Now that South Carolina’s four 2021 birdies all have names, the class is effectively done. That means we can start looking into more detail about how they project as Gamecocks.
The Birdies:
Saniya Rivers 6-0 Guard (#3 overall/#2 guard)
Accolades:
2020 - NCBCA 1st-team All-State in 2020; AP All-State in 2020; Gatorade State Player of the Year
2019 - USA Today North Carolina Player of the Year, AP North Carolina Co-Player-of-the-Year; Gatorade State Player of the Year
2018 - NCBCA 2nd-team All-State
ESPN scouting report: Dynamic back court performer manufactures, drives and delivers with results; rises on jumper in mid-range game to the arc; explosive off the dribble, finishes plays in traffic; continues as an elite prospect in the class of 2021.
Analysis:
The one player the Gamecocks have had trouble signing has been a big guard who can score off the dribble. They haven’t really had that type of player since Tiffany Mitchell. Rivers and Hall give the Gamecocks two such players, with Rivers comparing favorably to Mitchell. Mitchell was nearly unstoppable in the open court thanks to her Euro-step, and she added to that with exceptional three-point shooting (40% for her career and 54% as a sophomore) and free throw-shooting (77% for her career). Right now, Rivers is not as good a shooter as Mitchell (she has shot around 30% from three and 70% from the line in her high school career), and she will need to improve from behind the arc to open up the rest of her game.
Sania Feagin 6-4 Forward (#6 overall/#2 forward)
Accolades:
2020 - Georgia Gatorade Player-of-the-Year; Finalist for USA Today Atlanta Girls Athlete of the Year; Finalist for USA Today Atlanta Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
2019 - AJC 2nd-team AAAAAA All-State.
2018 - AJC Honorable-Mention AAAAAA All-State.
ESPN scouting report:
Ultra-athletic hybrid-4 cleans the glass, rebounds and handles coast-to-coast in transition game; bouncy, quick-leaper, elevates over defenders and finishes plays in the paint; emerging perimeter game to the arc; an impact prospect in the class of 2021.
Analysis:
Feagin identifies herself as a big guard, but I think she has outgrown that. If you remember, A’ja Wilson considered herself a guard in high school but ended up an all-timer as a power forward. I’m not sure Feagin will do the same - she can finish around the rim and rebound, but it probably depends on how much muscle she can put on (Wilson added a bunch of muscle weight the summer before her freshman season). Even if Feagin doesn’t get stronger the alternative is pretty good, and that is what gives her so much upside. With her combination of size, shooting, and ball-handling ability, Feagin is already an ideal fit as a stretch four like Mikiah Herbert Harrigan. A pick and roll combo featuring Rivers (or Zia Cooke) and Feagin sounds pretty exciting.
Raven “Hollywood” Johnson 5-9 Point Guard (#13 overall/#2 point guard)
Accolades:
2020 - GACA AAAAAAA South Player of the Year; Atlanta Tip-Off Club Miss Georgia Basketball; AJC AAAAAAA Player of the Year; USA Today Atlanta Girls Athlete of the Year; USA Today Atlanta Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
2019 - AJC AAAAAAA Player of the Year.
2018 - AJC Honorable-Mention AAAAAAA All-State
ESPN scouting report:
Athletic floor-leader with confident, poised back court game, directs in half-court set; consistent offensive weaponry delivers results; superb in mid-range game, keeps the defense honest beyond the arc; distributes with accuracy in uptempo game; a coveted playmaker in the class of 2021.
Analysis:
If you are going to have the nickname “Hollywood” you’d better have some swag to back it up. Johnson has the shooting ability to do it (over 60% from the field for her high school career and 40% from three, including 46% as a junior), but it is her ability as a distributor that comes up in all the scouting reports. Johnson will benefit from getting a year of tutoring behind Destanni Henderson and Zia Cooke, but she’ll play as a freshman. Johnson is a true point guard, but if she can shoot like that in college there will be room for her at either guard spot, much like Henderson as a freshman.
Aubryanna “Bree” Hall 6-0 Guard (#26 overall/#10 guard)
Accolades:
2020 - OPSWA 2nd-team Division I Ohio
ESPN scouting report:
Athletic big-guard rises on jumper in mid-range game and delivers; defends, traps in pressure, converts plays from turnovers; emerging offensive game to the arc is key to next level impact; back court size, versatility brings power-5 interest.
Analysis:
I could definitely see Hall’s ranking rising over the next year. Like Rivers, Hall is a big, athletic guard. She’s regarded as a little more raw than Rivers, yet as a junior Hall averaged 21.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game while shooting over 50% from the field and just under 40% from three. If nothing else, that means Hall could fit right in as a three-and-D type player. But that is probably the floor for Hall, and the ceiling is much higher.
Overall analysis
In all likelihood this class is done. South Carolina still has two open scholarships, but Dawn Staley has never carried a full roster and 14 this is already the biggest roster she has had since 2014-15. Plus, as I discuss in a bit, the playing time is already accounted for. As it is, this is a really, really strong class that, depending on what else happens (UConn is putting together a really good class too), should contend for the top overall class. The four players are not only talented, they bring reinforcements at all three levels.
South Carolina gets size and athleticism for the front line with Feagin (although it is clear that signing a post player for 2022 is a must), and a point guard in Johnson. Rivers and Hall double up at the guard position, but with their size the Gamecocks could comfortably go to a three-guard lineup with one or the other as the small forward. Incoming freshman Eniya Russell is another 6-0 guard who could potentially play three positions.
Looking at the 2021-22 Roster:
Post: Victaria Saxton (Sr), Aliyah Boston (Jr)
Forward: Elysa Wesolek (Sr), Laeticia Amihere (R Jr), Brea Beal (Jr), Sania Feagin (Fr)
Guard: Destiny Littleton (Sr), Eniya Russell (So), Saniya Rivers (Fr), Bree Hall (Fr), Olivia Thompson (Jr, Walk-on)
Point guard: Destanni Henderson (Sr), Zia Cooke (Jr), Raven Johnson (Fr)
A lot could (and probably will) change in the next 16 months or so before this season starts. Rivers, Feagin, Johnson and Hall are still growing and refining their games, plus that first summer in the South Carolina weight room can make a big difference.
Finding enough playing time to go around will be a pleasant problem. As good as they are, it’s easy to envision a lineup where none of the four freshmen start. Boston and Saxton are set as the starter and backup at center. Amihere and Beal will have a three year head start at the forward spots, and it’s a hard sell to put Henderson or Cooke in a reserve role. What is more likely is early substitutions like we saw on the 2015 Final Four team, when the starting five wasn’t the finishing five, and Dawn Staley kept everyone’s minutes low. Also like that team, you’ve got several players who can play multiple positions based on matchups. We also saw some of it last season with Beal and Boston, who got a lot of rest so that they stayed fresh.
Also, the truth of the matter is that there will almost certainly be some attrition somehow. Somebody will decide to go somewhere else (as Staley has said before, “We signed ‘em, now we’ve got to keep ‘em here.”), or somebody will get hurt, or somebody won’t be as good as expected. Only time will tell.
