On Wednesday, I opened the floor to women’s basketball questions on The Insiders Forum. Here’s a sample of what was discussed.
Become a subscriber to get your question answered in the next mailbag.
(Questions and answers have been edited for clarity.)
Juice36: Who do you think we truly have a good shot of landing in recruiting? Online predictions make it seem like we will miss on all of our major targets.
I know this isn’t the answer you want, but the more I hear, the less certainty I have.
Revenue sharing has completely upended everything. It’s really limiting some high-profile programs and elevating smaller ones. I have also heard stories of programs making pie-in-the-sky promises they can’t possibly keep and hoping the recruit doesn’t know better. (I expect an especially active transfer portal next spring.)
I think it’s a toss-up with McKenna Woliczko. Oliviyah Edwards seems to be warming to USC. I thought Olivia Vukosa was a UConn lock, but the longer she keeps things open, the more I think she might go elsewhere. Keep an eye on Emily McDonald and Aaliah Spaight. Both are sort of diamonds in the rough that Staley has a good track record with.
If it makes you feel better, I don’t think “online predictions” have had South Carolina signing a single recruit in about four years.
Cockburn: Any insight/feedback on summer workouts/practices? Any players standing out or showing visible improvements in regard to conditioning or refining certain areas of their game?
The whole team hasn’t been together much because of all the different national team commitments. They had last week off to go home or go on vacation, whatever they wanted. Everyone seems excited about the bigs – Madina Okot, Adhel Tac, and Maryam Dauda. If you’ve seen any of the practice pictures, Tac has really reshaped her body and looks to be in great shape. I’ve heard good things about Agot Makeer and Ayla McDowell. Don’t expect them to play 25 minutes right off the bat, but they should contribute.
BigTcock: Most teams fill their roster, even our men’s team. Why does Dawn Staley usually leave three or four open spots on the roster when depth is a critical component to building a team?
It’s standard practice in women’s basketball, and there are a few reasons.
– Men’s teams need to use all 15 roster spots so they have enough players to practice. Women’s teams use practice teams (The Highlighters) so they don’t need a full roster. In fact, the few times Staley has had 14 or 15 players, she commented that the last couple in the rotation didn’t even get to practice.
– It’s hard to keep 15 players happy. Realistically, unless you are Tennessee, you only play nine or ten players. There are exceptions like Olivia Thompson, who was just happy to be a Gamecock, or Lindsey Spann, who was here to learn the coaching profession, but players who don’t play or practice tend to get grouchy and cause trouble.
– It’s always about money. You can’t afford to pay the end-of-the-roster players, but they can go somewhere else and get paid (and play).
It can backfire if there are injuries, but realistically, the 14th or 15th player on the roster is not going to be a difference-maker, and if you are playing her, you’re in trouble anyway. (Excluding the COVID year when there were no roster limits.)
Garnetspur: How is Maddy McDaniel progressing? She seems to have a lot of potential.
I know Dawn and the coaches absolutely adore Maddy. They wanted to use her more last season but there just weren’t enough minutes. She’s going to have a big role this season as a change-of-pace with Raven Johnson at point guard.
secocks: What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of this year’s team?
Strengths: I started to list them and it was almost everything, so I’ll keep it short. This should look like an elite South Carolina team, not last season’s squad. Elite defense and scoring, plus the ability to throw different looks at opponents to take advantage of their weaknesses.
Weaknesses: I’m concerned about three-point shooting. Tessa Johnson is the only established threat, and they need floor spacers to make space for Latson and the post game.
GivEmDaSpurs: How do you see the starting lineup playing out? I think Raven Johnson, Ta’Niya Latson, and Chloe Kitts are givens. Personally, I would like to see Tessa Johnson at the 3 and Joyce Edwards. But Madina Okot fills a big void in the middle. Has Adhel Tac or Maryam Dauda come along far enough to push to start?
I think Raven, Ta’Niya, and Tessa are locks in the backcourt; as I noted above, I want Tessa on the floor with Ta’Niya as a spacer. As of right now, I can’t decide who to start in the frontcourt. That’s what the next 10 weeks of practice are for: figuring out who plays best together. I’m pretty sure Chloe will be one of the starters. Do you want to start big with Okot and bring Joyce, arguably your most talented player, off the bench? Or do you go with the talent and bring in Okot as a size mismatch? I don’t expect Tac or Dauda to be in the running to start, but I do expect them to play more than last season.
CockyGirl: If you had to choose, which roster would you rather have … last year’s or this year’s?
Honestly, it depends. If we compare August 20, 2024, to August 20, 2025, I’d take last season’s roster. I thought the Gamecocks wouldn’t miss a beat without Kamilla Cardoso. But that was before we knew that South Carolina would get just 14 games from Ashlyn Watkins and MiLaysia Fulwiley would not only fail to develop, but arguably regress.
If we compare the roster that played in the national championship to this season’s, I’ll choose this season. I believe they fixed their weaknesses and are back to being deep and versatile.
ecarch08: What elite South Carolina team will this team resemble? Also, what’s your take on our competition (LSU, Texas, Tennessee, UConn) and how will they match up with us? Any concerns?
Hmm… It’s tough to pick a specific team, but I’ll go with 2022. There’s no Aliyah Boston, but that team didn’t have Ta’Niya Latson. I picked it because of post depth and the ability to give so many different looks for opponents.
LSU – I have no idea how Kim Mulkey is going to make it work with Fulwiley, Flau’jae Johnson, and Mikayla Williams. It seems like a limited roster. But Mulkey usually makes things work somehow, and I expect to be wrong.
Texas – Until Texas learns to take threes they are easy to defend, especially now that Okot can match Oldacre’s size (and Taylor Jones is gone) and eliminate the Longhorns’ only advantage. It felt like South Carolina had cracked the code to beating Texas in the two postseason games.
Tennessee – Speaking of cracking the code, I’m curious how Kim Caldwell’s system will work the second time around. Will opponents figure out how to counter it? The styles are different, but it reminds me a little of how Mike Neighbors’ system at Arkansas took the SEC by storm for a couple of years until everyone figured it out.
UConn – The Huskies are going to look much different. Paige Bueckers is such a unique player who enabled them to create so many mismatches. They are going to be more traditional with Serah Williams, and I think that will help South Carolina match up.
secocks: When comparing the coaching strategies of UConn and South Carolina, is there ever a time that you feel playing with too much depth is a weakness?
There are times. Sometimes the leash can be too short, and players don’t have time to get into a rhythm or play through struggles. We saw that a lot during the 2018-19 season. Dawn learned to counter that by having clearer rotations and roles. But even in the 2024 season, there were games that were closer than they probably should have been because she had to get nine players into the game, even if somebody got hot.
Savannah_river_Cock33: I feel like the three ball has been a weakness for a few years now. Does Latson not shoot the three well?
Latson shot 36.2% as a freshman, 27.0% as a sophomore, and 34.3% last season. So I’d call her “okay.” She mentioned earlier this summer that she is working on improving her shot.
How quickly we forget that South Carolina was third in three-point percentage in 2024 and Te-Hina Paopao led the nation. South Carolina shot 34.0% last season, which was 66th in the country, so not terrible. But a lot of that was because Fulwiley decided she was a three-point specialist. Take out her 95 misses, and the Gamecocks shot 36.0%, which would have been 24th in the country.
secocks: As things stand going into the season which team would you least like to face in the Final Four?
Hmm, that’s a tough one. I’ll say UConn. Even though I think it’s a better matchup than last year, I still don’t know who guards Sarah Strong plus you don’t have a regular season game to help figure it out.
GivEmDaSPurs: Who is our best recruiter on staff (beside Dawn)?
(bantam answered Champ Staley.)
That’s a good question. Probably Jolette Law, although it could soon be Wendale Farrow. He seems to really relate well to players.
