WBB: Five Questions as team workouts start

South Carolina has begun full-team, on-court workouts with coaches this week. The Gamecocks will likely be the preseason number one, but there are still questions that need to be answered over the next three months.

The biggest question, the one that hangs over everything else, is whether there will even be a season and what it will look like. Nobody has the answer to that, so for now the Gamecocks, like every other team, are proceeding as if the season will be normal.

Now, on to the questions:

1. Who is in basketball shape?

Blame the pandemic, not the players. They were able to work out on their own, and have been in the weight room since mid-July. But neither is a substitute for playing basketball, and the pandemic prevented that for a long time. With South Carolina’s campus closed and players sent home, they had different levels of access to gyms and courts, based on local regulations. The next couple of weeks will be about getting everyone back in shape.

2. Who is PG1?

For three-and-a-half years, you didn’t have to worry about the point guard. Tyasha Harris was able to keep the Gamecocks calm and organized on both ends of the court. She was clutch, whether it was rebounds and free throws in the title run as a freshman, or scoring the come-from-behind win over Mississippi State as a senior. But now she’s doing those things in the WNBA, and the Gamecocks need a new point guard. Will it be Destanni Henderson, who was the backup last season and finished second on the team in assists? Or will it be Zia Cooke, who came in as a point guard but as a freshman started as the off-guard and established herself as an explosive scorer?

There’s not really a bad choice, but the key will be hitting on the right chemistry. Henderson has paid her dues and accepted the reserve role last season even though she wasn’t happy about it. She probably gets the nod, but how will she handle the responsibility? Harris was famous for being a coach on the floor, sometimes making Dawn Staley’s calls before Staley herself. Henderson hasn’t had to shoulder that responsibility yet.

3./4. What can the Gamecocks expect from Destiny Littleton and Eniya Russell?

It’s unlikely that Littleton or Russell factors into the point guard rotation, but what they offer could have an effect, and they will certainly be expected to contribute at the other guard spot.

Littleton is the all-time leading scorer in California high school basketball history. But at Texas she averaged just 2.1 points in eight games as a freshman before redshirting, and 8.4 points on 32% shooting from three as a sophomore. After the NCAA’s random waiver generator denied Littleton a chance to play last season, she had surgery on both ankles and was confined to a wheelchair for a while. Then the pandemic hit and Littleton had to return to San Diego and rehab on her own, without the team doctors (they were still able to consult remotely, but that isn’t the same).

Short version: Nobody knows what Littleton will be able to contribute this season. Will she be the same player she was at Texas, when the nagging ankle injuries began and she was part of a program in disarray? Or will the change of scenery and clean bill of health allow her to recapture her high school performance? Will she even be at full strength when the season begins?

The questions surrounding Russell are less dramatic, although like Littleton the pandemic cost her time with the Gamecock staff. The questions are more of the typical freshman questions. Scouting reports on Russell have been all over the place. ESPN ranked her as only the 43rd best prospect, but she was selected to the McDonald’s All-America Game, and obviously the Gamecocks thought enough of her to make her the only signee in the class. At 6-0, she is the only guard on the roster over 5-9. She was listed as a point guard in high school, and could conceivably be the third point guard, but Russell is going to focus on playing off the ball as a freshman. That fits with Staley’s penchant for breaking in freshmen point guards as off-guards, but there is a good chance that is Russell’s permanent position. What we do know is that Russell is a willing defender, athletic, and capable three-point shooter. Think Doniyah Cliney but perhaps with a better shot.

5. Who replaces Mad Kiki?

Short answer: nobody. Mikiah Herbert Harrigan did so many different things last season, from three-point shooting, shot-blocking, emotional sparks, and hitting approximately 999 of 1,000 baseline jumpers. Cooke, with her spectacular plays and the mini-flex that follows, probably becomes the emotional spark plug. Most likely, either Laeticia Amihere or Brea Beal will move into Herbert Harrigan’s starting spot, but they won’t be playing the same style. Amihere, who backed up Herbert Harrigan last season, is more like Herbert Harrigan, but not as good a shooter. Beal is more of a slashing, perimeter player who could open up the court. Knowing there are only so many shots to go around, she sacrificed her offense last season to focus on defense, but with more scoring opportunities Beal could be looking at a breakout season at either forward spot.