If you’ve been at a South Carolina women’s basketball game about an hour before tip-off, you’ve definitely seen them.

South Carolina’s players on the court, stretching out in the early part of their warm-ups. Two lines divided up evenly on each side of the court.

And Molly Binetti, South Carolina’s sports performance coach since 2018, greeting every single one.

Different greetings, though. Specifically handshakes she makes sure to curate, memorize and master with every player.

“They started back from my first year,” Binetti told GamecockScoop about the handshakes.” It was just part of my warm-up routine with them. And every year obviously we get new players, it’s just something I help them come up with.”

Te-Hina Paopao’s was pretty straightforward. After the guard transferred in from Oregon before last year, she wanted something that reflected her game. Easy enough for one of the best outside shooters in the country.

“I wanted a 3-point celly [celebration] because I’m mostly known for my 3-point shooter,” Paopao told GamecockScoop. “I was like, ‘Let’s do a 3-point celly.’ That’s mostly it.”

Others are more complex. Several motions, daps, and choreographed moves playing out in real time. Maryam Dauda’s has an exploding fist bump at the end of it, and you can be sure “the sound effect has to go with it” or otherwise the handshake is incomplete.

On surface it seems fairly forgettable. South Carolina is far from the first team in sports history to have special traditions or greetings. Handshakes are practically baked in as part of baseball culture, and the “handshake line” is nearly 100 years old in professional hockey.

But this small touch is unique to every play, and establishes credibility between Binetti and newcomers. Her way of taking an interest in her players, getting to know a little part of them before pushing them to their limits in the weight room or conditioning workouts. Even if it is just one dance move they like or a simple reference to their games like Paopao’s, small gestures can make all the difference while forming a relationship.

“It’s just sort of a personalized touch when I see them,” Binetti said. “I tell them we need to come up with a handshake. Sometimes we just start doing one [regular handshake] and we come up with something, or they come up with something and then we practice it.”

If anything, it is on the players to keep up with her by remembering what to do. It takes the freshmen some time, but by March — just like everything else in basketball — it is muscle memory.

“I just wanted something quick and simple just so I wouldn’t forget it,” Maddy McDaniel told GamecockScoop. “We just hit hands two times and lock fingers.”

Binetti has become something of an off-court celebrity within South Carolina’s dynasty. Her workouts with South Carolina’s assistant coaches hit Dawn Staley’s twitter timeline every game morning. The phrase “Body by Binetti” has evolved into a calling card for Gamecock fans any time a player grabs a physical rebound, out-muscles an opponent down low or makes a play through traffic.

In a lot of ways, she is the strength behind the scenes for the Gamecock machine.

South Carolina will start its run towards a fourth National Championship — and third since Binetti joined the program — on Friday with its NCAA Tournament opener at Colonial Life Arena against Tennessee Tech. This time of year is exactly why Binetti is so tough in the weight room and famous for her training. Playing into April is grueling, and requires the depth and stamina of an elite team to survive.

But when you have a personal relationship with your strength coach? That makes everything easier.

“When we first got here she told us to get a little handshake with her,” Raven Johnson told GamecockScoop. “I don’t even know how she remembers everybody’s handshake. It just kind of describes our connection with her, honestly.”

Sure enough, she’ll be right where she always is during pre-game stretches. Counting down to tip-off one handshake at a time.

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