Destanni Henderson has seen almost everything in her Gamecock career, and she knows how important the right chemistry is this season.

Henderson came to South Carolina as a McDonald’s All-American, the sixth-ranked recruit, and top-ranked point guard in her class. But almost immediately, there were challenges. Junior Tyasha Harris, who started as a freshman on the 2017 national championship team, was entrenched as the starter. Henderson changed positions, playing off the ball, and was a part-time starter as a freshman. She made the adjustment and became one of South Carolina’s most reliable shooters and was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. She was a bright spot on an otherwise disappointing, and often dysfunctional, team

After significant departures at the position in the offseason, Henderson was expected to be the full-time starter as a sophomore. But the freshman class that included Zia Cooke, Brea Beal, and Aliyah Boston, had other ideas. They were too good to keep off the court. Henderson started the exhibition as part of a small-ball, three-guard lineup, but it was clear that the best lineup had the defensive specialist Beal in the starting lineup and Henderson coming off the bench.

Henderson agreed to that role for the good of the team. She never hid the fact that she wasn’t happy coming off the bench, but she put the team first and did her job. The arrangement suited everyone, even if she didn’t like it: the Gamecocks dominated the competition and finished the season as the consensus top team, while Henderson was named to the SEC All-Tournament team.

Henderson finally became a full-time starter last season, back at her original position of point guard. She led the SEC in assists, had the third-best three point shooting season in program history, was once again named to the all-tournament team, and was extraordinary in the Final Four loss to Stanford.

And yet once again she finds herself having to fend off talented freshmen. Fans are already clamoring for freshman Raven Johnson to replace Henderson. She’s heard the noise, but hasn’t let it bother her. She’s been through it before, on both sides.

“No matter what, if I was to sit down, I would be the same person I am today,” Henderson said. “I’ve been in that position. I’ve been a starter in high school coming in, not starting, being a potential starter with a freshman starting over me. It’s nothing to me. I just keep my composure, stick to character. No matter what, if she comes out and gets the job done, she gets the job done. That’s all that matters.”

Henderson wasn’t addressing her teammates when she said that, but they would be wise to listen to her anyway. There will be some very talented, very highly-recruited players that will spend a lot of time on the bench this season.

Just moments before, Henderson had marveled at the Gamecocks’ roster, which returns every player from last season’s Final Four team, adds one of the top-ranked transfers, and the top-ranked recruiting class.

“It’s so much,” Henderson said. “We have like three starting fives. We have so much to build and a lot of youngsters as well. It makes us want to work harder and push each other every day in practice.”

But Henderson knows the potential pitfalls. The team she played on as a freshman in 2018-19 didn’t quite have three starting fives, but it did go twelve or thirteen players deep, with player ten nearly as talented as player one, and that led to the dysfunction. The starting lineup was constantly in flux - ten different players started at least two games and nobody started every game. There was a noticeable disconnect between players and coaches and between teammates.

Following A’ja Wilson’s graduation, that team wasn’t expected to compete for a Final Four, but it also wasn’t expected to nearly drop out of the top 25. This season is different. It may not be a national title or bust for the Gamecocks, but it is pretty close. Henderson knows it, and she also knows what can go wrong.

“We know we have a great team this season,” she said. “More than what we used to, everyone on this team contributes and does their job. We’re going to pour into each other. Just as much as we can be a great team, we can make bad mistakes too. We’ve got to build that team chemistry.”

They have three more weeks to work on it.