South Carolina women's basketball: Player-by-player look at next season

South Carolina Women’s Basketball: News • Recruiting • Schedule • Roster • Stats • SEC • Polls • Scholarships

South Carolina returns four starters and the top two reserves from the national championship team, but the Gamecocks also saw six players leave, brought in three newcomers, and have to find a new point guard. We take a player-by-player look at what next season’s team will fit together.

Today we look at the backcourt. Read about the frontcourt HERE.

*player has the option of using a COVID season

Brea Beal (6-1, Senior*, Wing)

24.1 mpg, 5.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.03 tpg38.1 FG%, 23.8 3PT%

Pros: Last season Beal’s numbers all dropped, a victim of the Gamecocks’ more deliberate pace, but in March she upped her game. Beal scored a season-high 12 points in the wins over Creighton and Louisville, and her defense was spectacular in the NCAA tournament, especially against Hailey Van Lith. She is a good rebounder and remains one of the best wing defenders in the country and has the size and strength to be a mismatch.

Cons: Beal’s shot remains a liability. Opponents dare her to shoot, and there are times she isn’t even close on three-point attempts and free throws.

Needs to improve: It’s tempting to say Beal’s shot is hopelessly broken since she hasn’t improved in three seasons. But transfer Kierra Fletcher couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn for three years either and then shot 35.9% as a senior. Maybe there is hope for Beal. If she can develop a reliable jump shot, suddenly the paint opens up for Aliyah Boston and the offense looks a lot better.

Projection: Beal is going to continue to start at the wing and continue to do all the little things. Maybe her defense in the NCAA tournament will have enough carryover effect that she’ll finally be recognized outside Columbia.

Cooke (5-9, Senior*, Guard)

27.3 mpg, 10.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.7 apg, 2.1 tpg, 34.2 FG%, 28.7 3PT%,

Pros: Cooke was an explosive scorer who could get hot and go on an individual scoring spurt. Her ability to manufacture points by getting to the line was crucial to the Maryland win. She helped South Carolina get off to fast starts in both Final Four games. 

Cons: Those scoring spurts were too few and far between. Cooke had career worsts in every category. Crucially, she was mired in a shooting slump that lasted almost the entire season. South Carolina’s slower pace of play took away some of the fast break opportunities that used to get Cooke going, and defenses learned they were better off leaving Cooke open and cutting off her driving lanes. Cooke thrived in the past with constant cutting, a midrange game, and rhythm shots. The set shots she got last year weren’t her strength, and the frustration boiled over at times.

Needs to improve: Cooke needs to work on stationary shooting, but mostly she needs to get in the right headspace. The misses weighed on her and snowballed. After a few misses, Cooke sometimes forced bad shots instead of staying within the offense.

Projection: No one works harder than Cooke, and no one takes failure more personally (sometimes too much so). Expect her to bounce back in a big way.

Kierra Fletcher (5-9, RS Graduate Senior, Point guard)

(2020-21 at Georgia Tech) 35.2 mpg, 13.0 ppg, 3.7 apg, 5.5 rpg, 1.7 tpg, 41.6 FG%, 35.9 3PT%

Pros: Fletcher was a four-year starter at Georgia Tech. She ran things on a Sweet 16 team and was an excellent defender. After going 2-20 her first three seasons, Fletcher developed a three-point shot, hitting 23-64 as a senior.

Cons: Fletcher missed part of her senior season due to injury, and then missed all of last season with a foot injury. 

Needs to improve: South Carolina would be happy if Fletcher hit 35.95 from three again, but it would really help if she can hit closer to 40%, the same clip Henderson hit. Fletcher also has to pick up the playbook in a hurry. 

Projection: Fletcher and Johnson have been on campus rehabbing and practicing. Fletcher was the perfect transfer addition who should be able to step in and fill an important role. Even if South Carolina has to manage Fletcher and Johnson early in the season, the point guard position should be set.

Bree Hall (5-11, Sophomore, Guard)

9.2 mpg, 2.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 30.4 3PT%

Pros: The “lowest-ranked” member of the recruiting class (she was still 14th overall), few would have expected Hall to have the biggest impact. Hall started the season as a pure energy player, running around like crazy with no real idea what she was doing. But as she began to understand her role, her playing time and production increased. Hall’s strength was her defense, and although she wasn’t a great three-point shooter, she was decent (and better than her teammates).

Cons: Hall could be wild at times, and she missed too many shots.

Needs to improve: Hall needs to play with a better understanding of what her teammates are doing. She only had one assist, which is pretty spectacular. She got better at understanding her role, but Staley could still only count on her for a few minutes at a time.

Projection: Hall’s problems seem more like normal freshman growing pains than significant issues. Look for her to take a big step forward this season. She looks like the next in line following LeLe Grissett and Brea Beal as defensive-minded wings. She’s already a better shooter than either of them and if she improves she could be a prototypical three-and-D wing.

Raven Johnson (5-9, Sophomore**, Point Guard)

8 minutes played, rebound, turnover

Pros: To untrained eyes, Johnson seems to be making good progress back from the torn ACL she suffered in the second game of the season. She was running arena stairs by the end of the season, which seems like a pretty good sign.

Cons: Johnson looked (understandably) nervous against NC State. She is coming back from a major knee injury.

Needs to improve: It’s hard to say since we really didn’t get to see Johnson last season. She doesn’t have the safety net of Destanni Henderson this season, so the whole show is hers.

Projection: Unless there are lingering injury issues (and South Carolina has traditionally been very conservative with injuries), Johnson should be the starting point guard. South Carolina expected her to be a major contributor last season even with Henderson, and the expectation is still that Johnson has All-American talent. It will be exciting to finally see her in action.

**Johnson is eligible for a redshirt season. 

Olivia Thompson (5-8, Senior*, Guard)

3.7 mpg, 0.7 ppg, 3-13 from three

Pros: Thompson is a good shooter, team player, and understands her role.

Cons: Defense. Thompson is too small and too slow to keep up with SEC guards.

Needs to improve: Shooting. Thompson saw the least playing time of her career last season because of the crowded backcourt. Even then, she was called on at the end of the first half against Miami with a play designed to get her open for three (It worked, but Destiny Littleton read it wrong and threw the ball away). That could be Thompson’s role this year, a designated shooter.

Projection: Thompson will play more than last season because there is less depth at the guard position. She might even have a few more plays run for her.

Talaysia Cooper (6-0, Freshman, Point guard)

#18 overall prospect, 2021 South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year, McDonald’s All-American

Projection: Cooper is listed as a point guard, but she will probably follow the normal progression of playing off the ball as a freshman. If Bree Hall primarily backs up Brea Beal, Cooper could get a few minutes each game backing up Zia Cooke. But if South Carolina goes big at the wing with Laeticia Amihere, something it toyed with last season, Hall becomes Cooke’s backup.

Discuss this story on The Insiders Forum