The Gamecocks are the AP’s preseason #1, plus watch list updates, recruiting news, and more are in today's notebook.
- The preseason AP top 25 was released Tuesday and for the first time in program history the Gamecocks were the preseason #1 team. South Carolina got 29 of 30 first place votes. Second-place Stanford got the only other first place vote. The Gamecocks also finished last season as the #1 team, which was also a program first. They spent a nation-leading ten weeks at the top spot to finish last season. In all, the Gamecocks have spent 23 weeks ranked #1.
The SEC, Pac-12, and Big ten each placed five teams in the Top 25, but the SEC’s were all in the top 15, the Pac-12’s teams were in the top 20, and the highest-ranked Big Ten team was Maryland at 12. The other SEC teams are Mississippi State (6), Kentucky (11), Texas A&M (13), and Arkansas (14), with Tennessee outside the top 25 with one vote. Other South Carolina opponents include UConn (3), NC State (8), Iowa State (15), and Gonzaga (21), plus South Dakota outside the top 25 at 27th.
Find the entire poll here.
- The Naismith National High School Player of the Year Watch List was also released Tuesday. All four of South Carolina’s class of 2021 commits, Raven Johnson, Saniya Rivers, Sania Feagin, and Bree Hall, made the list. UConn was the only other program with four commits on the Watch List (although there are also 11 undeclared players on the list, so that will change).
- The Basketball hall of Fame has begun releasing its positional award watch lists. No Gamecocks made the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Watch List, but Zia Cooke made the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard Watch List. The rest of the watch lists, for the Cheryl Miller Small Forward, Katrina McClain Power Forward, and Lisa Leslie Center, will be announced in the coming days. Aliyah Boston is the reigning Lisa Leslie Award winner, so she should make the watch list. A’ja Wilson also won the Lisa Leslie Award in 2018.
There will be plenty of additional watch lists released in the next two weeks.
- For those who are interested, Azzi Fudd, the top-ranked player in the 2021 class, will announce her decision Wednesday morning on ESPN Instagram. Fudd has not announced a list of favorites, but expect her to commit to an 11-letter school when she announces at 11 am on 11/11.
- Another non-Gamecock of note will announce her decision this week. Forward Jillian Hollingshead, who was at one point rumored to be one of Staley’s four little birds, will announce on Saturday. Like Fudd, Hollingshead has not revealed a list of finalists. Fudd and Hollingshead are the only two uncommitted prospects in the top 75.
- Recruiting for 2022 continues. Eleventh-ranked Nyla Harris, a forward out of Florida, announced her top five recently. Her top five is Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina, NC State, and Georgia Tech. Dawn Staley extended an offer to Harris in 2018, before anyone else, saying she wanted her to remember who was first. Apparently Harris preferred to play in the ACC, or was concerned about a potential roster crunch at South Carolina (South Carolina is also recruiting 2022 frontcourt players Lauren Betts, Maya Nnaji, and Ashlyn Watkins).
- Another 2022 frontcourt target, Shay Bollin recently committed to Duke, becoming Kara Lawson’s first commit. At the risk of reading too much into things - South Carolina needs a post in 2022, and with Harris and Bollin passing it could be interpreted as an indication that South Carolina is in good shape with some combination of Betts, Nnaji, and Watkins.
- Just before signing day, Raven Johnson was hit with some tragic news. Her principal at Westlake High in Atlanta, Jamar Robinson, and his wife died in a drowning accident while vacationing in Puerto Rico. On social media, Johnson said that Robinson was one of her team’s biggest supporters and dedicated the upcoming season to him.
- Lastly, the pandemic has led to another gameday change at Colonial Life Arena. DJ Puff will not DJ at games this season.
