South Carolina women's basketball: SEC preview - Part 1

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

Alabama (20-14 (6-10), WNIT Quarterfinals, Projected finish: 10)

Key departures: None

Key arrivals: Loyal McQueen, Sarah Ashlee Barker 

Number of new players: Six

Outlook: Alabama won 20 games last season and yet nobody was impressed. The Crimson Tide return pretty much every key player and add a couple of former top recruits as transfers, and yet still nobody is impressed. A weak schedule meant Alabama’s NET ranking was just 53 last season, and explains why the Tide have rolled under the radar (get it?).

Head coach Kristy Curry wanted to fix that. With Brittany Davis, who was named preseason second-team all-SEC, returning along with three other super seniors and 95% of last season’s scoring, Curry put together a tougher schedule. Alabama plays seven of its first 10 games on the road, including a game at South Florida.

“We’ve really worked hard on our schedule to put us in a position at the end of the year from an NCAA Tournament standpoint,” Curry said. “We’re going to see real quick exactly what this team is made of from a toughness standpoint. It was put in place for a reason, so we’re eager for it.”

Arkansas (18-14 (7-9), NCAA First Round, Projected finish: 4)

Key departures: Amber Ramirez

Key arrivals: Saylor Poffenbarger, Chrissy Carr

Number of new players: Four

Outlook: Arkansas had a rebuilding year last season and still made the NCAA tournament. That big-time recruiting class that included SEC Freshman of the Year Samara Spencer and top-ten recruit Jersey Wolfenbarger is now a year older, and transfer Poffenbarger becomes eligible after sitting out last season. Throw in a pair of veteran guards in Carr and Makayla Daniels and there is a lot to like about Arkansas, who are picked for their best finish since 1996. 

Mike Neighbors got Arkansas here with his offensive scheme, but he wanted to talk about defense at media day. Arkansas made a point of recruiting size (“We look like our volleyball team more than our gymnastics team now,” he joked) with an eye towards improving on defense.

“We had to do what we did offensively to get to the middle, and that’s where we’re kind of at.

Now, to get to the top of this league, you’ve got to play both sides,” Neighbors said. “So we’ve got to get our defensive identity, which will start with rebounding, and that size helps. That’s, to me, the next step for us.”

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Auburn (10-18 (2-14), No postseason, Projected finish: 13)

Key departures: Annie Hughes, Jala Jordan

Key arrivals: Sydney Shaw

Number of new players: Eight

Outlook: It’s a slow process for coach Johnnie Harris. Step one is to get out of the basement, and Auburn looks like it should be able to accomplish that at the very least. Incoming freshman Shaw was a top-50 recruit, and gives the Tigers a key building block for the future. 

It seems like a massive roster overhaul has been a part of the Auburn offseason for almost five years, but this time it feels different. Instead of having to desperately plug in transfers after a bunch of departures, Harris has brought in new talent by design.

“We had to get bigger, faster, stronger. I feel like we addressed it in recruiting. I had to get some depth,” Harris said. “We’re teaching our kids to finish. We’re trying to get smarter on the floor with having some players that played for us last year. We have a little bit of leadership there, so all of that will play a part in helping us.”

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Florida (21-11 (10-6), NCAA First Round, Projected finish: 6)

Key departures: Kiara Smith, Lavender Briggs (midseason)

Key arrivals: Aliyah Matharu, KK Deans

Number of new players: Seven

Outlook: Florida’s magical run came to an unfortunate end when Smith was injured in the SEC Tournament. Without their best player and emotional leader, the Gators bowed out in the first round of the NCAA tournament. 

Florida has suffered another heartbreaking injury before this season even starts: super senior Zippy Broughton, Florida’s returning leader in scoring and assists from last season, suffered a season-ending injury in mid-October. That puts more pressure on Nina Rickards, along with transfers Matharu and Deans, who were honorable mention All-Big 12 last season, to run the backcourt.

“Nina has been extremely steady for us since the moment she got on campus,” Kelly Rae Finley. “She has a tremendous work ethic. She has a tremendous desire to help grow our program. In every and any way that she is asked, she excels, whether that’s in the classroom — she’s currently pursuing a business degree, and at the University of Florida, that’s quite the challenge. She does so with class, with a smile on her face, and with a relentlessness that says we’re going to do it, come with me, I believe in us.”

Georgia (21-10 (9-7), NCAA Second Round, Projected finish: 9)

Key departures: Que Morrison, Jenna Staiti, Mikayla Coombs

Key arrivals: Diamond Battles, Brittney Smith

Number of new players: Ten

Outlook: Just four players remain from the team that finished runner-up to South Carolina in the SEC tournament in 2021. This was always going to be a rebuilding year because Georgia had so many seniors the patsy two seasons, but when Joni left for Texas A&M it became a total rebuild. Taylor took two recruits with her, including Janiah Barker, and five players entered the transfer portal.

Georgia turned to one of its own to right the ship. Katie Abrahamson-Henderson played for the Lady Bulldogs in the mid-80s and had built a strong mid-major program at Central Florida. Her first big move at Georgia was bringing Diamond Battles with her from UCF. Battles was the AAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, and was an honorable mention All-American. She immediately becomes the leader of a team that lost its top five scorers and was completely overhauled through the transfer portal.

“The portal this year for coach or coaches was a blessing because we got to bring in culture kids and we got to bring in kids that are going to play the style and the way we want to play, whereas when I took over some other programs and rebuilt those programs, there wasn’t a portal,” Abrahamson-Henderson said. “So we morphed with how we were going to coach with the players and the style of athleticism or non-athleticism or they were shooters and we had a lot of post players or we had a lot of guards.”

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Kentucky (19-12 (8-8), NCAA First Round, Projected finish: 7)

Key departures: Rhyne Howard, Dre’una Edwards, Jazmine Massengill, Treasure Hunt, Olivia Owens

Key arrivals: Eniya Russell, Tionna Herron

Number of new players: Ten

Outlook: Last season was rocky for Kentucky, as the Wildcats underachieved for most of the year. Everything seemed to be right after Kentucky stunned South Carolina for the SEC tournament title, but then the Wildcats were upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. And then every key player, aside from Jada Walker, left in the offseason, and once again we are left wondering what’s going on at Kentucky.

Because Blair Green missed all of last season, Kentucky returns just four players who suited up for the Wildcats last season. Getting Green back from her Achilles injury will help, but Kentucky needed to land some help in the portal. Russell, a former McDonald’s All-American, is the biggest name, and that is both good and bad. She is talented and athletic, but she also has never been a regular contributor at the college level.

“We went through a lot last year,” Elzy said. “For the five players returning, they have so much confidence, and they understand what the blueprint looks like. We had to work. Everything revolves around work. Roll up your sleeves and go to work.

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LSU (26-6 (13-3), NCAA Second Round, Projected finish: 3)

Key departures: Khayla Pointer, Jalin Cherry, Faustine Aifuwa

Key arrivals: Angel Reese, LaDazhia Williams

Number of new players: Nine

Outlook: LSU caught everyone off-guard last season by going 26-6 and finishing second in the SEC in the first year under Kim Mulkey. In retrospect, it was wrong to doubt a senior-led team with an elite point guard. Now, Mulkey has to assemble a new-look squad. At the end of her Baylor tenure, Mulkey was extremely successful in finding transfer talent. Now she’s at it again.

LSU signed star freshman Flaujae Johnson, but it’s the transfers that grab the headlines. Williams, the former Gamecock and Missouri Tiger, is a productive veteran, but all eyes are on Reese. The former second-ranked recruit, Reese was a third-team all-American last season after averaging 17.8 points and 10.6 rebounds. 

“I can tell you after three weeks of watching her, she’s a beast,” Mulkey said. “I say that with the utmost respect. That beast is hard to defend. “You can’t keep her off the offensive boards, and she’s a leader vocally, simply from the fact that she just loves to compete. She hates to lose. That has been very obvious to me in the three to four weeks that I’ve been on the floor with her.”

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