Insight from our SC guests and on what this means for next year's roster??
As of now (because honestly who knows what the heck is going on at this point, this could change..), we return 2 seniors, Harris and Cooper, 1 junior.. Grissett, 3 sophomores.. Henderson, Saxton and Wesolek. So that’s 6 players from this year’s roster. We add 5 freshmen to next year’s roster. This is a major hit to our experience, MHH is an inconsistent player but when she’s on she’s ON. Jackson is a steady guard, she defends and scores but she’s not elite on either end... but she can be dangerous. Williams is slow footed, but I’ve seen flashes of a great player... I think she still has potential but I don’t think she’s a P5 player. I could see her at a smaller D1 or a smaller P5 school, and by “smaller” I mean not elite.
I’ll speak specifically on each player’s transfer:
Williams: Not a shock at all. If you ask any Gamecock fan that follows recruiting and this team close enough they would’ve told you back in December that Williams was transferring at the end of this season. I like Williams, I think she’s better than we saw at SC. Slower than Dawn likes for a post player, but she can stretch the floor. She needs to go somewhere where she won’t get lost on the roster.
Jackson: Moderately shocking. Like I’ve said before, she’s steady. At SC, she’s a utility player.. someone that can float from being a starter to being a role player, even during the game. Inconsistent scorer, strong defender. She’s good at everything, elite at nothing in particular. I never thought she would transfer, but I can see why she’s transferring... I don’t think she would’ve started over Cooper or Henderson next season and I’m more than certain Breanna Beal beats her at that 3 spot in the long run. This is a smart move for her. I can see her transferring to another SEC school (Alabama or Auburn, maybe even MSU). I don’t think she leaves the South.
Mikiah Herbert-Harrigan: I AM SHOOKETH. MHH was likely going to be a starter next season. Dawn said the moment she stepped on campus that she has All-American potential. I didn’t see it until this year. When KiKi is playing with heart, she’s a phenomenal three level scorer, she can score from the post up (weakest), shoot the three, and off the dribble (strongest). Her midrange game is borderline automatic. She’s also a good defender.. on the perimeter and especially in the paint.. good luck attacking the basket with her down there because she’s definitely going for the swat. She’s a skilled player and will be an impact player wherever she goes. The bad: she’s inconsistent and doesn’t like hard coaching. She’s also distracted, her focus is extremely lacking. Im not even sure she loves basketball, I think she likes it.. she’s GOOD at it, but I’m not sure she loves it. It’s also well known that KiKi has had to be disciplined several times at SC.. and Dawn has said on more than one occasion that KiKi gets distracted by outside noise and influences. KiKi needs solitude... she needs a school as far away from home as possible in my opinion. She needs an environment outside of her comfort zone. A Pac12 school would be GREAT for her, but something tells me she goes back home to Florida. Florida State or Miami with my pick being FSU.
I will miss all three dearly and I wish them well on their next endeavor.