Dawn Staley, South Carolina add towering ACC transfer to boost interior
Dawn Staley added a 6-7 former ACC player to the South Carolina women’s basketball roster on Friday.
Kamilla Cardoso, a center from Brazil, spent one season at Syracuse, where she was named All-ACC, ACC Rookie of the Year and the conference’s co-Defensive Player of the Year. She averaged 13.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game.
Because of the NCAA’s new rule that grants an extra year of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic and allowing first-time transfers to play right away, Cardoso will be able to play in the 2021-22 season and have up to four years of eligibility at USC.
Staley and the Gamecocks recruited Cardoso out of high school — she attended Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Tennessee. Cardoso had USC in her final group of four schools before committing to the Orange.
“Kamilla is a perfect complement to our program,” Staley said in statement. “Coming from a traditionally rich grassroots program, her mobility, rebounding prowess and scoring ability at her size is a rarity. When she’s on the court the FAMS will quickly see why she was named the ACC Freshman of the Year and Co-Defender of the Year.”
Syracuse went 15-9 this past year and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, with Cardoso ranking second on the team in points and rebounds. Her 57.6% field goal percentage ranked 12th nationally.
Since the end of the season, however, the Orange have experienced massive turnover — Cardoso was the 12th player out of 15 on the roster to enter the transfer portal.
Now, she’ll be joining a roster that has experienced no turnover whatsoever. The Gamecocks return all 11 players from the 2020-21 team that advanced to the Final Four, coming agonizingly close to a national championship game.
On top of that, USC is welcoming in a freshman class that ESPN ranked No. 1 in the country. Point guard Raven Johnson, guard Saniya Rivers, forward Sania Feagin and wing Bree Hall are all five-star prospects who were named McDonald’s All-Americans.
Johnson and Cardoso already know each other well — they were teammates on the AAU circuit, both playing for FBC United.
Cardoso was also a McDonald’s All-American. All told, USC’s roster, currently at 16 players, has 11 former McDonald’s All-Americans and 14 former five-star players.
In the frontcourt, Cardoso will now become the tallest player on a unit that includes All-American Aliyah Boston, returning starter Victaria Saxton, top reserve Laeticia Amihere and Feagin.
South Carolina women’s basketball roster 2021-22
LeLe Grissett — senior guard
Destiny Littleton — senior guard
Victaria Saxton — senior forward
Destanni Henderson — senior guard
Elysa Wesolek — senior forward
Zia Cooke — junior guard
Aliyah Boston — junior forward
Brea Beal — junior guard
Laeticia Amihere — junior forward
Olivia Thompson — junior guard
Eniya Russell — sophomore guard
Kamilla Cardoso — sophomore forward
Raven Johnson — freshman guard
Saniya Rivers — freshman guard
Sania Feagin — freshman forward
Bree Hall — freshman guard
This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 11:08 AM.
