Chloe Kitts has support of teammates through difficult transition

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Back on November 4, 2022, Chloe Kitts surprised everyone. Not only did she commit with no warning, but she took the extra step and showed up at the South Carolina basketball offices to commit in person. Oh, and she decided to enroll in December.

The 17th-ranked recruit in the 2023 class, Kitts came to campus as a versatile 6-2 wing who could rebound, pass, and shoot. Dawn Staley talked her up, saying Kitts could contribute immediately because of her shooting ability. 

Days after her first practice with the Gamecocks, Kitts made her debut against Charleston Southern. She scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and nailed a three-pointer. Imaginations ran wild about what Kitts could add to the team.

“I had a lot of confidence going into that game,” Kitts said.

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That confidence started to waver. In the next two games, Kitts had more turnovers (five) than points (four). The more she learned, the more she learned how much she didn’t know, and she couldn’t just rely on talent.

“Coming from high school where I feel like I’m the best player,” Kitts said. “It’s definitely a transition coming here where I just got here and I’m on the best team in the country. It’s been a transition but all the seniors have been helping me.”

Kitts had her welcome to the big-time moment in a game against Kentucky. 

“When we were playing Kentucky I went in for a layup and this girl just completely pushed me away,” she recalled. 

(It was a breakaway transition layup with 2:31 left in the game and Kentucky’s Robyn Benton challenged the layup, knocking Kitts to the ground.)

Kitts has played only sporadically through the conference schedule, averaging just 1.8 points and 1.0 rebounds in 4.1 minutes per game.

She spends most of her time sitting on the bench, but Kitts is making sure the time isn’t wasted. She constantly talks to her teammates as the game goes on.

“I ask them for help a lot,” Kitts said. “When I see something on the court I’m like how do you do that or what are we supposed to be doing?”

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Kitts singled out Aliyah Boston and Laeticia Amihere in particular for helping to ease the transition. But it’s Olivia Thompson, another player who spends most of her time watching, who has really become a mentor for Kitts. It started when Kitts realized she didn’t even know simple in-game protocols.

“We were on the bench and we were supposed to stand up and give a high five and I had no idea,” Kitts said. “That’s where it all started.”

“I have always tried to be an inviting teammate, just for any sort of communication, any sort of advice,” Thompson said. “I just try to be an ear for her. I try to give her advice as much as I can. And I mean, it’s, it feels good to have someone like you wanting to ask you for help.”

Kitts doesn’t mince words, admitting she has had second thought about her decision to enroll early, “for sure.”

“I’m still trying to figure stuff out,” she said. “Eventually it will be everything I hoped it would be, but not yet.”

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“It’s hard leaving high school early,” Thompson said. “She just had to pack up and leave. That’s hard joining a team halfway through the season. We have a lot of plays, and we’ve got a lot of structure in how we do things, so it’s kind of hard to jump right into that. But I think she’s done a great job of adjusting. She listens, she asks a lot of questions. She’s always asking me questions. And I think that’s something that is very important for players is to not to be afraid to ask for help. And to just be easy on yourself. Don’t be too hard on yourself. She’s done great.”

Despite Staley’s prediction that Kitts could step into the rotation right away, enrolling early was never about this season. It was about getting Kitts ready for next season. The freshies will be gone, and half of the players on this season’s roster are seniors.

Kitts has a head start on strength and conditioning and the playbook, and she has the support of her teammates (witness Kamilla Cardoso trying to jump out of the building when Kitts hit a layup during the SEC tournament). As it stands now, Kitts is in line to start or be one of the first two players off the bench next season.

“I feel like it’s helped me develop for sure,” Kitts said. “College is so different. I feel like I needed to come in and figure it out.”

And she might get a couple of rings for figuring it out.

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