Getting to know the Gamecocks: Alaina Coates

No.: 41

Position: Center

Year: Freshman

Height: 6-4

Hometown: Irmo

Key Stat: Has a shooting percentage of over .600 from the field

Did you know?

Some of the genes come from five-time NFL Pro Bowler Ben Coates, her uncle.

“Every time we were at his house, I always wanted to touch his Super Bowl ring because it was huge.”

It wasn’t always basketball.

“I played soccer and I did gymnastics at first. I wanted to be a cheerleader, too, but I went to one of my friend’s basketball games and thought, ‘This looks interesting.’ ”

It took until the first day of high school before she could quit standing at the back of school photos.

“I guess I was 6-1 in middle school. Once I hit high school, I finally had guys my size and was like, ‘I’m not alone anymore.’ ”

When does she remember first beating the boys?

“It was the last time we played pickup in the driveway. I beat my brother and my dad, and it was probably when I was still in middle school. When I won, I said I was done. Haven’t played them since.”

David Cloninger

This story was originally published March 2, 2014 at 8:06 PM with the headline "Getting to know the Gamecocks: Alaina Coates."