USC Gamecocks 2024-25 Season: Part Two

[JstVisiting]

Watkins did not appear yesterday in court ( her lawyer did). This means no dismissal and no early minor misdemeanor plea. Doubtful she goes back to court before January,

I’m not counting on her this year,

It was an initial appearance. Accused not required to attend, and it is common for the attorney to be excused as well if counsel has made an appearance. Richland County has eight GS terms in November alone, several of which are likely devoted exclusively to pleas.

Circuit and Family Court - South Carolina Judicial Branch

Based on the LEO incident report, it's an easy PTI diversion. If the state's representation of facts is a clear misdemeanor plea, it should be resolved. And if it is diverted, you don't even need to appear in court. Solicitor makes a phone call or sends an email to county PTI director.

 

[JDuro]

Awesome! I just was coming here to see if anyone went to the game or had news to spread about the performance. Sounds like another stellar game from Edwards. Also Tac with 13 points and 7 boards in 13 minutes is promising. I assume Clayton State didn't have anyone to match her size, so her numbers shouldn't be mythologized, but I think it shows that she will have a role on this team and may be a competent replacement for Cardoso sooner rather than later.

Clayton had no match for anyone size wise. I realized that early in the first when Sania found herself defensively switched on a guard on the perimeter while PaoPao moved down in the paint and bodied up their post and they were the same height.

 

[mikeboss550]

For anyone there how did Chloe look or how much did she play? I really think she will be huge this year.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

For anyone there how did Chloe look or how much did she play? I really think she will be huge this year.

She was fine. Nothing too amazing.

What stood out to me was again how good an athlete Joyce Edwards is and what good hands she has to make it all look so easy.

I'd say Tac too seems to have good hands an a natural presence vs this level of competition.

The backcourt is scuffling a bit aside from Pao.

Nothing too bad but nobody really at their best at the moment. Shooting is a little off. Missing some open looks.

 

[GamecockFam]

 

[GamecockFam]

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Tessa Johnson again got a lot of minutes as the primary ball handler suggesting she might be the third PG behind Pao and Raven.

Another game with extensive minutes for big lineups, or at least lineups featuring what I'd consider a forward playing wing. Edwards, Kitts, certainly and maybe a little bit of Dauda in this one.

Edwards just does everything so easily and catches and finishes in a continuous motion. She'll hit double figure most games just doing that and nothing more.

 

[GoChips20]

For anyone there how did Chloe look or how much did she play? I really think she will be huge this year.

I think so too.

SC was long the land of 6’2” forwards with no jump shot (Saxton, Grisset, and I’m sure there are others I can’t recall). Kitts brings something SC hadn’t had in awhile — a forward who spaces the floor and keeps the offense moving. I think they’ll need to lean into that more without a dominant big. I’d like to see what she can do on the perimeter although that detracts for her scrappiness inside and her rebounding, both of which we’ll need without Cardoso and now likely Watkins.

When I look at players like Aaliyah Del Rosario and Jadyn Donovan I think Kitts was way better than the #17 ranking she had out of high school, not that it matters much.

 

[SCGamecock]

I wonder if Dawn is trying to move towards positionless basketball. Any insights? I vaguely remember Coach making an off-hand comment about moving in that direction right before the freshies came on campus. I'm just getting caught up on recruiting and noticed that we seem to be targeting long-armed, athletic 6'+ wings that can shoot from anywhere on the court ... Ayla McDowell, Agot Makeer, and Kaelyn Carroll seem to be our targets. If we get all three, in a couple of years all but the PG could be 6'2" or taller. It makes me feel like coach wants to move towards a more athletic version of Oregon State from this prior year...kind of like a hybrid between Maryland and Oregon State.

Having players that can shoot the rock from anywhere has really worked for SC lately. Combining Dawn’s defensive mindset with players that you don’t have to teach how to shoot and you see the success we’ve had the last 3-4 years, especially last year.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved some of our teams from the Wilson years and earlier, but if they’ve always had an Achilles heel then it was shooting. You can’t really say that anymore. And I don’t think Dawn is trying to go back to that when you look at how she’s recruiting. 2/3 from McDowell, Carroll and Makeer would be a VERY solid offensive boost to the team. I really think McDowell and Carroll are underrated.

 

[jumpstart]

For anyone there how did Chloe look or how much did she play? I really think she will be huge this year.

Chloe only played 15 minutes as did most of the starters except Hall. I think Hall played extra minutes because her shooting was off. Dawn probably wanted her to work through that.

20 Sania Feagin 18:31 4-7 0-0 0-0 4 5 9 1 0 8 2 1 0 0 2 49 21
Chloe Kitts 15:59 4-6 0-1 0-0 0 3 3 1 1 8 1 0 0 0 0 44 0
Te-Hina Paopao 15:11 4-7 3-6 2-3 1 3 4 1 2 13 5 0 3 0 1 40 23
Bree Hall 25:28 3-12 0-7 0-0 2 1 3 1 0 6 5 0 4 1 0 55 25
Raven Johnson 16:13 4-6 1-2 0-0 3 0 3 1 0 9 3 1 3 0 0 36 8
Joyce Edwards 25:48 8-11 0-0 4-5 5 6 11 1 3 20 6 1 2 3 0 46 12
MiLaysia Fulwiley 24:49 10-18 4-7 0-2 0 2 2 0 2 24 3 1 7 3 0 46 5
Tessa Johnson 25:21 6-13 3-9 0-0 2 3 5 0 0 15 4 0 1 0 0 48 30
Maryam Dauda 19:58 2-3 0-0 6-6 1 7 8 0 3 10 1 1 0 1 0 30 15
Adhel Tac 12:42 3-5 0-0 7-10 4 3 7 1 6 13 0 1 0 2 0 26
Team 1 4 5 0 1 Totals 48-88 11-32 19-26 23 37 60 7 17 126 30 7 20 10 3 84 Technical Fouls::NONE Shooting By Period 1st FG% 11-23 47.8% 3PT% 2-8 25.0% FT% 4-4 100% 2nd FG% 13-22 59.1% 3PT% 4-11 36.4% FT% 4-8 50% 3rd FG% 12-23 52.2% 3PT% 2-8 25.0% FT% 6-8 75% 4

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Having players that can shoot the rock from anywhere has really worked for SC lately. Combining Dawn’s defensive mindset with players that you don’t have to teach how to shoot and you see the success we’ve had the last 3-4 years, especially last year.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved some of our teams from the Wilson years and earlier, but if they’ve always had an Achilles heel then it was shooting. You can’t really say that anymore. And I don’t think Dawn is trying to go back to that when you look at how she’s recruiting. 2/3 from McDowell, Carroll and Makeer would be a VERY solid offensive boost to the team. I really think McDowell and Carroll are underrated.

I do not think Dawn's intention was ever to deliberately have offensive black holes in the lineup, but she wasn't going to compromise on defense and take one dimensional offensive players and sit back in zone. Multi-dimensional guards and forwards tended to pick programs that had already won titles.

Once SCar got over the hump, the black holes started lightening up.

At the time, detractors liked to pretend that it is the coaches who create these players, but the reality is they are recruited.

Coaches can develop them to a greater or lesser degree but the stars largely create themselves.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

If you look at WBB, defense and rebounding are the essential pieces.

You can get to a championship level with them and then you can recruit better offensively with an existing culture for defense.

 

[GamecockFam]

If you look at WBB, defense and rebounding are the essential pieces.

You can get to a championship level with them and then you can recruit better offensively with an existing culture for defense.

I agree 100%! Dawn always seems to seek out traits that give someone a natural defensive advantage (elite athleticism, tall, long arms, etc.) over everything else and then let them grow their skills over the years in her system.