WBB: Practice Begins for the Four Birdies
The Gamecocks began summer workouts Wednesday and South Carolina’s celebrated freshmen got their first taste of college basketball.
The four freshmen have been on campus for a little over a week. Sania Feagin, Bree Hall, and Saniya Rivers arrived the weekend of June 14, and Raven Johnson arrived on June 15. They did normal freshman things, decorating their rooms and going to orientation. That might have been the last normal thing they did.
The expectations for the four freshmen are sky-high, not just because they are talented, but because they join one of the most visible programs in the sport. When most freshmen meet their teammates, a third of the team isn’t missing, off competing in the AmeriCup tournament (coaches Dawn Staley and Lisa Boyer, and players Laeticia Amihere, Aliyah Boston, Kamilla Cardoso, and Destanni Henderson). Of course, as Staley has said, a lot of freshmen don't want to face that competition.
“What’s similar is that class, 2019, and this class, 2021, they all knew what they were signing up for,” Staley said in April. “They knew we were talented, they knew we were on the brink of winning a national championship. That’s what they signed up for. What we’ll have to do is just make sure that it’s always in the forefront. This is what we signed up for.”
Staley said communication is the key. The freshmen haven’t been promised anything, and with so many talented players competing for minutes, there could be some hurt feelings over playing time they have to work through.
“We’ll definitely have to do a lot of talking, we’ll definitely have to make sure everybody is happy and create an atmosphere of communication so we’re not left assuming,” she said. “We don’t like to assume anything. We’ll nag you before we assume that something is going on.”
Wednesday began with a weightlifting session, followed by a morning practice. The entire team and coaching staff won’t be together very often this summer. Staley will be with the USA Olympic team in Las Vegas and then Tokyo for much of July. Amihere is a finalist for the Canadian Olympic team and will be in training camp in Tampa. Feagin will be with the USA U19 team in August. Again, it’s not the norm, but it’s what they all signed up for and part of the appeal of playing for South Carolina.
“Our staff has been together for a long time,” Staley said. “We’re like a fine-oiled machine.”
The AmeriCup tournament provided a glimpse of what practice will be like. Cardoso’s Brazilian team played both Canada and the USA, and she went head-to-head with Amihere and Boston. Gamecock practices won’t be much different. Henderson vs Johnson, Brea Beal vs Rivers, Zia Cooke vs Hall, Amihere vs Feagin. Practice scrimmages might be more competitive than a lot of games.
“I can’t wait,” Staley said in April. “I do think the 2021 class will have an impact on practice from a competitive standpoint just like 2019 had a huge impact on every day. For Ty and Kiki, being seniors, they knew the routine. When you know the routine, you can kind of get lax. The 2019 freshmen did not let anybody relax. They wanted it. I do feel like 2021 will have the same feel because the youngsters are grown up now.”
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