South Carolina women's basketball: How Dawn Staley wants to utilize Chloe Kitts
South Carolina Women’s Basketball: News • Recruiting • Schedule • Roster • Stats • SEC • Polls • Scholarships
Chloe Kitts was the second player to commit to South Carolina this fall, and she pulled off a double surprise. Aided by Talaysia Cooper, Kitts snuck into the basketball offices to tell the coaching staff in person that she was committing to South Carolina. That was the first surprise.
The second surprise was that Kitts would skip her senior season, graduate early, and join the Gamecocks midseason. Kitts arrived on campus on December 13 and participated in her first practice later in the day.
Kitts is eligible to play immediately and will travel with the team to South Dakota. Whether she plays will depend on how the game goes, but she could make an appearance.
Subscribe to Gamecock Central until the 2023 football season for only $10!
“I don’t think she came just to sit and watch,” Dawn Staley said. “She practiced yesterday and she practiced today. She fits. She’s unafraid. Obviously, it can be intimidating. It’s a lot of information. So we just kind of shrunk her package. Just know these three plays, and when in doubt, just be a basketball player. Just make a play, whether good or bad, just make a decision, whether it’s good or bad. She fits in quite well.”
Kitts is a 6-2 forward from DME Academy in Daytona Beach, FL. She is ranked 17th overall in the class of 2023 by HoopGurlz. She visited South Carolina the weekend of September 24, along with Tessa Johnson, who also committed to South Carolina. Kitts picked South Carolina over finalists Arizona, Duke, Louisville, NC State, and Oklahoma.
Become a “FAM” Member and support South Carolina women’s basketball players
As a junior, Kitts averaged 18.7 points and 8.2 rebounds. Kitts was impressive on the all-star circuit this past summer. She excelled at filling in the cracks, finding rebounds and loose balls, getting open for jump shots, or slashing to the basket for layups. That made her one of the most coveted players in the class, even ranked 17th.
“You just wouldn’t do this for any low-level player,” Staley said. “It has to fit. The talent level, the competitiveness, the want, so she wanted all these things. She knows coming in in the middle of the season she’s going to take some hits, as far as not knowing. She’s gonna feel out of place. Hopefully, we can lessen that feeling. But once she’s on the court, this isn’t a hard thing, it’s basketball, you’re gonna make a good decision, or you’re not. We’re not going to put pressure on her to perform at a high level, so we’re going to slowly try to get her to a place where she is comfortable. We’re seeing how she processes information. She seems pretty good. But we want to put her at ease and just say, make a basketball decision, whatever it is to feel as natural to you do it. And then we’ll just teach her how to continue to integrate into our system.”
Although listed as a forward, Kitts is probably more of a wing thanks to her shooting ability, and to begin with, she will practice on the perimeter.
Gamecock Central Bowl Pick ‘em Contest with cool prizes
“We’ll just play her on the perimeter, similar to how we play LA, but probably not a primary ball handler,” Staley said. “She’s tall, she’s agile, she can shoot it. She’s unafraid. She makes good basketball decisions. Everybody around the country could use it Chloe Kitts at this point.”
She will wear #21, the number most recently worn by Mikiah Herbert Harrigan. That gives Kitts a lot to live up to, in ability and attitude.
“She’s very similar,” Staley said. “She’s not gonna back down from any competitive environment. So looking forward to just seeing some of that. Glimpses of Mad Kiki. ‘Mad Chloe?’ ‘Mad Kitts?’”
Kitts will be joined by #13 Milaysia Fulwiley, #25 Tessa Johnson, and #40 Sahnya Jah in South Carolina’s 2023 class. Together they form the #2 class in the country according to ESPN, trailing only LSU.
