Four questions for South Carolina women's basketball

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What are four questions South Carolina needs to answer in its quest to repeat as national champions?

1. Is somebody ready to be PG1?

South Carolina returns four starters and the bulk of last season’s production. But the loss of Destanni Henderson leaves a glaring hole at point guard. Her replacements, Raven Johnson and Kierra Fletcher, have strong credentials, but they also have played a total of eight minutes for the Gamecocks and are coming off season-ending injuries.

Johnson was the national player of the year as a high school senior and the number two overall recruit in 2021. But she tore her ACL in the second game of the season. Instead of spending the year learning behind Henderson, she spent it in rehab. Fletcher was a four-year starter at Georgia Tech but missed all of last season with a foot injury. 

Both players should be ready for the season and the hope is that Fletcher will be able to pick up South Carolina’s playbook quickly while the long-term expectations for Johnson are still sky-high. But it would be a lot more comfortable with more than eight minutes of experience in a Gamecock uniform. 

2. How can South Carolina unjam the logjam in the frontcourt?

Nobody is complaining about Victaria Saxton’s decision to return for a super senior season, but man, did she muck up the frontcourt rotation. It was supposed to be simple, with Saxton’s minutes going to Sania Feagin, the ultra-talented rising sophomore, and Ashlyn Watkins adopting Feagin’s role of sitting and learning for her freshman year. And we haven’t even mentioned posts Aliyah Boston and Kamilla Cardoso, neither of whom is giving up any playing time.

Amihere and Feagin can play away from the basket, but are they quick enough to slide over and play the wing? For short stretches late in the season, South Carolina went to a jumbo lineup with Amihere at the wing, and Feagin might get a look at that role as well. The moment she steps on campus Watkins is probably the best athlete on the team, but is she refined enough to earn playing time as a freshman?

Make no mistake, this problem is a luxury, but you don’t want to still be experimenting when the games count.

3. Will Talaysia Cooper be ready to contribute as a freshman?

South Carolina went from loaded at guard to a little thin following the transfers of Saniya Rivers and Eniya Russell. That opens the door for the freshman Cooper, the 18th-ranked recruit in the country. Cooper was a do-everything points guard for little East Clarendon. She nearly averaging a triple-double for her senior season, and scored 15 points in the McDonald’s All-American Game. At 6-0 she has the size to play either guard spot and will likely start her collegiate career off the ball. 

Cooper’s talent isn’t in question, but her size and player profile are similar to Russell, another talented do-everything high school player. Russell had trouble adapting to her role and she never achieved consistent production. If Cooper can adjust quickly and become reliable – she doesn’t have to do anything now, just what she is asked to do – there is a ready-made role for her backing up Zia Cooke.

4. Will the Gamecocks play with the same focus as last season?

Last season the Gamecocks were motivated by the lost 2020 tournament and the bitter Final Four defeat in 2021. They played all season with an intensity derived from the focus on winning a national championship. That focus motivated Aliyah Boston’s dominance, motivated the stellar defense, and motivated players to sacrifice individual achievement for the good of the team. 

Now they have their national championship. Will the motivation to repeat be strong enough to inspire the same focus, or could there be a letdown as players no longer have that singular focus?