USC’s only forward commit prepared to help Gamecocks take on life without A’ja
A’ja Wilson raised a few eyebrows when she fired off two 3-point attempts in a game against Savannah State earlier this season, the first time she’s done that in her collegiate career.
But as it turns out, Wilson isn’t the only South Carolina post player working on her shot from long range — a future Gamecock also is trying to transform herself into a multidimensional threat.
Victaria Saxton, ESPN’s No. 50 recruit in the country, signed with South Carolina on Nov. 14 and is one half of the Gamecocks’ 17th-ranked recruiting class of 2018. The 6-foot-1 forward from Rome, Georgia, is trying to get a head start on her collegiate career, she said, forcing herself to take shots from the outside instead of driving into the lane.
“I am working on that a lot. Like, a lot. I have to tell myself if I don’t shoot, I have to run or something,” Saxton said on Dec. 12 after what one of her coaches at Model High School half-jokingly called an “average” game: 27 points and 16 rebounds in a 74-44 win.
“It’s really hard. I always tell my coach ... if I get the ball, I’ll always have that attack versus the outside shot, when I know I’m going to make the attack versus the outside shot. But I still got to work on it.”
Saxton, who has a long wingspan and lanky frame, towers over most of her high school opponents, but once she enters the college game, she will face many more players just as big or bigger than she is, and she knows it. As a result, she might have to stretch her game along the wing, but her high school coach, Sally Echols, says that shouldn’t be a problem.
“She’s definitely a stretch (player),” Echols said. “She does what she needs to do for our team, which is to dominate inside, and she does that for us, but (sometimes) she has to stretch her game — especially the way she’s defended. Most of the teams we play use box-and-one or triangle-and-two (defenses) just on her. So she sees a lot of different defenses, and she handles it pretty well.”
While Saxton might not be the biggest post player in her class, she is able to hold her own down low thanks to her length and leaping ability.
“Her defensive ability is unbelievable. The length and the wingspan ... she’s like a 747 on two legs,” Dan Olson, who formulates ESPN’s HoopGurlz recruiting rankings, said when Saxton signed with South Carolina. “She blocks shots, just creates havoc in the paint ... she’s long, lean (and) can run the floor like a guard.”
“Her athleticism, her ability to get off the floor instantly, blocking shots, defensively, by far, that is her greatest strength,” Echols said. “The other aspect of her game is offensively she can attack the hole. She can finish around the rim. What she’s working on is her outside shooting. She’s got the outside shot, she’s got to develop her confidence.”
Looking ahead to the 2018-2019 season, South Carolina will return plenty of guards and add Saxton’s fellow freshman, No. 9-rated Destanni Henderson, in the backcourt, but the Gamecocks will lose star senior forward Wilson, leaving a massive hole in the post.
“(I am) nervous” to come in right after Wilson leaves, Saxton admitted. “At first I thought, ‘It’s going to be really fun getting to play with her.’ But then I was like, ‘Oh, but she’s graduating.’ ”
Right now, Saxton said she is keeping close track of USC’s current season, particularly the team’s three freshmen, to try to understand how she can fit in next year. Dawn Staley already has started two first-year players this season: guard Bianca Jackson and forward Lele Grissett.
“Going in as a freshman, I’m just going to be a team player,” Saxton predicted for her own freshman season. “Whatever the coach wants me to do, whatever she needs me to do, I’m just gonna play basketball.”
This story was originally published January 20, 2018 at 10:57 AM with the headline "USC’s only forward commit prepared to help Gamecocks take on life without A’ja."