Things have been fairly quiet for the Gamecocks, so let’s take a look around the rest of the SEC.

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Published Aug 19, 2020

WBB: SEC Notebook (Part1)

Chris Wellbaum • GamecockScoop

Staff Writer

@ChrisWellbaum

Things have been fairly quiet for the Gamecocks, so let’s take a look around the rest of the SEC.

South Carolina

- South Carolina hasn’t had media availability since players returned to campus, but Dawn Staley did talk to ESPN’s Mechelle Voepel this week. You can read that story here.

In it, Staley said she does not expect the season to start on time, with a mid-September target to make a decision. She also talked about a possible Team USA bubble in Columbia ahead of next year’s Olympics.

- Otherwise, no news is good news for the Gamecocks. No injuries or positive coronavirus tests and everyone expects to play.

Florida

- Florida’s program has been a mess for a while. Amanda Butler’s final years were plagued by injuries, legal problems for players, and other departures. Going into his fourth season, Cam Newbauer is starting to find some stability, although there is still a talent gap he has to overcome.

- It happened in near anonymity last season, but guard Lavender Briggs averaged 15.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists as a freshman last season. She led the SEC in minutes played and was the second-highest scoring freshman, just behind Rickea Jackson (15.1 points). Florida has added the 31th-ranked player in 2020, forward Jordyn Merritt, and 6-4 Dutch forward Floor Toonders for this season.

Georgia

- The Gamecocks’ recent success recruiting the state of Georgia has been a blow to the Bulldogs. Raven Johnson was considered by some a must-have recruit for the Bulldogs, only to commit to the Gamecocks. Combined with Nell Fortner’s early success both on the court and in recruiting at Georgia Tech, sixth-year coach Joni Taylor’s seat could be getting warm. Georgia’s 2019 recruiting class was ranked 14, but the on-court results aren’t there. After making the NCAA Tournament two of her first three years, Taylor’s win total decreased each of the last two seasons.

- Georgia will add the 2020 Alabama player of the year, point guard Sarah Ashlee Barker, a top 100 player, next season. Georgia also picked up transfer Maori Davenport, a top 15 post in 2019 who averaged 2.7 points and 2.3 rebounds as a freshman at Rutgers. Davenport transferred to Georgia to be closer to her home in Alabama, and will likely have to sit out this season. (You may remember Davenport’s name from the legal battle with the Alabama high school sports league, which tried to ban her from competing after USA Basketball mistakenly sent her a stipend check. If you don’t, consider yourself lucky to have missed that chapter of adults behaving badly.)

- Georgia also has a commitment from 2021 top 50 guard Reigan Richardson, and is in the running for several other players, so more reinforcements are on the way.

Kentucky

- On paper, Kentucky could be South Carolina’s biggest challenge this season (although history tells us it’ll be South Carolina and Mississippi State again).

- The challenge for Kentucky is to be more than just the Rhyne Howard show. It’s not just a matter of surrounding Howard with talent, it’s making sure everyone is involved. Too often last season Kentucky’s offense turned into four players watching Howard create a shot.

- Last season, Kentucky added transfer Chasity Patterson in the middle of the season. This year the Wildcats will have her from the start, plus they get a pair of players who sat out last season, point guard Kameron Roach (injury) and 2019 Pac-12 freshman of the year Dre’una Edwards.

- The transfer market has been good to Kentucky. In addition to Patterson and Edwards, Kentucky added transfers Olivia Owens (Maryland), Robyn Benton (Auburn), and Jazmine Massengill (Tennessee) this summer. All will likely have to sit out this season, but that is a loaded roster next season for Howard’s senior campaign.

- Kentucky is still recruiting high school players too. Kentucky has three incoming freshmen, all top-100 players. The group is led by wing Treasure Hunt, a player South Carolina heavily recruited. It also includes forward Nyah Leveretter, who is from Westwood High School in Blythewood, SC, but wasn’t recruited by the Gamecocks.

- Kentucky has one top-100 commit for 2021, point guard Jada Walker.

Missouri

- Year 1 post Sophie Cunningham wasn’t fun, as Missouri only won nine games. But the Tigers did find a couple of future stars in freshmen Aijha Blackwell (15.0 points, 7.3 rebounds) and Hayley Frank (11.8 points, 4.0 rebounds). Blackwell’s numbers were even better in conference play, as she gained confidence and Missouri figured out a rotation.

- Missouri continues to recruit in non-traditional ways. Two of the three freshmen this season are international players (one from Spain, one from Australia). The Tigers also returned to the transfer portal, bringing in former Auburn guard Lauren Hansen.

- Missouri also leads the country in former Gamecocks on the roster. Hayley Troup transferred prior to her freshman season and became a key reserve last season, starting two games, while Forward Ladazhia Williams will be eligible this season. She sat out last season, transferring after two nondescript seasons at South Carolina where she struggled to find a role. Originally part of the 2017 class, both will be redshirt juniors (LeLe Grissett is the only player from that class remaining at South Carolina. Guard Bianca Jackson is at Florida State.)

Tennessee

- The Lady Vols continue to make the transition from Holly Warlick to Kellie Harper. Jazmine Massengill and Zaay Green, who were recruited by Warlick, have transferred to Kentucky and Texas A&M, respectively.

- Harper had a good first recruiting class with Jordan Horston, the second-ranked player who was top five in the SEC in assists, and Tamari Key, who led the SEC in blocked shots. She didn’t have the same success in 2020, signing just one top-100 player, but got creative in filling out the class. 6-2 guard Marta Suárez of Spain joins a pair of graduate transfers, Keyen Green (Liberty) and Jordan Walker (Western Michigan), with Walker having two seasons of eligibility remaining.

- Recruiting picks back up for 2021, and the Lady Vols already have commitments from four top-100 players, led by top 25 guard Kaiya Wynn. However, the Lady Vols missed out on gamecock commits Saniya Rivers, Bree Hall, and Raven Johnson.

Vanderbilt

- Last season, the Commodores doubled their win total from two years ago, winning 14 games despite some bad luck. Patience in Stephanie White’s rebuilding process looks like it might pay off.

- Vanderbilt has some big additions coming this season, beginning with the return of Brinae Alexander, who was Vanderbilt’s leading scorer before suffering a season-ending injury in the seventh game. Alexander was 12-33 from three in those seven games, and she can be instant offense.

- Vanderbilt also gets transfer Akira Levy eligible. Levy was SEC All-Freshman in 2018-19 at Missouri, when she was the future of the Tigers’ program. Levy joins graduate transfer Enna Pehadzic, a guard who was second team All-AAC as a junior at South Florida.