South Carolina women's basketball: Five Things to Watch - Rutgers

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The new-look Gamecocks host Rutgers in an exhibition Sunday to honor former assistant coach Nikki McCray-Penson.

1. Watch the rotation … 
South Carolina lost roughly 65% of its scoring and minutes played from last season, and only one player (Raven Johnson) has ever started a game for the Gamecocks. The rotation won’t be formed completely from nothing, but it’s pretty close. 

“It’s going to be a totally new starting five, starting from scratch,” Dawn Staley said. “I’m excited though. I’m excited to see how they come out and play and what they do when they’re put under the pressure of playing in front of, hopefully, 10,000 people.”

Staley has not confirmed the starting lineup, but she has indicated that Raven Johnson, Te-Hina Paopao, Bree Hall, and Kamilla Cardoso are starters. She has hinted that Sania Feagin could be the fifth starter.

“Now is the time in which we are going to have to pick a starting lineup, we’re going to have to start defining some roles,” Staley said. “And there might be some roles that people don’t want. They just have to accept them and embrace them. They don’t have to stay in them because production will tell you where your role needs to go.”

2. … But not too closely
There are two weeks between Sunday’s exhibition and the season-opener in Paris against Notre Dame. That is a lot of practice time for players to play themselves into new roles.

“It’s an everyday thing, it really is, to see who’s playing well on each day,” Staley said. “All of them have been playing pretty consistent, some more than others.”

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3. Fulwiley
With such a new-look roster, it will be interesting to get a fresh look at almost every player. WHat strides have Sania Feagin, Ashlyn Watkins, Chloe Kitts, and Raven Johnson made? How does Te-Hina Paopao fit in? Can Tessa Johnson be a three-point threat right away?

But it’s fair to say that most of the focus will be on MiLaysia Fulwiley. She’s the local star Staley has been recruiting since the seventh grade. Staley called Fulwiley a generational talent when she signed, and hasn’t backed off that assessment. She repeated it on the first day of practice and again this week at SEC media day.

Fulwiley was named an Iron Gamecock for her work in the weight room in the offseason (Watkins was the other). In the brief period of practice open to the media on Friday, it appeared Khadijah Sessions, the former Gamecock point guard and new assistant coach, has been tasked with pushing Fulwiley in every part of the game.

We were asked not to give away specifics, but Sessions and Fulwiley each got the better of the other at different points, and when Fulwiley did, it was spectacular.

Sunday is the first opportunity for FAMs – and the rest of the college basketball world – to see what Fulwiley can do.

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4. “Expect the unexpected”
The official theme for this season is “Love,” but “Expect the unexpected” has clearly become the unofficial theme. Staley said it the first day of practice and again in Birmingham. Then Raven Johnson repeatedly it on Friday.

“I think we’re going to set a great example of what this team looks like (on Sunday),” Raven Johnson said. “I say expect the unexpected.”

5. Gameday information
From South Carolina:

Admission to the exhibition game is free with general admission seating in all sections, except selected marked seats reserved for team use.

Parking in lots immediately around Colonial Life Arena will be $20 per car, cash only.

All three entrances at Colonial Life Arena will open at noon.

Fans are encouraged to wear pink to show support for Nikki McCray-Penson and all those who fought or are fighting breast cancer. McCray-Penson was an assistant coach at both schools who passed away this summer after battling breast cancer twice. 

The game is a fundraiser for In the Middle, a Columbia organization that assists breast cancer patients and families with expenses, including scholarship opportunities for their children. Donations can also be made to a scholarship fund Staley started for McCray-Penson’s son Thomas.

The Ws
Who: #6 South Carolina vs Rutgers (Exhibition)
When: 1:00 pm, Sunday, October 22
Where: Colonial Life Arena
Watch: The game will not be broadcast on TV or radio

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