South Carolina women's basketball: MiLaysia Fulwiley makes spectacular debut

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MiLaysia Fulwiley stood up, walked over to the scorer’s table, and sat down. The crowd began to buzz. At the next whistle, she stood up and was met with cheers.

Moments later, the defense collapsed on Kamilla Cardoso and she kicked the ball out to Fulwiley for a three. Bang!

The crowd erupted to its feet. Before they could sit down, Fulwiley attacked the rim, drew the defense, and flipped the ball between defenders to Cardoso for an easy layup. 

“Lay wit da butter!” It’s Fulwiley’s social media handle, and it came from the cheer that many of her high school fans, who were now her college fans, would shout after a big play.

These were the plays she made in high school that made her one of the most coveted recruits in a long line of big-time Palmetto State prospects. Now, she was making them in garnet and black. 

It didn’t stop there. A steal and layup late in the half saw Fulwiley playing to the crowd, which was happy to play along. Then, with the first half clock running down, Fulwiley got a pass from Te-Hina Paopao and calmly sank a buzzer-beating 30-footer. 

Fulwiley finished her first collegiate game with 16 points (on 6-13 shooting with 4-9 from three), six rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Granted, it was only an exhibition, but she lived up to all the hype and then some. 

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All summer, Dawn Staley built up her star freshman. She repeatedly called Fulwiley a “generational talent” while emphasizing that she is not a finished product. 

“I think she’s a generational talent, I do,” Staley said at SEC media day. “Generational to me is being able to do things that no other people can do. Like, she does things that I haven’t seen a woman’s basketball player do. The moves she makes, the shiftiness, ability to shoot the long ball, get to the basket at will. She’s very coachable. She wants to be great. We have to teach her greatness is a process, working on it daily. She really understands that. She’s taken a liking to that.”

There is weight behind Staley’s claim considering Staley just had five players drafted last spring and the best player in the world is a former Gamecock. Fulwiley tries to ignore it, but her mother won’t let her. 

“I’ve seen the interviews and stuff but I try not to really watch them,” she said. “I told myself this year when I get to college I’m not going to watch the media. My mom sent me the video and I felt blessed, to be honest. She said what she said and she meant it. She gave examples of why I’m a generational player. In practice every day she is pushing me harder every day. I’m blessed to have someone like that on my side.”

Breaking down Fulwiley’s performance against Rutgers, Staley said, “She played better than she practiced.” 

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Staley wasn’t happy that Fulwiley committed five turnovers, although part of that was because she was playing out of position at point guard in the fourth quarter, but she was pleased that Fulwiley only committed one after Staley talked to her about it. 

“She played off of her instincts,” Staley said. “Some of the turnovers that she had I’ll have to take one or two of them because I told her to play a certain way. When I told her, at the time she had four turnovers, Lay you’ve got four turnovers. She said ‘four?’ She was like, no more. So she’s aware of it. I think she is going to play up some, play down some, play average some, but most importantly she’s coachable. She has an understanding of it.”

It was only one game – not even an official one at that – but Fulwiley has set the expectations sky-high. 

“It’s exciting for us because most of us have never played in a Gamecock women’s basketball jersey,” she said. “Today basically set the tone for not only us but the FAMs.”

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