SOUTH CAROLINA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

What was supposed to be a big recruiting weekend for the Gamecocks took a couple of surprise turns.

Angel Reese, the nation’s second-ranked prospect, was supposed to take her fifth and final visit to South Carolina this past weekend. However, she canceled the visit while narrowing her final schools to three: Maryland, Southern Cal, and Syracuse. Reese also eliminated Tennessee. I reached out to Reese to ask about canceling her visit, but she has declined to say anything, and has gone largely silent on social media.

(Edit: After this story was posted Reese said she will announce her decision on November 1.)

However, the Gamecocks did host an unexpected visitor: point guard Diamond Johnson from Philadelphia. Johnson, at 5-5, is the sixth-ranked player according to ESPN and third-ranked point guard. Johnson was not previously known to be interested in South Carolina. She also made visits to NC State, Boston College, and Rutgers, with a visit to Virginia, where she grew up before moving to Philadelphia in 2018, scheduled later in October.

There is a connection to South Carolina for Johnson - the opportunity to play for another Philadelphia point guard, Dawn Staley. As perhaps the best point guard ever, Staley has an obvious pull with point guards. And despite having two highly-rated guards already in Columbia in sophomore Destanni Henderson and freshman Zia Cooke, Staley loses senior Tyasha Harris and needs another point guard for depth.

Looking ahead, there is finally a date for Kamilla Cardoso’s visit. The 6-6 post from Tennessee will visit Columbia the weekend of October 25. She has already taken visits to Ohio State and Mississippi State, with planned visits to Syracuse and Connecticut also on the table. According to ESPN, Cardoso needs to improve her test scores to become eligible, but Staley has shown a willingness to work will prospects with shaky academics. Doniyah Cliney was a partial qualifier who turned into a major contributor and ended up graduating.

(Side note: I have also seen Cardoso's name spelled "Cardosa," but she spells it with an "o" at the end, so I'm going with that.)

Cardoso’s high school teammate Treasure Hunt still has visits to Mississippi State and Kentucky planned. She took her first visit to South Carolina, and then visited Auburn and Baylor. Eniya Russell, a 6-0 guard, has visited Indiana, Kentucky and South Carolina. She listed Miami and Georgetown as her other two finalists, but has not declared a date to visit them.