South Carolina women's basketball: Q&A with transfer guard Ta'Niya Latson

At the beginning of July, transfer guard Ta’Niya Latson met with the media in Columbia for the first time. Here’s what she talked about.

What was your reaction to the Knicks talking to Dawn Staley?
That’s coach. Like, she’s Dawn Staley, that’s the standard. I feel like coaches outside, like the NBA, should be able to come to her. You know, she’s Dawn Staley, like I said, but we’re gonna try our best to keep her. That’s up for coach to decide.

How many schools did you talk to in a portal?
I talked to a lot of schools. LSU, UConn, Tennessee… I talked to a lot of schools, but ultimately, I knew my goals and I knew my vision, and South Carolina had that. 

Did you get any huge NIL offers that made you go wow?
I mean, that’s the name of the game now. NIL is such a huge thing now, especially with women’s basketball. That was gonna be the thing in the portal, and I knew it was gonna come. But like I said, I have goals outside of just money and things that are being thrown at me. I know my vision, and all that’s gonna come, but I have a lot of goals. 

When did you get here?
Two weeks ago. (mid-June)

What are the challenges is going from Florida State, where you shot a lot and were the primary option, to a team where there are a lot of options?
It’s not really a challenge for me because I’ve played with all these girls before in AAU, and we were such a talented AAU team. So when I went from that to Florida State, it was a big change for me. That was the biggest change for me, taking all those shots, honestly. I know what I need, and I know what the WNBA scouts want. I know how important it is to be under control, efficient, and also be able to spread the floor and make good passes for my teammates. 

When you entered the portal, I asked your high school teammate, Raven Johnson, if she was going to recruit you. She said, “I’m texting her right now. She’s coming.”
Raven is Raven. That’s my sister, and I knew, me talking to her, she was gonna definitely convince me to come here. It made the decision way easier for me. 

What were the things that maybe everybody else doesn’t see that brought you here?
The resources, I mean, even outside of basketball. The student life. I really felt like they had everything I needed for my major. They’re making sure I’m okay with tutoring, academic coaches, and everything. I feel like that’s a big part for me, too, and I feel like a lot of schools don’t really have that support on that side. I feel like that was a shocker for me. 

Your first practice here? What did your first assist from Raven feel like? 
Oh! Great! Thank God, I got my point guard back. Me and Raven are just trying to build that chemistry again and taking it day by day. We’re super excited to get the season started. 

Winning and winning a national title is the goal here, but outside of that, what does success look like for you? 
For me, SEC Player of the Year. I’m gonna bet on myself every time, everywhere I go. That’s something that is a goal for me, but ultimately, winning. Winning, being consistent, working on my shot, getting more efficient from three. I have a lot of little technical things that I need to work on that I’m here for. I feel like I’m gonna be able to achieve that here. 

Where can you get better? 
Three points. That’s my biggest thing this year. Three-pointers, being more efficient, also limiting my turnovers. My turnover-to-assist ratio needs to be better. That’s something I’m really trying to work on. And then rebounding the ball, because I’m in SEC now, baby, so I gotta work on that. 

What have you heard about the fans here and what are you looking forward to the most? 
The atmosphere is crazy from what I’ve heard. I’ve never played at South Carolina, and they say it’s like 17,000 fans a night. I’m like, ooh, wow, we did not have that. That’s something that’s gonna be an adjustment for me for sure, because that plays a part into your play. I’ve just got to go out there and be me. 

Something Dawn talks about is figuring out a player’s communication style, whether or not to yell. What is your individual communication style? 
I can handle it. That’s what I want. I wanna be challenged. I know this is my last year of college. Maybe freshman year Ta’Niya would not agree with that, but I have grown a lot, and I know that is only gonna make me better.

What about you and Raven on the court makes the chemistry so good? 
We just read each other really, really well. We’ve been reading each other like that since high school. She knows my spots. I know her spots. I know her confidence is getting back to where she needs to be, and also, she’s giving me that confidence too, to be myself. 

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With Madina Okot still learning to play at a high level, how can you help her in her adjustment here? 
Coach just said that she’s gonna be a hot commodity. That’s gonna be our weapon. She’s a monster down there, and in these practices, she’s been killing it. We’re super excited about her, and she’s gonna come in ready to play every day. 

Who is the loudest in practice now with Sania Feagin gone?
Probably Chloe (Kitts). Chloe is finding her voice for sure. We’re trying to get Maddy to find her voice. We’re all trying to find our voice, honestly. It’s new, it’s a different team. It’s different from what they’re used to. We’re just trying to adjust. 

What are you working on with Chloe or the other forwards and posts right now? 
Just building chemistry, trying to find their spots, get used to them. It’s only week two so we’re all trying to figure each other out. We’re trying to get up and down, build chemistry. 

What is your impression of the general makeup of the roster?
Talented. Talented, dogs. We all got dogs. I mean, from Maddy, from Chloe, from Tessa, from Raven, everybody has a dog mentality, and we want it. We want it. I feel like even after practice, that’s not enough for us; we want to go get more shots up. It’s personable, and we need to get to that championship and win it. 

For everything you accomplished at Florida State, do you feel like you flew under the radar a little bit?
Oh, yeah, definitely. That’s my heart and soul. That’s always gonna be my heart and soul. I love Florida to State. I feel like we had a great year last year. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make it to the Sweet 16. That was one of our goals, but I feel like we had a great year. 

What do you like most about Columbia so far? 
The people. The people here are very nice. That’s something that was a shocker to me, because I’m not really from up here. They were really nice and I really appreciate it.

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