South Carolina women's basketball: Predicting next season's starters
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We first predicted South Carolina’s starting lineup for next year immediately following last season. Since then South Carolina added two key transfers, meaning it’s time to update the predictions.
Point guard
Raven Johnson is the point guard. Te-Hina Paopao was brought in for veteran support, but it’s Raven’s show. Even though she’s going into her third year in the program, this will be her first full offseason, plus she gets the experience of playing for the US AmeriCup team. Last offseason, Raven’s priority was just getting healthy enough to play, not improving her game. This offseason she can focus entirely on getting better.
Paopao will be the primary backup at point guard. Talaysia Cooper and Milaysia Fulwiley should also see playing time here, primarily at the end of blowouts.
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Two guard
Paopao is nominally a point guard, but she also played off the ball at Oregon and will do the same for South Carolina. She’s too good of a shooter to be kept on the bench. Paopao will have a role similar to Destanni Henderson in 2020, when Henderson got starter’s minutes by playing both guard spots.
Backing up Paopao will be a trio of highly talented but unproven young players. Cooper has a leg up with a season of experience, but many people around high school hoops in South Carolina think Fulwiley is a generational talent. There’s also Tessa Johnson, the sweet-shooting guard who could be the steal of the class if she can make shots the way she did in high school. The battle for playing time between these three will probably be the biggest fight of the offseason.
Wing
Bree Hall quietly had an outstanding postseason and proved she is ready to take over Brea Beal’s role as a three-and-D, high-energy, glue player. She’s not as good defensively as Beal, but Hall is a better shooter and sneaky-good athlete who can finish in transition.
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Chloe Kitts will back up Hall. Like Raven, she should reap major benefits from her first offseason. Kitts has already added 13 pounds of muscle in less than six months in the Gamecocks’ weight program. She’ll also play for Team USA in the U19 championships. Kitts can do a little bit of everything, so I put her here to let her be versatile.
Freshman Sahnya Jah is probably more of a developmental player next season.
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Forward
Sania Feagin will start at forward. She has two years in the program and has waited her turn, so it’s time to reward her patience. Feagin pairs well with Kamilla Cardoso: she can play from the high post and create more space for Cardoso inside, while Cardoso helps mask Feagin’s inconsistent defense.
Watkins will be the backup, but play starter’s minutes backing up both frontcourt positions.
Post
Cardoso will move into the starting role inside. She’s the reigning SEC Sixth-Woman of the Year and it’s time to emerge from Aliyah Boston’s shadow. However, Cardoso has never played heavy minutes. As a freshman at Syracuse, Cardoso started but still only played 23.5 minutes.
That leaves plenty of minutes for Watkins to be the backup. And when Watkins has to play the four, transfer Sakima Walker will hold down the middle.
