SOUTH CAROLINA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Heading into the season-opener, I have a few observations from the exhibition, plus a recruiting update.

- The freshmen lived up to the hype. Zia Cooke and Aliyah Boston started, and more than held their own. Cooke led all scorers with 18 points, and Boston dominated in almost every facet, with 11 points, eight rebounds, five blocks, two assists, and two steals. Both had freshman moments, such as when Cooke tried to do too much or Boston rushed some shots, but that will work itself out. Brea Beal came off the bench and displayed a smooth athleticism in the open court. Dawn Staley said that Beal has embraced her reserve role, which means a lot for team chemistry, since not everyone can start. Beal has the versatility to play guard or forward, and if she can be a plug-and-play type of athlete off the bench it gives Staley options.

- Cooke is nominally a point guard, but it sounds like Staley is going to play her off the ball to take advantage of her scoring ability. That makes sense, since it also opens minutes for Destanni Henderson. Staley said Cooke has to remember that she has help now.

“I thought she attacked the rim and I thought she was a great defender,” Staley said. “The evolution of Zia is that she goes into Rogers High School moments, where she’s the person. After a few film sessions we talked about breaking down film and seeing where she can be impactful not just with the ball in her hand, but without the ball.”

- I’ve been comparing Boston to Alaina Coates since the summer, and she did nothing to dispel those comparisons. If anything, she is more athletic and skilled outside the paint than Coates. One thing to watch is Boston’s conditioning. How is she going to hold up when the opponents are closer to her size? It’s something a lot of freshmen in the SEC struggle with.

“Aliyah was rushed a little bit,” Staley said. “She’s not used to having this much room. She’s not used to having one-on-one coverage. Sometimes that makes you rushed.”

- The defensive effort, especially from the freshmen, was outstanding. Now, the effort sometimes had them running the wrong way, but that is fixable. Cooke’s on-ball defense was outstanding. Boston blocked five shots, and was able to step away from the basket and defend. Beal and junior Lele Grissett were rangy defenders on the perimeter who were able to create turnovers. Staley was concerned about the team defense, however, and it was easy to see why.

South Carolina experimented with a full-court press, and it was actually less effective at creating turnovers than the individual defense. Rotations and communication need work, as does recognizing what opponents are trying to accomplish.

“I like the fact that we have a whole lot of potential with the players that we have on the floor,” Staley said.

- Continue to keep an eye on the rebounding. We knew coming into the season it would be a question mark, and after the exhibition I think it’s still a question mark. The Gamecocks outrebounded the Nighthawks 49-31, but they should dominate the glass against an overmatched opponent. We probably won’t get a good feel for how good the Gamecocks are at rebounding against Alabama State either, so Maryland next weekend will be the first real indicator.

- South Carolina was just 2-12 from three, but that statistic needs a little more explaining. It was 1-6 in the first three quarters, and then 1-6 in the fourth quarter when it was garbage time, so I’m only looking at the first three quarters. On one hand, only one made three-pointer isn’t a good thing. But the flip side is, the shot selection was good. South Carolina only took open shots, and it played inside out. They aren’t going to throw up 20-something threes per game like last season, and that’s okay.

“We wanted to shoot a lot of threes last year because we didn’t have as many post players, but now we have post players,” Staley said. “We have guards who are explosive, we’ve got post players who can shoot in the upper 50s from the floor so we have to find balance.”

- The free throw shooting was just okay. South Carolina finished the game 24-33 (72.7 percent), but it had to go 9-10 in the fourth quarter to get there. Take that away, and South Carolina was just 15-23 (65.2 percent) through three quarters. Again, not terrible, but definitely not good, just okay. South Carolina is probably going to take a lot of free throws this season, with Boston in the post and Cooke penetrating, so it will need to take advantage of those shots.

- Turning off the court for a bit, the recruiting season is nearing the end of the line. Only ten of ESPN’s top 50 prospects have not yet committed, and South Carolina has yet to secure a commitment. However, South Carolina is among the finalists for four of the remaining recruits. Those are post Kamilla Cardoso (5), point guard Diamond Johnson (6), wing Treasure Hunt (28), and guard Eniya Russell (43). On Saturday, Hunt posted a video on social media with the date “11-4-19” and nothing else, teasing her commitment date. She later listed her finalists: South Carolina, Auburn, Baylor, and Kentucky. Those were four of the official visits she took, plus a fifth to Mississippi State. Hunt took her official visit to South Carolina the weekend of September 13.