Just 41 days out from the season-opener against Michigan and 21 days away from a pre-season exhibition at Memphis, South Carolina women’s basketball is back on the practice floor. The Gamecocks are coming off a 38-0 season and their third National Championship since 2017, returning everyone off last year’s roster except for starting center Kamilla Cardoso.

Head coach Dawn Staley met with the media for the first time on Tuesday afternoon to start fall practice, and hit on a few key points surrounding her team as it ramps up towards its title defense.

The elephant in the room was Ashlyn Watkins, and specifically her status leading into the season. The junior forward was arrested on Aug. 31 for first-degree assault and kidnapping, and is still suspended from team activities after being released on a bond. Watkins was not present with the team at the White House for its National Championship celebration two weeks ago, and her first court appearance is set for Oct. 25.

“The status is still the same,” Staley said. “Nothing has moved yet. We’re not going to move until the situation changes.”

There is a 6-foot-7 sized hole in the middle of South Carolina’s lineup. Cardoso was a staple for the Gamecocks the last three years, particularly last season when she averaged 14.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game after elevating into the starting lineup.

What will Staley do for frontcourt minutes? She still has options between Chloe Kitts and Sania Feagin returning, freshmen Adhel Tac and Joyce Edwards and potentially Watkins down the line. But no sure things, and nobody as dominant as Cardoso.

At least not yet.

“We’ve had go-to post players for the past 10 years,” Staley said. “I don’t necessarily think we have that right now. We’ve got some younger players that have some potential to be, but they haven’t had enough experience in practice or in games to really deem them that. We don’t want to put that on them. I think collectively, we’ve got incredible talent, so for right now it’s just going to have to be a collective effort.”

What comes next for MiLaysia Fulwiley? The sophomore point guard took the nation by storm last season with dazzling moves and flashy play, directing traffic for Staley’s offense when Raven Johnson was off the floor.

For Staley, it is about developing the mental side as much as it is the physical tools. So far, so good on that front.

“I think MiLaysia knows she has to grow, she has to bring something different to it. And she has. From a maturity standpoint practices are a lot different than when she first started. Like she takes it a lot more serious, and that’s what you want in a young player. I hope it transitions into some great things happening out there on the court just in a more consistent way.”

As for the players who are in the situation Fulwiley was at this time last year, South Carolina has three players yet to take the court in college basketball. Tac was technically part of the team as an early enrollee last year while she recovered from a knee injury, but she is a freshman along with her postmate Edwards and guard Maddy McDaniel.

“We call Maddy ‘mouse’ because she’s quiet,” Staley quipped. “She’s having such a good time.”

Edwards was the highest-rated player of the group, coming in as the No. 2 overall recruit in her class and arriving as another in-state product from up the road in Camden. The 2023 Gatorade Player of the Year comes in at 6-foot-3 and already projects to make an immediate impact.

“It seems like Joyce has been a part of our program for a long time because she’s a South Carolinian,” Staley said.

One of the eyebrow-raisers from South Carolina’s schedule is its exhibition trip to Memphis. Not only is it a pre-season game when the Gamecocks were originally scheduled to play a regular season game in Memphis as the other end of a home-and-home series, but the date falls on Oct. 15. This is nearly two full weeks before the Gamecocks will play their home exhibition against Division II Clayton State and almost three out from the season-opener, much sooner than almost anyone else plays exhibition games.

“We really didn’t have any room to return to Memphis,” Staley explained. “Their coaching staff was kind enough to agree. It’s an NIL game for us, it’s an opportunity for us to create a revenue source in that space. But also to represent the sponsor, which is St. Jude.”

The game is officially part of the St. Jude’s Tip-Off Classic, a doubleheader where Memphis men’s basketball will take on North Carolina before its women’s team faces the Gamecocks. All of the proceeds from the games will go towards the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

Former Gamecock A’ja Wilson captured her third WNBA MVP earlier in the week, an inevitable outcome to arguably the greatest individual season in league history. Wilson became the first WNBA player ever to score over 1,000 points in a regular season, averaging 26.9 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 2.3 assists per game to win the award in a unanimous vote.

“It’s not often that you see great players get better,” Staley said. “It’s not often. Only the one percenters really get better in their greatness. Probably a lot to do with it was her not winning MVP last year, so that’s one way to move it. And to do it in unanimous fashion is such an A’ja Wilson type of thing to do. I’m happy for her."

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