Friday, April 3, 2020

WHAT ABOUT THE GAMECOCKS NEXT SEASON?

Watching the 2019/20 South Carolina Gamecocks play, it's obvious that Ty Harris, their senior point guard, was their Kiana Williams - the brains and the motor of the outfit. She is one of America's best and will probably go in the first round of the WNBA draft. 

Senior KiKi Herbert-Harrigan was the 6'-2" heart and passion of their team - or a taller DiJonai Carrington. She also should go in the first round. Between them, they averaged 25 points and 9 rebounds per game. But much more than that - these two were the key ingredients to winning most of their games. In the following link watch No#52 and No#21 and I think you'll see what I mean:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1xVsna5BNc

Their returning sophomore post player, Aliyah Boston is big and strong and good, but by next April, I'm expecting Ashten Prechtel to be as good as Boston. Sophomores Zia Cooke and Brea Beal will not be able to fill the large hole left from the graduation of Harris and Herbert-Harrigan - and they won't be as effective as Kiana and Lexie. South Carolina will be good next year, but I think Stanford will be better. It'll be a great game to watch.
Projected Cardinal/Gamecock Starters
Ashen Prechtel  6'-5" So Post        Aliyah Boston      6'-5" So Post
Kiana Williams 5'-8" Sr  PG          Zia Cooke            5'-9" So PG
Lexie Hull         6'-0" Jr  SG           Brea Beal            6'-1" So SG
Haley Jones       6'-1" So G/F          LeLe Grissett     6'-2" Sr  G/F
Lacie Hull          6'-1" Jr  F             Victaria Saxton   6'-2" Jr  F

The following is a prognostication by Charlie Creme and the other ESPN analysts that projects South Carolina as the unanimous favorites to win the 2021 championship.
1. South Carolina GamecocksThe Gamecocks are our unanimous No. 1 for next season. That should feel familiar as South Carolina topped the AP Top 25 since mid-January and ended the shortened season at No. 1 for the first time after running the table in the SEC. Losing seniors Tyasha Harris at point guard and Mikiah Herbert Harrigan at forward will hurt; they combined to average just over 25 points and nine rebounds this season. They also sparked the team's chemistry. But South Carolina returns three starters -- forward Aliyah Boston (12.5 PPG, 9.4 RPG) and guards Zia Cooke (12.1 PPG) and Brea Beal (6.2 PPG) -- who'll be experienced sophomores next season. Destanni Henderson, who was second on the team in assists (93) to Harris, should see more time, as will rising senior LeLe Grissett. Fellow guard Destiny Littleton, a transfer from Texas who sat out this season, will be eligible. The Gamecocks will add another guard in freshman Eniya Russell, a HoopGurlz top-50 prospect. Rising junior Victaria Saxton, a forward, is expected to play a bigger role, too. Just as the Gamecocks were strong contenders for the NCAA title this year, they'll be the same next season. -
I think Charlie Creme and the other analysts who are ready to hand them next year's trophy in advance, are going to be disappointed. 

Over the next weeks I'll break down the other top contenders for the championship next season. I think South Carolina will get some rude jolts along the road. In spite of the sports writer's adoration of Dawn's team - I'm predicting they won't be a No.# 1 seed in the tournament. I think they're grossly underestimating the loss of their two stars and what they meant to this year's success. Without them, I think the Gamecocks would have been ranked outside the top four. In the game against Baylor in the above link, Baylor's All American Lauren Cox was unable to play and was sorely missed. But more about Baylor later.   

2 comments:

  1. Am curious as to why you think Stanford is better with a smaller starting lineup, especially after Dodson started along with Fingal toward the end of last season when she returned from injury.

    I see Dodson and Prechtel both starting with Laci, Fran, etc. coming off the bench.

    The Cardinal ran into problems last season against some of the more physical teams when they had only one 'big' on the court. Prechtel and Dodson together would present match-up problems for a lot of opponents who will not be able to pressure our perimeter players as much. Agree with you about the other four.

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  2. Thanks for your insight, Stephen. Against South Carolina I think we need speed at the four non-post positions and I think Ashten will be able to deal with Boston by the 2021 tournament. Maya has been quite a disappointment to me. Not sure if she's just coasting thru Stanford or if Tempie Brown should just stick to recruiting. I've been praying that Tara would bring in Kayla Peterson to work with our bigs. I feel sorry for Maya. She looks helpless when she receives a pass and her defender sags off and clogs up underneath and Maya has no idea what to do and no confidence to make a move.

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