Why did this new Gamecock commit pick Dawn Staley? ‘I could be myself on the phone’
Bree Hall was prepared to take her official visits — she would pick five of the top-level women’s basketball programs recruiting her and go, getting first-class treatment at each one while coaches tried to convince the 6-foot guard to commit to their program.
The coronavirus pandemic, obviously, changed all that. With visits, both official and unofficial, halted until at least June, Hall decided she didn’t need any more trips to make her choice. In the end, she went with the program and the coaches with whom “I could be myself on the phone,” she told The State — South Carolina.
Hall’s commitment to Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks on Monday made her the first public commit in the class of 2021 for USC. Ranked 26th overall in her class by ESPN, she’s a five-star prospect who could wind up playing a key role in a recruiting class that already has four members, according to tweets from Staley.
While some high school athletes have slowed their recruitments until those visits can resume, Hall said she had a sense of what they would be like and where she already liked based on unofficial trips.
“I feel like the official visits would have been fun to go to, but I feel like it would have been a lot of persuading. You know how those visits are, you buy food, take them out to eat, nice hotels, stuff like that,” Hall told The State. “But when I went (to South Carolina), I’ve been there two times now, the last time I went was for the UConn game, and I felt like, even then, I felt like it was just the right place, and it wasn’t with all the hoopla, the access to it.”
Instead, she announced her decision via a video on social media site Tik Tok and an Instagram post featuring her decked out in South Carolina gear down to custom Gamecock-themed Air Jordans.
It was the end of a recruiting process that began back in May 2018, when Staley first extended a scholarship offer. Back then, Hall was just finishing up her freshman year. On her AAU team, Sports City U, there was a junior point guard she looked up and sought out for advice — Zia Cooke.
Cooke, now a rising sophomore for the Gamecocks who started every game this past season and earned SEC All-Freshman honors, is a good friend of Hall’s and has helped her on the court. Off it, Hall said, she didn’t push her too hard in the recruiting process.
“She said she wanted me to come, like any friend would,” Hall said, adding that the opportunity to play with Cooke again was a small factor in her final decision.
Back as a freshman, Hall said, she was primarily recruited for her defensive ability. With her length in the backcourt, she’s able to rebound effectively for her position and disrupt passing lanes.
Over the past couple years, though, Hall’s game has rounded out. As a sophomore, she averaged 13.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while shooting 48.3% from the field, according to the Dayton Daily News. As a junior, those numbers jumped to 21.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, as well as 55.5% from the field, including 38.8% from 3-point range.
“I describe my game as a two-way player, definitely. Offensively dominant and defensively really dominant too. I’d say a hard worker on the court and definitely like a ‘beast,’ that’s a nickname some people have used,” Hall said.
And as she developed as a basketball player, Hall’s relationship with South Carolina developed as well.
“At first (when South Carolina offered) I was kind of overwhelmed with South Carolina. Like my mom says I was kind of more scared, not of the coaches. It was just like, ‘Oh man, can I really play up to that level, at the age I was in 2018?’
“And then, over time I just started to mature and my game started to get better and better, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I can definitely play ... with them.’”
Meanwhile, Hall also began to form a connection with Staley, seeing something of her mother in the Gamecocks’ coach.
“When (Staley) came to my house for a home visit, I felt like it just really clicked, like I felt like this was the place,” Hall said.
That ultimately played the biggest role in why she chose USC over programs like Mississippi State, Tennessee, Ohio State and others in her top seven.
With still a year left before she can officially arrive on campus, Hall has her sights set high for her upcoming senior season — making the U.S. national team, earning a McDonald’s All-American selection, playing in the Jordan Brand Classic, remaining the top-ranked recruit in Ohio for 2021. And to top it all off? “Miss Basketball for Ohio,” she said.
This story was originally published May 26, 2020 at 6:10 PM.
