South Carolina travels to Vanderbilt Thursday night.

Destanni Henderson faced an almost impossible task this season: replace the best point guard in program history while playing for arguably the best point guard in the history of her sport. The first couple of weeks were a bit of a roller coaster. She averaged 21 points and six rebounds in the two games in Sioux Falls, but went 1-13 against NC State and South Carolina was glaringly disorganized, not a good reflection on a point guard. She was also caught between trying to do what Tyasha Harris had done and just being herself.

Henderson started to settle over the three games before Christmas. She started to find the balance between being a distributor and a scorer. In the first game after the break Henderson shot just 1-7 against Florida, but she grabbed seven rebounds and set a new career-high with nine assists. It was a positive sign that she didn’t let the missed shots affect the rest of her game.

“My role is to keep everybody organized in transition, to push the ball, use strength, which is my speed,” Henderson said. “It opens a lot of things for our team. If I’m going hard and I’m going fast, that picks up with the other players on the team, they’ll follow suit.”

That speed. Dawn Staley said Henderson might be the fastest player in the SEC. Kentucky’s Kyra Elzy didn’t protest. An assistant coach with the Boston Celtics texted Staley and said he needed Henderson on the Celtics because the way she can push tempo is “unreal.”

In the last two games Henderson seems to have put it all together. She had 20 points, eight rebounds, and five assists against Alabama and 22 points, eight rebounds, and three assists against Kentucky. She has played fast but under control. Against Alabama it meant getting into the offense before the Crimson Tide could set up their zone. Against Kentucky, it just meant getting to the rim as fast as she could, and she was so quick she scored transition layups off made baskets.

“She’s extremely athletic. She’s got elite athleticism in her quickness,” Staley said. “When the ball’s in her hands she puts, even us, her teammates, on the back of their heels. We are screaming to Zia (Cooke) and Brea (Beal) and LeLe (Grissett) to get out in front of the ball.”

One of the reasons Henderson is so good at creating fast break opportunities is that she rebounds exceptionally well for a point guard, especially one who is 5-7. She is averaging 6.1 rebounds per game, fourth on the team but just one behind Laeticia Amihere and five behind Victaria Saxton (Aliyah Boston averages a team-high 10.7). Henderson said her teammates do the dirty work while she chases the ball.

“A lot of times the offense doesn’t crash the boards so defensively that’s when I get my time to rebound,” Henderson said. “Because our post players are in the paint battling each other they’re boxing out their player which gives me the ability to rebound the basketball.”

Henderson’s play has gotten her noticed. Earlier this week ESPN named her the 25th best player in the country. Staley said she is playing the best basketball of her career and understanding what the Gamecocks need from her.

2. Transition Offense

Henderson’s ability in transition has been crucial. Staley said multiple times Wednesday that if not for South Carolina’s transition game, Kentucky would have won.

The Gamecock fast break looks different than it did last season. Then it was long passes and limited dribbling. This year there is a lot more dribbling. With Harris running things, the norm on the break was to get her the ball and then run. Without her, it’s just run. Henderson is the centerpiece due to her speed, but mostly the concept is whoever gets the ball leads the break, whether it’s Cooke or Boston, Henderson or Amihere.

“I just told our team that 41% of our offense was transition, we pushed the ball,” Staley said. “If that didn’t take place I don’t think we win that game because our half court offense was not as sharp as it needed to be.”

3. Talking About Practice (Guys)

Behind the scenes the Gamecocks have gotten a couple of big pieces back. Two of the practice guys have returned, with the rest currently in COVID protocol waiting for all the tests to come back negative. The practice players are basically the scout team, simulating the upcoming opponent. That allows the players to focus on their roles while also reducing wear and tear.

South Carolina normally does not have practice players over Christmas break (Staley said she kind of likes it that way because the extra work forces players back into shape more quickly after Christmas). This season the break was extended because of the testing protocols that require the practice players to isolate and be tested before they can practice. Practice players have probably never been more appreciated than this season, when teams have had to go without practice players for long stretches or completely, depending on differing rules.

Having to play the scout team takes a toll on players, Staley said. She praised the practice players for their commitment, competitive nature, and ability to simulate opponents. She noted that they often watch more film on upcoming opponents than the players.

“They have been an integral part of our success,” Staley said. “They are probably, outside of just our team, the single most important piece of us being able to execute what we want to do because they are usually spot on in playing our opponents.”

And yet, they are almost entirely anonymous. I realized while writing this I have never even heard their names.

4. Notebook Time

In case you missed it, I posted a notebook yesterday. Here it is again:

WBB: January Notebook

5. Scouting the Commodores

Vanderbilt has to be looking at South Carolina with envy. South Carolina missed one game with a false positive test, while arguably no team in the SEC has been hurt by the coronavirus pandemic more than Vanderbilt. They’ve had more games canceled or postponed (seven) than they’ve played (six), and reserve guard Demi Washington was diagnosed with myocarditis following a COVID-19 positive case and lost for the season. Vanderbilt finally played its first SEC game on Sunday, an 80-56 loss to Alabama.

It’s a frustrating season for a program that thought this would be the season it turned the corner.

Vanderbilt scores well, but has given up almost as much as it has scored. Koi Love is putting up big numbers - 19.3 points and 9.8 rebounds. She leads five players in double figures, including Brinae Alexander. Alexander was Vanderbilt’s leading scorer last season before a season-ending injury, and she is still working her way back and trying to rediscover her shooting touch.

Outside of Love, Vanderbilt is not a strong rebounding team, which does not bode well against South Carolina, which leads the SEC and is third in the nation in rebounding margin.

The Ws

Who: #5 South Carolina (8-1, 3-0) at Vanderbilt (4-2, 0-1)

When: Thursday, January 14, 8:00 pm

Where: Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, TN

Watch: SEC Network+