SEC Thread

[hoophuskee]

Amihere got injured her Junior and Senior year in high school. This season was her first full season back since she was a Sophomore in high school. She graduated early because of the injury and enrolled at SC but did not play.

In 2017 she tore up her knee. What happened to her in 2018?

 

[shiverz45]

\
It's possible a soph or 2 won't be better. OFC they probably will. I didn’t say SC wouldn't. I was just being cautious while declaring you are going to be a monster overall for years 2-5. This is what you want to pick me apart on? Really? With your rival also being so damn good too? You had 2 seniors taken with the 7th and 8th picks overall while your leading experienced player the jr only got 17 minutes. And who's to say any of your pg's will fill that pg role at high level? Harris was tremendous. Now you have two pg's in which the one with the most assist had a ratio of 1.5 - to- 1. You understand that that's not very good for an elite team, right? Unless you are suggesting passing for an elite team doesn't count much? And Harrigan was tremendous. SC will probably be a beasts of beasts this year in the SEC but your rival is damn good too, aren't they?. I just posted caution because after this year-- while you still might be tremendous this year-- next year and on you are going to be "sick."

As for Amihere. You and others are more experts than I. But why wasn't she better this past year? Last year was year 2 of her injury. The 2nd year back, she is 6'4 and she shoots 41% from 2? But on the flip side she shoots 53% from 3 which is good despite not taking that many. She rebounded well it seems but she's a disaster passing. Wouldn’t a very good pg help her a lot?

**************You are certain you're 2 pg's are going to be very, very good this year and Miss State who is projected to be 3rd in the country according to ESPN. THIRD IN THE COUNTRY. THIRD IN THE COUNTRY. Yet I'm supposed to say you are UNDOUBTEDLY going to rule the SEC this upcoming year? Seriously?:

I was just offering caution. You have a tough team to compete with. That's all. If I were to bet ofc your team will probably be terrific again. Is Miss State highly overrated? That I don't know.

I do agree with most of your points. We have a couple of unknown but from a talent stand point we could be better. If you go by rankings and on paper both Henderson and Amihere are more talented than Harris and Harrigan. I am confident Dawn can get them to reach their full potential.

 

[shiverz45]

In 2017 she tore up her knee. What happened to her in 2018?

She injured the other knee. The knee she had the brace on.

This is the story in her own words if you care to listen:

 

[hoophuskee]

I do agree with most of your points. We have a couple of unknown but from a talent stand point we could be better. If you go by rankings and on paper both Henderson and Amihere are more talented than Harris and Harrigan. I am confident Dawn can get them to reach their full potential.

I am not arguing. And I know your team is terrific -- but why do you say "More talented?" You lost two 1st round WNBA picks. Unless you are going to say that one or both the seniors weren't really "as talented" as the younger players?

I cant believe Harrigan didn't get at least HM A/A. Her EFG% was 63/19%.

You didn't pick up much this season. So you had all the talent last year and you lost two imo extremely "talented" players.

 

[shiverz45]

I am not arguing. And I know your team is terrific -- but why do you say "More talented?" You lost two 1st round WNBA picks. Unless you are going to say that one or both the seniors weren't really "as talented" as the younger players?

I cant believe Harrigan didn't get at least HM A/A. Her EFG% was 63/19%.

You didn't pick up much this season. So you had all the talent last year and you lost two imo extremely "talented" players.

Henderson was a McDonalds All American and was ranked the #1 point guard in the class of 2018. She is quicker, faster and a much better athlete than Harris . Ty was the better overall player because she was solid in all phases of being a point guard. The same thing could be said about Amihere who was rated the top prospect before the injury. That being said the more talented player are not always the best player. We will have to wait and see how that turns out. The funny thing is coming into last season Ty and Kiki was getting hardly no love from the media and this board when we were discussing what SC was bringing back. Ty was projected to go in the third round and Kiki was not even on the draft boards.

We are adding two McDonald's All Americans that we did not have last year in Littleton and Russell. If we were to base talent on rankings an accolades then we will be more talented this season than last year. However that does not mean we will be a better team.

We are not arguing just having a discussion based on different views. I am not saying you are wrong but I am looking at it from a potential standpoint.

 

[KY Card Fan]

Just saw that Matthew Mitchell had brain surgery. He suffered a concussion in March, had continuing headaches, and was diagnosed with a subdural hematoma. He is recovering now.

 

[ConwayGmck]

\
It's possible a soph or 2 won't be better. OFC they probably will. I didn’t say SC wouldn't. I was just being cautious while declaring you are going to be a monster overall for years 2-5. This is what you want to pick me apart on? Really? With your rival also being so damn good too? You had 2 seniors taken with the 7th and 8th picks overall while your leading experienced player the jr only got 17 minutes. And who's to say any of your pg's will fill that pg role at high level? Harris was tremendous. Now you have two pg's in which the one with the most assist had a ratio of 1.5 - to- 1. You understand that that's not very good for an elite team, right? Unless you are suggesting passing for an elite team doesn't count much? And Harrigan was tremendous. SC will probably be a beasts of beasts this year in the SEC but your rival is damn good too, aren't they?. I just posted caution because after this year-- while you still might be tremendous this year-- next year and on you are going to be "sick."

As for Amihere. You and others are more experts than I. But why wasn't she better this past year? Last year was year 2 of her injury. The 2nd year back, she is 6'4 and she shoots 41% from 2? But on the flip side she shoots 53% from 3 which is good despite not taking that many. She rebounded well it seems but she's a disaster passing. Wouldn’t a very good pg help her a lot?

**************You are certain you're 2 pg's are going to be very, very good this year and Miss State who is projected to be 3rd in the country according to ESPN. THIRD IN THE COUNTRY. THIRD IN THE COUNTRY. Yet I'm supposed to say you are UNDOUBTEDLY going to rule the SEC this upcoming year? Seriously?:

I was just offering caution. You have a tough team to compete with. That's all. If I were to bet ofc your team will probably be terrific again. Is Miss State highly overrated? That I don't know.

I agree there's no guarantee the team will be better from the positions that lost Harris at PG and Herbert-Harrigan at the 4. Both had too much experience and played such huge roles in the team's success this past season. I am expecting drop-offs in consistent production at both positions for 2020-21.

But the potential and prospects for the season are still excellent. At the Guard positions, we'll have 4 very talented former McDonald's AAs in Henderson, Cooke, Littleton, and Beal. It's likely that none of these will show the savvy and maturity to lead the team on game-by-game basis, and to expect them to may be a bit unfair to them, but all with the exception of Littleton - who red-shirted last season - have shown at times that they can.

Both Cooke and Littleton are tough physical guards who both played recreational league football in their states with the boys before taking up basketball. Littleton's freshman year at Texas was a total wash, with injuries and overcoming the shock of college life away from home. Her sophomore season was a major step forward, while she hoped to continue that last year at USC, the transfer red-shirt year was productive in that she was able to get some corrective surgery done on her feet, and she was also able to settle into her new life in Columbia, so this season she should be able to focus 100% on contributing to the team.

And I expect Beal to be a bigger offensive producer in 2020-21: she averaged 26 ppg her final year in high school, and finished as the all-time top scorer in her high school conference. She was a bit hesitant contributing offensively this past season, but a player like that usually isn't uncomfortable with putting the basketball in the hoop. She became the #2 rebounder on the team behind Boston however, and defensively earned the role as the top lock-down choice for the opposing team's top scorer.

Henderson has 9 total starts under her belt at PG, but they all came during her freshman season. She averaged just under 9 ppg last season coming off the bench, and I expect her to improve on that as the starting PG next season. Her assist-to-ratio wasn't great last season, but Destannie improved as the season progressed, where she had 64 assists (3.4 apg) to 33 turnovers during the 16 conference and 3 SECT games, and averaged 13.0 ppg in the SECT, so her potential for improvement there is sound.

I am very excited to see how the threesome of senior Grissett, junior Saxton, and sophomore Amihere develop their games over the extended off-season. Both Grissett and Saxton shot a combined 151-252 (.599) from the field coming off the bench, and averaged 11.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.0 bpg, and 1.8 spg in just 32.5 combined mpg. (about 16.0 mpg each). Both are very athletic and physical defenders - Grissett seemed to flourish after moving to the G position as a 6-2 G, while Saxton played as a 6-2 F. Both players can fill in for Beal or at the 4 where Herbert-Harrigan used to roam, although neither have the perimeter game from the 3 that Kiki had.

This is where Amihere may come in: Although she would most likely fill in for Boston at the 5, Amihere shot 7-13 (.538) from the 3 last season, including 5-8 (.625) in SEC gms. That's a small sample size, but it shows that Amihere has confidence in her perimeter game where she could provide the outside scoring that Herbert-Harrigan contributed, to a degree. Otherwise, she averaged 4.7 ppg that improved to 5.6 ppg in SEC gms, and 3.9 rpg in just 13 mpg, and 33 blocks over 29 gms. Hopefully the pandemic allows her to spend some time in the weight room this off-season, and strengthening her legs so she comes back more sure of herself for next season.

Finally there's not much to say about Boston, except she was a bit out of condition last season, but that's not too surprising for a true freshman center who started for her college team from day one. Still, she improved as she went along - averaging 12.5 ppg, 9.4 rpg, and shooting .608 for the season, but averaging 13.1 ppg, 10.3 rpg, and .621 during the conference season at the end of the schedule. As with Amihere, Aliyah could stand to spend some time with the S&C staff, and see if they can improve her stamina and conditioning.

It wouldn't surprise me to see either or both Cooke and Boston average upwards of 15 ppg this season, with Henderson, Beal, and perhaps either Grissett or Saxton - whoever takes over for Herbert-Harrigan - average around 10 ppg. Even Littleton could approach 10 ppg if her feet are totally recovered, which they should be after the long off-time from the red-shirt. I'm not sure what Russell would bring to the table, but I am excited to see her as well.....

So while I wouldn't say there are individual players that can fill Harris' or Herbert-Harrigan's shoes for 2020-21, I do expect to see some improvement via development, experience, and maturity in several players that combined may do the trick, and overall may even make the team stronger. We won't know until we can play basketball again......

 

[stwainfan]

 

[visitingcock]

I am not arguing. And I know your team is terrific -- but why do you say "More talented?" You lost two 1st round WNBA picks. Unless you are going to say that one or both the seniors weren't really "as talented" as the younger players?

I cant believe Harrigan didn't get at least HM A/A. Her EFG% was 63/19%.

You didn't pick up much this season. So you had all the talent last year and you lost two imo extremely "talented" players.

Yep, and there's more to it that just talent. Those two first-rounders were LEADERS on and off the court. One was Ms. Dependable and Calm. The other was Ms. Fire. Frankly, Kiki surprised me with her leadership. Their leadership allowed out freshmen to survive on talent alone.

I don't expect us to develop that type of leadership in 2020. Possibly the leaders will emerge by post season. I hope so, but I do not expect another one loss season. We'll see.

 

[SCspur]

Yep, and there's more to it that just talent. Those two first-rounders were LEADERS on and off the court. One was Ms. Dependable and Calm. The other was Ms. Fire. Frankly, Kiki surprised me with her leadership. Their leadership allowed out freshmen to survive on talent alone.

I don't expect us to develop that type of leadership in 2020. Possibly the leaders will emerge by post season. I hope so, but I do not expect another one loss season. We'll see.

You have to give the Freshman more respect than that. They were a major reason why Harris and Herbert Harrigan were so successful because how good they were when they came in. I honestly think they’ll be just fine next year. I don’t think it’ll be a one loss season either but I do expect them to win 30+ games again.

 

[hoophuskee]

But the potential and prospects for the season are still excellent.

I agree with all you said.

No doubt this is the best South Carolina has looked long-term -- ever.
Another beast is Stanford.

 

[ConwayGmck]

Yep, and there's more to it that just talent. Those two first-rounders were LEADERS on and off the court. One was Ms. Dependable and Calm. The other was Ms. Fire. Frankly, Kiki surprised me with her leadership. Their leadership allowed out freshmen to survive on talent alone.

I don't expect us to develop that type of leadership in 2020. Possibly the leaders will emerge by post season. I hope so, but I do not expect another one loss season. We'll see.

Doesn't sound like, from your post, that you expected Kiki to develop her leadership, but she did. Maybe someone else will surprise you this season. Saxton is one that is high up on my list....

 

[visitingcock]

Doesn't sound like, from your post, that you expected Kiki to develop her leadership, but she did. Maybe someone else will surprise you this season. Saxton is one that is high up on my list....

During her first three seasons Kiki was often firey. . . too much so at times. She could act petulant in certain instances like questionable calls. Then, she was ready to transfer out - like an individual. However, she stayed and became like a big sister to the freshmen, particularly Boston. She started showing the maturity to keep her fires from getting out of control and appeared to teach that to the frosh.

I hope Zia Cook develops into a true leader on and off the court - a Dawn type point guard.

 

[visitingcock]

Doesn't sound like, from your post, that you expected Kiki to develop her leadership, but she did. Maybe someone else will surprise you this season. Saxton is one that is high up on my list....

Don't know if you have read this. I just now discovered this article. Gamecocks' Dawn Staley and star forward getting it right after transfer flap

 

[Creature]

In 2017 she tore up her knee. What happened to her in 2018?

Maybe this helps..lol She did not play again to Fall 2019. She graduated early and red shirted at South Carolina part of 2018. She was on the bench with the 2018 Team

 

[Creature]

During her first three seasons Kiki was often firey. . . too much so at times. She could act petulant in certain instances like questionable calls. Then, she was ready to transfer out - like an individual. However, she stayed and became like a big sister to the freshmen, particularly Boston. She started showing the maturity to keep her fires from getting out of control and appeared to teach that to the frosh.

I hope Zia Cook develops into a true leader on and off the court - a Dawn type point guard.

T'ea Cooper and Cuevas-Moore coming back had alot to do with KiKis attitude on the 2018 team. If you see Coach Staleys comments in the "For the Culture" documentary-"I promise you we will not have another season like last year" and she also alluded to the fact that coaches had to come to the dorm after hours to solve player issues

 

[Creature]

I agree there's no guarantee the team will be better from the positions that lost Harris at PG and Herbert-Harrigan at the 4. Both had too much experience and played such huge roles in the team's success this past season. I am expecting drop-offs in consistent production at both positions for 2020-21.

But the potential and prospects for the season are still excellent. At the Guard positions, we'll have 4 very talented former McDonald's AAs in Henderson, Cooke, Littleton, and Beal. It's likely that none of these will show the savvy and maturity to lead the team on game-by-game basis, and to expect them to may be a bit unfair to them, but all with the exception of Littleton - who red-shirted last season - have shown at times that they can.

Both Cooke and Littleton are tough physical guards who both played recreational league football in their states with the boys before taking up basketball. Littleton's freshman year at Texas was a total wash, with injuries and overcoming the shock of college life away from home. Her sophomore season was a major step forward, while she hoped to continue that last year at USC, the transfer red-shirt year was productive in that she was able to get some corrective surgery done on her feet, and she was also able to settle into her new life in Columbia, so this season she should be able to focus 100% on contributing to the team.

And I expect Beal to be a bigger offensive producer in 2020-21: she averaged 26 ppg her final year in high school, and finished as the all-time top scorer in her high school conference. She was a bit hesitant contributing offensively this past season, but a player like that usually isn't uncomfortable with putting the basketball in the hoop. She became the #2 rebounder on the team behind Boston however, and defensively earned the role as the top lock-down choice for the opposing team's top scorer.

Henderson has 9 total starts under her belt at PG, but they all came during her freshman season. She averaged just under 9 ppg last season coming off the bench, and I expect her to improve on that as the starting PG next season. Her assist-to-ratio wasn't great last season, but Destannie improved as the season progressed, where she had 64 assists (3.4 apg) to 33 turnovers during the 16 conference and 3 SECT games, and averaged 13.0 ppg in the SECT, so her potential for improvement there is sound.

I am very excited to see how the threesome of senior Grissett, junior Saxton, and sophomore Amihere develop their games over the extended off-season. Both Grissett and Saxton shot a combined 151-252 (.599) from the field coming off the bench, and averaged 11.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.0 bpg, and 1.8 spg in just 32.5 combined mpg. (about 16.0 mpg each). Both are very athletic and physical defenders - Grissett seemed to flourish after moving to the G position as a 6-2 G, while Saxton played as a 6-2 F. Both players can fill in for Beal or at the 4 where Herbert-Harrigan used to roam, although neither have the perimeter game from the 3 that Kiki had.

This is where Amihere may come in: Although she would most likely fill in for Boston at the 5, Amihere shot 7-13 (.538) from the 3 last season, including 5-8 (.625) in SEC gms. That's a small sample size, but it shows that Amihere has confidence in her perimeter game where she could provide the outside scoring that Herbert-Harrigan contributed, to a degree. Otherwise, she averaged 4.7 ppg that improved to 5.6 ppg in SEC gms, and 3.9 rpg in just 13 mpg, and 33 blocks over 29 gms. Hopefully the pandemic allows her to spend some time in the weight room this off-season, and strengthening her legs so she comes back more sure of herself for next season.

Finally there's not much to say about Boston, except she was a bit out of condition last season, but that's not too surprising for a true freshman center who started for her college team from day one. Still, she improved as she went along - averaging 12.5 ppg, 9.4 rpg, and shooting .608 for the season, but averaging 13.1 ppg, 10.3 rpg, and .621 during the conference season at the end of the schedule. As with Amihere, Aliyah could stand to spend some time with the S&C staff, and see if they can improve her stamina and conditioning.

It wouldn't surprise me to see either or both Cooke and Boston average upwards of 15 ppg this season, with Henderson, Beal, and perhaps either Grissett or Saxton - whoever takes over for Herbert-Harrigan - average around 10 ppg. Even Littleton could approach 10 ppg if her feet are totally recovered, which they should be after the long off-time from the red-shirt. I'm not sure what Russell would bring to the table, but I am excited to see her as well.....

So while I wouldn't say there are individual players that can fill Harris' or Herbert-Harrigan's shoes for 2020-21, I do expect to see some improvement via development, experience, and maturity in several players that combined may do the trick, and overall may even make the team stronger. We won't know until we can play basketball again......

I am curious to see how the freshman Russell fits into the equation at PG. She can play off guard as well as point guard.

 

[jumpstart]

To the people who say South Carolina will be down because of Herbert-Harrington and Harris their 1st round draft picks have departed. I will remind you...they "became" 1st round draft picks this past season. They were not even in the discussion at the start of the season as future WNBA players. Dawn can develop players and she has proven it time and time again. I would also remind you that Dawn has had 7 first round draft picks in the last 5 years (trailing only UCONN) while the rest of the 'entire' SEC has had 5....total. The knock on Dawn is unjustified. The 2021 team and beyond will be just fine.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I don't think anyone criticized Dawn or said the 2021 team wouldn't be fine???

 

[hoophuskee]

To the people who say South Carolina will be down because of Herbert-Harrington and Harris their 1st round draft picks have departed. I will remind you...they "became" 1st round draft picks this past season. They were not even in the discussion at the start of the season as future WNBA players. Dawn can develop players and she has proven it time and time again. I would also remind you that Dawn has had 7 first round draft picks in the last 5 years (trailing only UCONN) while the rest of the 'entire' SEC has had 5....total. The knock on Dawn is unjustified. The 2021 team and beyond will be just fine.

I hope this isn't addressed towards me. Here were some of the posts I made about your terrific team:


**************You are certain you're 2 pg's are going to be very, very good this year and Miss State who is projected to be 3rd in the country according to ESPN. THIRD IN THE COUNTRY. THIRD IN THE COUNTRY. Yet I'm supposed to say you are UNDOUBTEDLY going to rule the SEC this upcoming year? Seriously?:

I was just offering caution. You have a tough team to compete with. That's all. If I were to bet ofc your team will probably be terrific again. Is Miss State highly overrated? That I don't know.

Yes yes. That's all I meant. No bad intent meant against your terrific basketball team.

I am not arguing. And I know your team is terrific --

I agree with all you said. (When I said this it was a reply to Conwaygmck stating "But the potential and prospects for the season are still excellent.")

 

[jumpstart]

I hope this isn't addressed towards me. Here were some of the posts I made about your terrific team:


**************You are certain you're 2 pg's are going to be very, very good this year and Miss State who is projected to be 3rd in the country according to ESPN. THIRD IN THE COUNTRY. THIRD IN THE COUNTRY. Yet I'm supposed to say you are UNDOUBTEDLY going to rule the SEC this upcoming year? Seriously?:

I was just offering caution. You have a tough team to compete with. That's all. If I were to bet ofc your team will probably be terrific again. Is Miss State highly overrated? That I don't know.

Yes yes. That's all I meant. No bad intent meant against your terrific basketball team.

I am not arguing. And I know your team is terrific --

I agree with all you said. (When I said this it was a reply to Conwaygmck stating "But the potential and prospects for the season are still excellent.")

I didn't attach it to anyone because it was a general statement.....so...no it wasn't addressed to you....

 

[jumpstart]

I don't think anyone criticized Dawn or said the 2021 team wouldn't be fine???

..again....like I said to hoophuskie...it was a general statement and yes...people on this board have questioned Dawn as an X and O...and a game day coach. Maybe not in this thread but in others. I will defend any coach that has won a national championship and built a great program..be it Geno, Mulkey, VanDerveer, Dawn..or any others....

 

[stwainfan]

 

[eebmg]

Not much I like about TN but I love Andraya Carter as an Analyst.

 

[jumpstart]

I hope this isn't addressed towards me. Here were some of the posts I made about your terrific team:


**************You are certain you're 2 pg's are going to be very, very good this year and Miss State who is projected to be 3rd in the country according to ESPN. THIRD IN THE COUNTRY. THIRD IN THE COUNTRY. Yet I'm supposed to say you are UNDOUBTEDLY going to rule the SEC this upcoming year? Seriously?:

I was just offering caution. You have a tough team to compete with. That's all. If I were to bet ofc your team will probably be terrific again. Is Miss State highly overrated? That I don't know.

Yes yes. That's all I meant. No bad intent meant against your terrific basketball team.

I am not arguing. And I know your team is terrific --

I agree with all you said. (When I said this it was a reply to Conwaygmck stating "But the potential and prospects for the season are still excellent.")

Oh..and by the way..it's not my team...lol...I do like South Carolina but I am a big WCBB fan in general. I'm an Elon grad.....