South Carolina’s WNBA rookies discuss transition to pro basketball

The transition between women’s college and professional basketball is a quick one. It forces WNBA rookies like South Carolina’s Freshies to adapt quickly. The NCAA Final Four, WNBA Draft and start of the WNBA regular season all happen within the same month-and-a-half period.

After spending the past few weeks in training camp, South Carolina’s five most recent additions to WNBA squads indicated their readiness to take on everything the league has to offer.

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Aliyah Boston, this year’s No. 1 overall pick, has been considered one of the best collegiate players for many years. Just weeks into camp, she recognized that pace was a major difference between college and pro games.

“I wish there was something that was easy to transition to just because it’s a new level for everything,” Boston said. “The pace of the game is a lot faster. You know you need to make sure that you’re retaining all the information. Because you go from training camp but then really, a week into training camp, you have a week to prepare for your first official game.

Brea Beal said the beginning of camp was difficult because she did not know what to expect. Soon afterward, though, her teammates facilitated a welcoming environment that put her more at ease.

“The first couple days, you’re just really figuring out. Of course, you’re nervous – you’re a rookie,” Beal said. “But as a couple weeks go in, you get the groove of things. You’re with these vets who are very welcoming, very understanding. They were rookies before, so they can guide you through it.”

For other rookies, a sense of familiarity in some aspect has helped ease their transitions to the WNBA. Laeticia Amihere, now on the Atlanta Dream, said she is looking connect more strongly to the region of the country she called home during her college career.

“It’s the South – it’s a little bit different from what I’m used to in Canada,” Amihere said. “But I’ve had four years to embrace what the South means to me, and I feel like I’ve embraced that culture.”

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Victaria Saxton said Dawn Staley’s style of play has helped her adjust to the league from a game strategy standpoint.

“A lot of things we did under Coach Dawn just prepared us for what we do here,” Saxton said. “A lot of the things we do in practice, it’s like, ‘Wow, I did this before.’ It might have different terminology, but I can say, ‘I’ve heard this before. I know what this is,’ and not be confused.”

In Saxton’s case, she will also have the opportunity to build stronger chemistry with Boston, one of her former teammates. Saxton said continuing to play with Boston on the Indiana Fever will benefit her on and off the court.

“We’ve been doing this since South Carolina, so it’s nothing new,” Saxton said. “We know we can get on the court. We can battle, help each other out, let us know when one needs to do something better or fix something and still be cool at the end of the day. It’s out of love, and we want the best for each other.”

All five rookies had the opportunity to showcase their skills to their new teams in preseason matches. Boston made the most of that opportunity, totaling 16 points on 8-11 shooting and three rebounds over 34 minutes.

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Boston, who maintained a dominant inside presence at South Carolina, said experiencing the physicality of competitive games was one of the highlights of her preseason.

“The physicality was great to get a feel of that against Chicago in our preseason game what it’s going to be like there in the post. Trying to get to the basket, gotta defend everybody,” Boston said.

Before the season, Zia Cooke said she was ready to “learn from some great vets” and “lock in.” Locking in is exactly what she did in her lone preseason game for the Los Angeles Sparks. In 21 minutes, she scored 12 points, grabbed three rebounds and earned one assist while going 2-3 from three-point range.

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Beal demonstrated her defensive prowess she showed at South Carolina with one steal and one block in her second preseason game with the Minnesota Lynx. While defense is a staple of her play, she understands improving her all-around game will take her to another level.

“Playing defense against these girls who have been doing it for years is a good feeling just to put my skills to the test,” Beal said. “At this level, you need defense, but you definitely need to be effective on offense just as well.”

With the regular season on the horizon, Boston expressed excitement about beginning the next chapter of her basketball career after a historic one for the Gamecocks.

“I’m super excited to be able to play against all the pros. Just because this is the level that I’ve wanted to be at for quite some time now,” Boston said. “There are a lot of people that I look up to just because of who they are as people and how they’re able to dominate on the court. So I’m super excited just for the opportunity to do that.”

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