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Dawn Staley's roster: Now and immediate future ....
Posted on 5/12/14 at 9:02 am
Posted on 5/12/14 at 9:02 am
So here is what the roster will look like heading into the 2014-15 season.
Only 14 of these are on scholarship? We've got room for one more this year if needed.
I've applied the jersey numbers to the new girls, at least the ones I know of, but I'll get the other two eventually.
Dawn Staley (SEC Coach of the Year 2014)
Guards
2 Olivia Gaines 5-7 SR G Chester, S.C./Louisburg College (N.C.)
5 Khadijah Sessions 5-8 JR G Myrtle Beach, S.C./Myrtle Beach
15 Tiffany Davis 5-7 RS SO G Houston, Texas/Westbury Christian
21 LeAnna Morrison 5-5 RS JR G Monck's Corner, S.C./Charlotte (pretty sure she walked-on)
23 Tina Roy 5-11 RS JR G Kaplan, La./Kaplan
25 Tiffany Mitchell 5-9 JR G Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day (All-American, SEC POY, 1st Team All-SEC, SEC All-Defensive Team)
1 Bianca Cuevas 5-6 FR G
Bronx, N.Y./Nazareth Regional (McDonald's AA)
?? Kaydra Duckett 5-9 FR G
Columbia, S.C./Dreher
?? Doniyah Cliney 6-0 FR G/F
Newark, N.J./Malcolm X Shabazz
Forwards
22 A'Ja Wilson 6-5 FR G/F
Columbia, S.C./Heathwood Hall (#1 overall prospect, US National team, etc. McDonald's AA)
31 Asia Dozier 6-0 JR G/F Columbia, S.C./Spring Valley
24 Aleighsa Welch 6-0 SR F Goose Creek, S.C./Goose Creek (1st Team All-SEC)
0 India Farmer 6-0 SO F North Myrtle Beach, S.C./North Myrtle Beach
Centers
33 Elem Ibiam 6-4 SR C Fayetteville, Ga./Fayette County (SEC All-Defensive Team)
41 Alaina Coates 6-4 SO C Irmo, S.C./Dutch Fork (McDonald's AA)(SEC FR of the Year, Co-6th Player of the Year, 2nd Team All-SEC)
40 - Jatarie White 6-4 FR C
Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day (#1 overall prospect at her position, McDonald's AA)
On a side note - can you imagine what kind of future beautiful Gamecock babies these two might make if they were to ... just dreamin'. Clowney's girlfriend is an Atlanta Hawks cheerleader (and Ga Tech girl), a twin if I am not mistaken. But what a strong recruiting tool Clowney was, for all sports probably. We'll miss that.
Only 14 of these are on scholarship? We've got room for one more this year if needed.
I've applied the jersey numbers to the new girls, at least the ones I know of, but I'll get the other two eventually.
Dawn Staley (SEC Coach of the Year 2014)
Guards
2 Olivia Gaines 5-7 SR G Chester, S.C./Louisburg College (N.C.)
5 Khadijah Sessions 5-8 JR G Myrtle Beach, S.C./Myrtle Beach
15 Tiffany Davis 5-7 RS SO G Houston, Texas/Westbury Christian
21 LeAnna Morrison 5-5 RS JR G Monck's Corner, S.C./Charlotte (pretty sure she walked-on)
23 Tina Roy 5-11 RS JR G Kaplan, La./Kaplan
25 Tiffany Mitchell 5-9 JR G Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day (All-American, SEC POY, 1st Team All-SEC, SEC All-Defensive Team)
1 Bianca Cuevas 5-6 FR G
Bronx, N.Y./Nazareth Regional (McDonald's AA)
?? Kaydra Duckett 5-9 FR G
Columbia, S.C./Dreher
?? Doniyah Cliney 6-0 FR G/F
Newark, N.J./Malcolm X Shabazz
Forwards
22 A'Ja Wilson 6-5 FR G/F
Columbia, S.C./Heathwood Hall (#1 overall prospect, US National team, etc. McDonald's AA)
31 Asia Dozier 6-0 JR G/F Columbia, S.C./Spring Valley
24 Aleighsa Welch 6-0 SR F Goose Creek, S.C./Goose Creek (1st Team All-SEC)
0 India Farmer 6-0 SO F North Myrtle Beach, S.C./North Myrtle Beach
Centers
33 Elem Ibiam 6-4 SR C Fayetteville, Ga./Fayette County (SEC All-Defensive Team)
41 Alaina Coates 6-4 SO C Irmo, S.C./Dutch Fork (McDonald's AA)(SEC FR of the Year, Co-6th Player of the Year, 2nd Team All-SEC)
40 - Jatarie White 6-4 FR C
Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day (#1 overall prospect at her position, McDonald's AA)
On a side note - can you imagine what kind of future beautiful Gamecock babies these two might make if they were to ... just dreamin'. Clowney's girlfriend is an Atlanta Hawks cheerleader (and Ga Tech girl), a twin if I am not mistaken. But what a strong recruiting tool Clowney was, for all sports probably. We'll miss that.
This post was edited on 5/14/14 at 8:24 am
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Posted on 5/12/14 at 10:58 am to scrooster
Would love to see a starting five of PG (Sessions to start, but maybe Cuevas or Duckett eventually?), Mitchell, Wilson, Coates and Ibiam. I think Coates is just way too good to leave on the bench. It'll probably end up being PG, Mitchell, Welch, Wilson and Ibiam/Coates though... Too many good player is not a horrible problem to have, though.
Posted on 5/12/14 at 11:25 am to Loathor
Spelling the big girls is a good move for now and in the immediate future IMHO especially now that we have four who go 6-4+.
On another note this just out ... and I think this is going to be good for us with A'jai on the U.S. National Team hopefully. It's going to continue to help with recruiting as well. As follows:
Dawn Staley has been named an assistant coach for the U.S. National Women's Basketball Team.
On another note this just out ... and I think this is going to be good for us with A'jai on the U.S. National Team hopefully. It's going to continue to help with recruiting as well. As follows:
Dawn Staley has been named an assistant coach for the U.S. National Women's Basketball Team.
Posted on 5/12/14 at 10:46 pm to scrooster
IMO Coach Staley will have a lot of options and combinations depending on matchup situations with opponents: will they be guard-heavy lineups or will they have deep height and post presence...
USC already used both Ibiam and Coates together on the floor in many games this season. They were used more often towards the end of the season as Coates got more comfortable playing against college and SEC competition.
Adding 6-4 White and 6-4 Wilson only adds to the options. They are both left-handed big girls who can defend and block shots excellently, joining 2 of the top 3 returning shot blockers in the SEC and 3 of the top 8 in Ibiam, Coates, and Welch.
Wilson IMO can also possibly see some time at the 4 relieving Welch, in addition to playing the 3 along with Dozier. It would seem a bit odd to possibly have a 6-4 at the 5 in Ibiam/Coates/White, 6-0 Welch at the 4, and then 6-4 Wilson at the 3, but that's what we might see...
At the 3, we'll have 6-0 G/F Dozier and 5-11 G Roy, who backed Dozier up last season, then 6-4 Wilson. Could also see incoming 6-0 G Cliney play some 3 when she's not part of the rotation at the 2 with Mitchell, Duckett, and Roy. 5-7 Davis and 5-7 Gaines will rotate at the 1 with 5-8 Sessions and incoming 5-6 PG Cuevas.
That's a lot of versatile talent and depth that has and can swing from position to position as the need arises. I'm very excited to see how the team develops for next season. Apparently there's some NCAA provisions for coaches who are involved with USA national teams in the fall, that they and their staffs can work with their teams in the summertimes to make up for the lost time then. So Coach Staley will be getting to work with her team very soon...
USC already used both Ibiam and Coates together on the floor in many games this season. They were used more often towards the end of the season as Coates got more comfortable playing against college and SEC competition.
Adding 6-4 White and 6-4 Wilson only adds to the options. They are both left-handed big girls who can defend and block shots excellently, joining 2 of the top 3 returning shot blockers in the SEC and 3 of the top 8 in Ibiam, Coates, and Welch.
Wilson IMO can also possibly see some time at the 4 relieving Welch, in addition to playing the 3 along with Dozier. It would seem a bit odd to possibly have a 6-4 at the 5 in Ibiam/Coates/White, 6-0 Welch at the 4, and then 6-4 Wilson at the 3, but that's what we might see...
At the 3, we'll have 6-0 G/F Dozier and 5-11 G Roy, who backed Dozier up last season, then 6-4 Wilson. Could also see incoming 6-0 G Cliney play some 3 when she's not part of the rotation at the 2 with Mitchell, Duckett, and Roy. 5-7 Davis and 5-7 Gaines will rotate at the 1 with 5-8 Sessions and incoming 5-6 PG Cuevas.
That's a lot of versatile talent and depth that has and can swing from position to position as the need arises. I'm very excited to see how the team develops for next season. Apparently there's some NCAA provisions for coaches who are involved with USA national teams in the fall, that they and their staffs can work with their teams in the summertimes to make up for the lost time then. So Coach Staley will be getting to work with her team very soon...
Posted on 5/12/14 at 10:49 pm to ConwayGamecock
Enjoyed reading that Conway, thanks!
Posted on 5/13/14 at 9:45 am to scrooster
My biggest question is if will the beefed up roster Dawn stays with tough D or you see her playing faster like several other SEC schools do?
Posted on 5/13/14 at 12:16 pm to Cheese Grits
quote:
My biggest question is if will the beefed up roster Dawn stays with tough D or you see her playing faster like several other SEC schools do?
My initial notion is that Staley likes to play faster, but she has shown that she can work with whatever situation her personnel presents, and still present a nationally top-ranked defense on the floor.
Prior to last season, USC had little to no interior depth (they had Ibiam but she hadn't really found herself her first 2 yrs at USC), which was the case for most of Staley's teams at USC. But 2011-12 and 2012-13 were 25-win seasons that featured suffocating perimeter defense from guards such as Sutton, Grant, and Walker.
Last season those guards were all gone but Staley discovered she had a dominating tandem in Ibiam and Coates, and the defense shifted from forced perimeter turnovers and FG % defense on the perimeter to fierce interior play, shot-blocking, defensive rebounding. Actually USC has been a top SEC team in def. rebounding, scoring def., FG % def., rebounding margin, etc.
We've needed to shore up our offensive scoring as a team - we were 13th in the SEC ahead of only MSU in '12-'13, and improved to 4th last season - but we now need to improve our perimeter scoring as well.
We still have Sessions, who I have been a little critical of this past season but I will say her biggest strength she brings to the team is her 1 on 1 defense. She really locked down on opponent's top scorers towards the end of the season and contained them effectively. I also really like Olivia Gaines' defensive presence on the floor when she plays: she got more minutes down the stretch at the expense IMO of Davis due to this strength, and has that knack of getting in the hip pockets and faces of opposing PGs when they dribble down the court, that our past Gs I mentioned above used to do. We added Cliney who is reportedly a stout defensive player.
I don't know enough about Cuevas or Duckett defensively, but I'm sure Staley and staff will get them on the same page quickly.
Quick answer to your question: we increased our guard depth with Cuevas, Duckett, and Cliney, so I imagine we'll be capable of playing quicker if needed. Cuevas is well known for her quickness on the dribble that will gash and slash to the basket, so I doubt we slow down much, if not get faster. Sessions is too hesitant with the ball IMO: she looks to pass off more than she just takes the ball and drives.
But we can't deny all the size and height - and talent - in the post. They got to be on the floor. I always thought Coates looks bigger than Ibiam side-by-side: Coates has those broad shoulders, while Ibiam's upper body is more slender/narrow at the shoulders. But Coates will leave Ibiam behind on a fast-break - she has tremendous quickness and athleticism for such a big girl. Don't know how fast White is, but reportedly Wilson ran track and set a school record in some sort of dash event, so she's supposed to be fast for her size.
We'll be fine IMO as long as we don't try too much to have 3 of the big girls on the floor at the same time (Wilson + 2 of the 3 post girls). Especially is we're playing a guard-based opponent like a UK or UF, etc....
Posted on 5/13/14 at 1:02 pm to ConwayGamecock
quote:
Especially is we're playing a guard-based opponent like a UK or UF
MM just signed a big contract so is set for the next several years. The bigger question is Butler. Sure she is an alum but how long will Foley keep her if the program is not doing well. It seems like Mizzou lives and dies on the 3pt shot so their game is pretty 1 dimensional. Vols guards seem more like forwards in size and play. Dores still get their points from too few players but looks to have done well recruiting which would give them more points as a team.
All and all the east looks to be a beast for the SEC women.
Posted on 5/13/14 at 5:03 pm to ConwayGamecock
Sheeeesh Conway! You are now our official women's basketball guru! I like that!
The women's game is so much purer than the men's game IMHO. Maybe it's because I raised three girls, but I've always enjoyed the women's game ... I was a big fan of the Pam Parson's teams. Too bad it ended the way it did - she goofed. But boy oh boy she had some good teams.
The women's game is so much purer than the men's game IMHO. Maybe it's because I raised three girls, but I've always enjoyed the women's game ... I was a big fan of the Pam Parson's teams. Too bad it ended the way it did - she goofed. But boy oh boy she had some good teams.
Posted on 5/14/14 at 12:47 am to Cheese Grits
quote:
MM just signed a big contract so is set for the next several years. The bigger question is Butler. Sure she is an alum but how long will Foley keep her if the program is not doing well. It seems like Mizzou lives and dies on the 3pt shot so their game is pretty 1 dimensional. Vols guards seem more like forwards in size and play. Dores still get their points from too few players but looks to have done well recruiting which would give them more points as a team.
All and all the east looks to be a beast for the SEC women.
Butler's team was pretty young this past season like USC's was, with only maybe 2 seniors, although their Srs. were major contributors. They do however have 4-5 players on their roster that were red-shirted at some point in their careers, so they have a number that should have great development.
UF typically recruits very well, perhaps more on UGA's level but a tier perhaps just below UT's. They have several 4-star caliber players returning for next season, such as Kayla Lewis, Carli Needles, Viktorija Dimaite, and January Miller, so they have the talent. They brought in the overall #2 Wing and 5-star Ronni Williams in Coates' class, and is bringing in the #5 AND #10 Post players in the 2014 class, as well as a 4-star Guard for next season, so I imagine they'll have some players to watch for having big years next yr. UF was a NCAAT team this past season and got on a good run towards the end of the season, so I don't expect Foley to make any rash decisions just yet...
UT always has the size in the league, although now they may be looking up a little at USC for a change in that regard. But their guards are typically bigger girls. We were fortunate that their stud freshman Mercedez Russell struggled to get going last season, but I don't expect those struggles to continue into next season. Massingale will return healthy, and Carter got some substantial PT as the floor leader while she was out. UT is also bringing in a typical UT class of McD AAs and 5-stars, so they'll still be a top dog in the SEC. We need to do much better against Harrison than we did last season: she owned the paint against BOTH Ibiam and Coates last season...
Posted on 5/14/14 at 8:17 am to ConwayGamecock
On a related side-note, it appears the deal is all but done that will have SCAR and Connecticut playing a home and home series this coming season and the next.
It has been reported that we'll travel to UConn in February of 2015 and they'll come here the following season.
It has been reported that we'll travel to UConn in February of 2015 and they'll come here the following season.
quote:
Talking on a teleconference about adding South Carolina’s Dawn Staley to his coaching staff for the U.S. National Team, UConn coach Geno Auriemma again confirmed that his nine-time national champion(s) will play the upstart Gamecocks in a home-and-home series beginning next season.
A date hasn’t been released, but the made-for-TV matchup will take place.
“I don’t know that we have a firm date, but I know that we have a tentative date,” Auriemma said. “I think we have it sometime in February. I think it’s a Monday, on ESPN.”
The February scheduling is a bit odd, but it helps guarantee that two of the best teams in the country will appear in a major network broadcast. A typical nonconference game in November or December would battle football for viewership.
In February, USC will be in the midst of the SEC season, which normally is not the time to schedule a nonconference game – especially one on the road against the most prominent program in the nation.
But the Gamecocks, once the SEC schedule is released, are expected to have two bye weeks, as they traditionally have had.
One of those bye dates should come on a Sunday, meaning they would play an SEC opponent on a Thursday, then be free to go to Connecticut the following Monday before preparing for another SEC game the following Thursday. The two teams must find out their conference schedules before they can officially announce the date.
“We would love to beef up our schedule and play some teams that we feel could put us in the best possible position to win a national championship,” Staley said a few weeks ago. “We will certainly play anybody anywhere.”
UConn doubtless will open the season No. 1 after its second straight national title and an undefeated season. But the Gamecocks will be hovering right beneath the Huskies in the preseason poll after winning 29 games, an SEC title, advancing to the Sweet 16, signing the country’s No. 2 recruiting class (including prep National Player of the Year A’ja Wilson, who also was recruited by UConn) and returning every significant player.
“A lot of these games are really ESPN-driven,” Auriemma said. “This is a concept that we have in mind, because we’re both going to be top-5. It’s a great game to play later on in the season, when people start to think about postseason play.”
The Huskies will visit Columbia in a return game during the 2015-16 season. USC is 0-2 lifetime against UConn, playing a home-and-home in 2007 and 2008, the last year of coach Susan Walvius’ tenure and the first year of Staley’s. The Huskies won 97-39 and 77-48.
As for other games, Staley is finding a repeat of last year in it being difficult to lure a quality opponents to Columbia. Confirmed games are return home-and-home matches with Southern Cal and San Diego State, plus the annual rivalry match with Clemson.
“For us, coach (Nikki) McCray is over our scheduling,” Staley said. “She’s finding it real hard to find it for us to schedule games, for one reason or another.”
Posted on 5/14/14 at 8:29 am to ConwayGamecock
quote:
IMO Coach Staley will have a lot of options and combinations depending on matchup situations with opponents: will they be guard-heavy lineups or will they have deep height and post presence...
USC already used both Ibiam and Coates together on the floor in many games this season. They were used more often towards the end of the season as Coates got more comfortable playing against college and SEC competition.
Adding 6-4 White and 6-4 Wilson only adds to the options. They are both left-handed big girls who can defend and block shots excellently, joining 2 of the top 3 returning shot blockers in the SEC and 3 of the top 8 in Ibiam, Coates, and Welch.
Wilson IMO can also possibly see some time at the 4 relieving Welch, in addition to playing the 3 along with Dozier. It would seem a bit odd to possibly have a 6-4 at the 5 in Ibiam/Coates/White, 6-0 Welch at the 4, and then 6-4 Wilson at the 3, but that's what we might see...
At the 3, we'll have 6-0 G/F Dozier and 5-11 G Roy, who backed Dozier up last season, then 6-4 Wilson. Could also see incoming 6-0 G Cliney play some 3 when she's not part of the rotation at the 2 with Mitchell, Duckett, and Roy. 5-7 Davis and 5-7 Gaines will rotate at the 1 with 5-8 Sessions and incoming 5-6 PG Cuevas.
That's a lot of versatile talent and depth that has and can swing from position to position as the need arises. I'm very excited to see how the team develops for next season. Apparently there's some NCAA provisions for coaches who are involved with USA national teams in the fall, that they and their staffs can work with their teams in the summertimes to make up for the lost time then. So Coach Staley will be getting to work with her team very soon...
One really glaring weakness I noticed last year, one where the teams that beat us and the teams that were in the final four seemed to have an advantage over us last season, was that we did not have a real outside scoring threat unless Tina Roy happened to be hot at the time.
I'm hoping we find a couple of natural outside shooters for this coming season so that it forces opponents to come out and guard rather than collapsing and crashing around our boards in the big games.
We will not be able to beat UConn unless we find some perimeter scoring threats to keep them honest. That's what got us beat by UT and UNC as well IMHO. The A&M game ... we were just robbed.
This post was edited on 5/14/14 at 8:30 am
Posted on 5/14/14 at 12:11 pm to scrooster
quote:
One really glaring weakness I noticed last year, one where the teams that beat us and the teams that were in the final four seemed to have an advantage over us last season, was that we did not have a real outside scoring threat unless Tina Roy happened to be hot at the time.
I'm hoping we find a couple of natural outside shooters for this coming season so that it forces opponents to come out and guard rather than collapsing and crashing around our boards in the big games.
We will not be able to beat UConn unless we find some perimeter scoring threats to keep them honest. That's what got us beat by UT and UNC as well IMHO. The A&M game ... we were just robbed.
I agree totally with your opinion on USC's weakness last season. Dozier is also supposed to be a solid scoring threat from the perimeter like Roy, as well as Tiffany Davis. But to many of the bigger games those girls were too afraid to take their shots when they had them, putting more pressure on the Big Four (Mitchell, Welch, Coates, Ibiam) to carry the scoring load. Ibiam and Coates platooned for most of the season, and if either Mitchell or Welch got into early foul trouble, we just didn't have enough offense on the floor to keep pace with the big teams, no matter how stiff our defense was.
Both Wilson and Duckett are supposed to be talented perimeter shooters so they'll help, and hopefully Dozier, Roy, and Davis comtinue their improvements. Cuevas is also a big scorer, but I don't know if she does a lot of jump-shooting or if she just slashes to the basket all the time...
Posted on 5/14/14 at 12:38 pm to scrooster
quote:
We will not be able to beat UConn unless we find some perimeter scoring threats to keep them honest.
If you are going to beat Uconn you need fair refs to start with. Only 2 girls were ejected all season and getting fouls called on them is damn near impossible. The worst is when the blonde ref with the ponytail is calling Uconn games.
In the past they have let certain players get away with stuff like Simms at Baylor and Parker with the Vols but Uconn it is the whole team. Having the refs and having ESPN recruit for you need to be overcome first.
Posted on 5/14/14 at 6:06 pm to ConwayGamecock
quote:
Cuevas is also a big scorer, but I don't know if she does a lot of jump-shooting or if she just slashes to the basket all the time
Somewhere, and I am looking for it as I am posting this, there is a highlight video of Cuevas I saw and she mainly slashes to the basket. I gotta say, to be as small as she is, she reminds me of Devan Downey with her ability to drive the lane and score against the big people. But I did not see much from her as far as her being able to pull-up and take the jumper or set outside and burn anyone. Her forte is definitely her ball-handling skills and her ability to dish to open players down low ... because if they shift to cover the big girls she will definitely take it to the hoop and she is the little acrobat in that regard. She's going to do some things that are going to excite our fanbase, in time, IMHO.
Like you, I'm really keeping my fingers crossed for Roy, Davis and Dozier to come on strong next season. I saw Wilson play enough in high school to know she can pull up and hit the J from anywhere on the court - she has a very sweet stroke. Not DeShields sweet, but sweet enough.
Was it Dozier, I think it was, who always had open shots but instead of taking them she would try to force the ball down low and get it picked-off all the time? I'd honestly like to know, in our last four losses, how many turnovers we had by trying to force balls down low when we had open shots from 12-15 feet. It got outta hand at one point and was very frustrating to watch. I think it was Dozier who was most guilty.
And Grits, you're right, everybody talks about the calls UConn gets. I hope we're not a victim of that but, like heavyweight boxing used to be, you have to beat the champion and do so convincingly to beat them ... anything close is going to go to the reigning champion, especially at their place.
Cuevas' nickname is "Pebbles" btw.
LINK
Cuevas is #1 ... she actually shows some perimeter shooting skills in this video made during her Freshman year. Dawn Staley has said that Cuevas is a spitting image of her, her game, when she was that age.
LINK
This is her, #1 in white in probably the most comprehensive highlight video against good competition. I take it back, she can drain the 3. she can do everything.
LINK
Here she is again, this time #1 in black. She's an impressive player.
LINK
Here she is again, this time playing AAU ball with some of the best players in the country.
LINK
Here she is, along with A'ja and our other McD's AA, doing interviews in Chicago before the AA game.
LINK
I gotta admit, I am excited about her. She is gong to bring a dimension to our team we've not had before.
Posted on 5/14/14 at 7:54 pm to scrooster
Yep, I guess they don't hand out those McDonald's AA invites to just anybody, lol. I Probably shouldn't underestimate Cuevas....
Posted on 5/15/14 at 11:12 pm to ConwayGamecock
Neither should I.
Can't wait to see this team jell over the next year or two.
Can't wait to see this team jell over the next year or two.
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