Hometown Gamecock earns full scholarship from Dawn Staley
Olivia Thompson turned down a full scholarship at a Division II school to come to her hometown school and walk on to South Carolina women’s basketball.
Now, she’s been rewarded with a full ride with the Gamecocks.
Thompson, a rising sophomore in coach Dawn Staley’s program, took to Twitter on Wednesday night to announce that she’s been placed on scholarship. Her teammates quickly offered their congratulations over social media.
“I’ve been dreaming for this moment since I was young,” Thompson wrote. “Today I can say that I have a full scholarship at the University of South Carolina. I’m so thankful for my teammates, coaches and family. I’m forever grateful.”
“You have worked so hard for this and look what God has done. Keep grinding kid!” redshirt junior guard Destiny Littleton wrote.
“Youre changing the game. Walk on & earn a Full scholarship at the best college in the nation. Young recruits take note,not everyone’s road is the same,work your butt off & you’ll have success!” said Laeticia Amihere, Thompson’s classmate.
Thompson came to South Carolina this past season from Lexington High School, where she was a three-time All-State player and one of the top 3-point shooters in South Carolina. She was set to sign with Division II Lenoir-Rhyne when Staley contacted her and offered a walk-on spot.
“It was just an opportunity I couldn’t turn down,” Thompson said back in 2019. “I thought about it for roughly a day, and I just thought, it’s all about the experience. This is the opportunity of a lifetime and I don’t feel like I’m regretting anything. I was turning down a full scholarship, but I just thought it was all about the experience, and I couldn’t pass that up.”
As the hometown favorite of fans, Thompson drew cheers whenever she entered games at Colonial Life Arena. Her debut, late in the Gamecocks’ opener against Alabama State, created a frenzy when she scored 10 points, seven in the span of less than a minute.
Thompson appeared in 22 total games in her 2019-20 freshman campaign. She averaged 5 minutes and 1.7 points, with 36 of her 41 shots coming from beyond the arc. She shot 30.6% from 3 and earned praise from Staley as an enthusiastic player and member of the program.
With Thompson no longer a walk-on, the Gamecocks are at 11 scholarship players for the 2020-21 season, when they are expected to once again contend for an SEC title, Final Four spot and national championship.
Staley and USC returned to the court for a full-squad practice this week for the first time since arriving back on campus and going through testing protocols for the novel coronavirus.
This story was originally published August 5, 2020 at 8:55 PM.
