USC Gamecocks 2024-25 Season: Part Two

[visitingcock]

It’s an exhibition game. But I just can’t wrap my mind around Fulwiley not being a starter.

Why? She hasn’t been a starter before.

 

[Stagnant]

Why? She hasn’t been a starter before.

She is far and away the best player on the team. Starting someone because they are a vet; I would just be surprised if Dawn went that route.

I think she is a contender for player of the year. That’s how good I think she is. Player of the year being a 6 man would be strange.

 

[GamecockFam]

It’s an exhibition game. But I just can’t wrap my mind around Fulwiley not being a starter.

I thought she would steal Paopao's spot but Paopao looks like she has stepped up her game both defensively and offensively. Paopao also looks a lot more athletic and quick on her feet. She and T. Johnson are noticably more toned. They seemed to have transformed their bodies in the off-season, cutting some body fat and building some muscle.

Joyce Edwards with a double double in the first half in what felt like less than 10 minutes of play. Her game reminds me of Angel Reece in both the positive and negative aspects -- relentless motor, instinctual rebounder, defensively smart, but not a high shooting percentage and prone to dumb fouls. Hopefully, the negative aspects of her game are just symptoms of becoming acclimated to the college game. It's also a pretty small sampling, so it could also be general abnormalities due to jitters or the low stakes of an exhibition game.

 

[bballnut90]

She is far and away the best player on the team. Starting someone because they are a vet; I would just be surprised if Dawn went that route.

I think she is a contender for player of the year. That’s how good I think she is. Player of the year being a 6 man would be strange.

Didn't look like it tonight. She's as athletic and talented as anyone in the country, but from the exhibition she still looks eager to go for the flashy highlight play rather than the most effective one. I don't expect her to start unless SC underwhelms and needs a lineup change to shake things up. I also don't see SC having a true POY candidate this year with so much depth and balance. Last year they were undefeated but only had Kamila Cardoso make 2nd team. This year they're even deeper.


Also--random tidbits, but in regards to All Americans or a POY coming off the bench, I don't think Maya Moore started her freshmen year until upperclassmen got injured. She finished 2nd in the country in POY voting that year. Dawn also brought A'ja Wilson off the bench as a freshman and A'ja earned AA honors that year.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

She is far and away the best player on the team. Starting someone because they are a vet; I would just be surprised if Dawn went that route.

I think she is a contender for player of the year. That’s how good I think she is. Player of the year being a 6 man would be strange.

I don't see that at all.

It's not how SCar is built.

I'm genuinely not sure who the best player on the team is.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Didn't look like it tonight. She's as athletic and talented as anyone in the country, but from the exhibition she still looks eager to go for the flashy highlight play rather than the most effective one. I don't expect her to start unless SC underwhelms and needs a lineup change to shake things up. I also don't see SC having a true POY candidate this year with so much depth and balance. Last year they were undefeated but only had Kamila Cardoso make 2nd team. This year they're even deeper.


Also--random tidbits, but in regards to All Americans or a POY coming off the bench, I don't think Maya Moore started her freshmen year until upperclassmen got injured. She finished 2nd in the country in POY voting that year. Dawn also brought A'ja Wilson off the bench as a freshman and A'ja earned AA honors that year.

I agree, but Cardoso should have been first team. She was the best center.

 

[bballnut90]

SC shellacked Memphis in the 2nd half. Their size was overwhelming and they looked really solid across the board. Notables for SC:

Joyce Edwards- @GamecockFam mentioned Angel Reese as a comparison which I thought was apt, though I think Edwards has better touch than Angel around the basket. I'll toss out another comparison: I thought she looked like another young Nneka. Not the tallest but an explosive athlete, great rebounder, high motor and limited range offensively. She's going to be extremely good and a big contributor this year. When she picks up a mid range she's going to be unstoppable.

Adhel Tac-I also really liked her game. She is a big 6-5 and ran the floor very well on a couple of plays. She's raw and likely isn't going to be a major contributor this year but her upside is massive. Loved that she caught a pass high and immediately went to finish never bringing the ball down or taking much time to gather. She didn't play much but stuck out to me when she was out there, though having long red braids probably contributed to that lol.

Sakima Walker-she battled hard but doesn't appear to be close to the level of the other bigs IMO.

Chloe Kitts-really active, looked similar to how she played much of last year.

All 11 players for SC scored 6+ points. Terrific balance across the board and I thought the ball movement and overall offensive flow was impressive, especially for an exhibition game at this point in time. Fulwiley went down with an ankle injury but appeared to walk it off.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I thought she would steal Paopao's spot but Paopao looks like she has stepped up her game both defensively and offensively. Paopao also looks a lot more athletic and quick on her feet. She and T. Johnson are noticably more toned. They seemed to have transformed their bodies in the off-season, cutting some body fat and building some muscle.

Joyce Edwards with a double double in the first half in what felt like less than 10 minutes of play. Her game reminds me of Angel Reece in both the positive and negative aspects -- relentless motor, instinctual rebounder, defensively smart, but not a high shooting percentage and prone to dumb fouls. Hopefully, the negative aspects of her game are just symptoms of becoming acclimated to the college game. It's also a pretty small sampling, so it could also be general abnormalities due to jitters or the low stakes of an exhibition game.

Edwards was 19 and 12 in 19 minutes on better than 50% shooting and only had two fouls. Two assists and 0 turnovers.

In her first appearance.

What an odd take.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I thought Tessa and Kitts looked noticeably stronger and quicker. Pao too.

Thought Feagin looked good and improved.

Tac looks considerably more imposing than Sakima Walker. I think they will give Walker some minutes early on and will need to keep her warm for potential duty against giant centers, but seems like Tac will pass her.

I'd agree that Tac has big potential. I think she's the only big that has a Cardoso/Boston defensive presence.

Thought Daufa did nice things but looked like she's still figuring out what to do.

Raven, Hall, and Fulwiley looked like themselves but not their best showcase.

 

[jdote33]

SC shellacked Memphis in the 2nd half. Their size was overwhelming and they looked really solid across the board. Notables for SC:

Joyce Edwards- @GamecockFam mentioned Angel Reese as a comparison which I thought was apt, though I think Edwards has better touch than Angel around the basket. I'll toss out another comparison: I thought she looked like another young Nneka. Not the tallest but an explosive athlete, great rebounder, high motor and limited range offensively. She's going to be extremely good and a big contributor this year. When she picks up a mid range she's going to be unstoppable.

Adhel Tac-I also really liked her game. She is a big 6-5 and ran the floor very well on a couple of plays. She's raw and likely isn't going to be a major contributor this year but her upside is massive. Loved that she caught a pass high and immediately went to finish never bringing the ball down or taking much time to gather. She didn't play much but stuck out to me when she was out there, though having long red braids probably contributed to that lol.

Sakima Walker-she battled hard but doesn't appear to be close to the level of the other bigs IMO.

Chloe Kitts-really active, looked similar to how she played much of last year.

All 11 players for SC scored 6+ points. Terrific balance across the board and I thought the ball movement and overall offensive flow was impressive, especially for an exhibition game at this point in time. Fulwiley went down with an ankle injury but appeared to walk it off.

Great write up. The point about the balance and ball movement is so on point. As a UConn fan this is what I anticipate will drive me mad about our team this year. I'll be truly bummed if we don't play at least 9. But anyways the trick with SC is everyone really gets a shot to play their game. I know it's an exhibition. But everyone who stepped on the court just seems empowered and got to show their game for better or for worse. They all shined. All made mistakes but played through it. They do establish the inside but it almost doesn't even feel like their is a pecking order. Of course that can be a gift and a curse, especially in close moments and big games.

 

[GamecockFam]

Edwards was 19 and 12 in 19 minutes on better than 50% shooting and only had two fouls. Two assists and 0 turnovers.

In her first appearance.

What an odd take.

My observations went beyond the stats. Also my post was made at halftime. In the first half she has a few uncalled fouls that could have easily been put on her depending on the reffing crew (or maybe the refs were more relaxed because it was an exhibition game). She played a little out of control at times due to her motor and, like Reece, had a few possessions where she just flung the ball up at the hoop without much technique. In the second half she was a more accurate shooter and played aggressively but controlled. So she looked less like Reece and I expect it was just first game jitters in the first half. Either way, she looks like she'll be getting lots of playing time and will be one of those players who's role increases as the season progresses.

 

[visitingcock]

Game stats

https://storage.googleapis.com/gamecocksonline-com/2024/10/fbe38f7d-00_exh_atmemphis.pdf

 

[visitingcock]

She is far and away the best player on the team. Starting someone because they are a vet; I would just be surprised if Dawn went that route.

I think she is a contender for player of the year. That’s how good I think she is. Player of the year being a 6 man would be strange.

Are you gonna start her ahead of the pg who has the nation’s best A/T ratio?

Or, are you gonna start her ahead of the SG who has the nation’s best 3 point shooting percentage?

At w/3 we have Bree who is the team’s most experienced player backed up by the highly versatile Tessa who may have the best midrange game on the team and 3 point efficiency second only to Tehina.

Milaysia will get her chance to be the star next year and a 6th man at the 1 and 2 is gonna get plenty of minutes - possibly more than the starters.

 

[jumpstart]

It’s an exhibition game. But I just can’t wrap my mind around Fulwiley not being a starter.

Fulwiley is so jacked and out of control when she comes in, it would be foolish to start her. I don't see her as a starter until her junior season. South Carolina has too many "in control" players to risk putting her in as a starter. She is juice for the team and her entering the game later seems to play into her style as of now. That's just my opinion though.

 

[visitingcock]

So, we will play these preseason ranked teams:

Team	Pts.
1. South Carolina	745
2. UConn	708
3.
4. Texas TWICE - maybe THRICE	641
5. UCLA	628
6.
7. LSU - maybe TWICE	549
8. Iowa State	521
9. NC State	510
10. Oklahoma	441
11. Duke	439
20. Ole Miss	165
21.
22. Kentucky	108
23.
24. Alabama	67
25.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

She is far and away the best player on the team. Starting someone because they are a vet; I would just be surprised if Dawn went that route.

I think she is a contender for player of the year. That’s how good I think she is. Player of the year being a 6 man would be strange.

Joyce Edwards (figuratively) wants you to hold her beer.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

I thought she would steal Paopao's spot but Paopao looks like she has stepped up her game both defensively and offensively. Paopao also looks a lot more athletic and quick on her feet. She and T. Johnson are noticably more toned. They seemed to have transformed their bodies in the off-season, cutting some body fat and building some muscle.

Joyce Edwards with a double double in the first half in what felt like less than 10 minutes of play. Her game reminds me of Angel Reece in both the positive and negative aspects -- relentless motor, instinctual rebounder, defensively smart, but not a high shooting percentage and prone to dumb fouls. Hopefully, the negative aspects of her game are just symptoms of becoming acclimated to the college game. It's also a pretty small sampling, so it could also be general abnormalities due to jitters or the low stakes of an exhibition game.

Fielding Yost would have been proud of Joyce last night.

 

[visitingcock]

Any ideas what this means?

 

[Cockygirl]

It means we got a commitment from someone. If it’s the ‘25 class I would guess Ayla McDowell as Talia Goodman predicted her choosing us the other day. Still in it with Agot McKeer and Kaelynn Carroll do those are possibilities as well

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Finding playing time for everyone makes my head hurt but I personally don't see the need to change up anyone's role.

The closest I get to that is wondering whether Tessa and Bree Hall should swap. But there really isn't a good reason to do it.

 

[visitingcock]

It means we got a commitment from someone. If it’s the ‘25 class I would guess Ayla McDowell as Talia Goodman predicted her choosing us the other day. Still in it with Agot McKeer and Kaelynn Carroll do those are possibilities as well

I think McKeer will keep her scheduled visit to UConn. Thus, it's either McDowell or Carroll. Somebody else? . Who knows?

Any birdie flights?

 

[YoDore]

I think McKeer will keep her scheduled visit to UConn. Thus, it's either McDowell or Carroll. Somebody else? . Who knows?

Any birdie flights?

Hopefully not Ciara Byars. She had an official visit at Vandy a few days back. Louisville is also on her finalist list.

 

[JDuro]

 

[JDuro]

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

I like that it's close, but I wish it was in a bigger city with adequate public transportation.