shooting game.

As for Joyce, though I really like her game a lot, a perimeter shooter she is not. For her SC career she is exactly 0-0, which I suppose could arguably be 100% or maybe even infinity percent. Could she really turn it on and develop a serviceable 3pt shot this season? Yes. I mean, Olivia Miles turned her perimeter game around in one season. But I think this is unlikely for Joyce. Besides, every other aspect of her game is so good, I wouldn't want to tinker with it.

I share @visitingcock 's thought: Tessa is really the great hope for this squad as a perimeter shooter. Not Chloe, not Taniya, not Joyce. I've watched her since high school and I really believe the sky is the limit for her, if she's used the right way. It's up to Dawn to get the most out of her... and I have a ton of confidence in Dawn's abilities in this respect.

I don't disagree with your statement and I'm not sure what I said that would be contradictory to what you are saying.

For Joyce, I'm basing what my eyes saw while watching her play 3x3 in Arizona. I wasn't basing anything off her performance as a freshman. She also was 1-3 from 3 in the AmeriCup FWIW. I tried to find her stats from 3x3 but was unsuccessful.

For Chole, I think we're just arguing semantics here. In previous years, Coach Staley hasn't encouraged the 3 from our bigs but her stance has been changing. In fact she encouraged it more last season but only Kitts and Dauda took advantage. Based on what I've been able to infer from the players, it seems like she is pushing them to take more next season. With that said, I highly doubt they'll be expecting to take more perimeter shots than the guards. My expectation is that Coach Staley just wants them to be a big enough 3 point threat to pull their defenders out of the paint, much like Chole did this past season. I don't know where you inferred that I was insinuating that our frontcourt was going to be the "great hope" from the perimeter, so I just am chalking it up to our different interpretations of what I previously wrote.