Gamecock WBB freshmen ‘taking in a lot,’ learning from veterans during postseason
The South Carolina women’s basketball team carries seven seniors on its roster with a combined 900 games of experience.
After their impending departures, a new era of USC basketball will begin — a process that is already underway.
South Carolina’s true freshmen — Ashlyn Watkins, Talaysia Cooper and Chloe Kitts — got a taste of postseason action for the first time during the SEC tournament over the weekend as the Gamecocks brought home the conference championship.
Bon Secours Wellness Arena was filled with Gamecock fans and drew in more than 51,000 spectators across a five-day span. But the moment wasn’t nerve-racking for the first-year players.
“Coach (Dawn Staley) gets us right, so we’re not really freaking out or anything,” Kitts said. “No one is.”
Kitts joined the team during the season after graduating from high school early. She’s appeared in 14 games.
There have been difficulties in making the adjustment from high school to college, she said, but constant communication with Staley has helped. She’s spent this season focusing on ways to improve her game for next year.
“I still need to get bigger, stronger, better,” Kitts said.
Cooper, from Turbeville, has caught the attention of Staley by her willingness to constantly ask questions. She said she embraced her first minutes of collegiate postseason basketball during the conference tournament.
She’s been used as both a point guard and shooting guard for the Gamecocks.
South Carolina’s experienced players have stressed to Cooper to pay attention to small details.
“You have to do what you have to do on and off the court, because it’s gonna show on the court,” Cooper said.
Three of USC’s seniors — Aliyah Boston, Zia Cooke and Brea Beal — started as freshmen. They won the SEC championship but were unable to compete in the NCAA tournament due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Six of the seven seniors on this year’s roster were on the team for the 2021 Final Four season and last year’s national championship team.
South Carolina’s veterans have already communicated the importance of the postseason to its younger players.
“Tournament time, SEC and NCAA, is much more intense,” Watkins said. “It matters more. Just have to be ready for any and everything. Playing back-to-back, it’s not like the regular season.
Watkins, who is from Columbia and attended Cardinal Newman, has played the most of the true freshmen, with 28 games and 11.3 minutes per game. She’s recorded two double-doubles this season and made the first dunk in program history.
“I’m learning a lot of different things,” Watkins said. “I’m learning to just sit and wait for my turn. But it’s good because I’m learning from experienced players.”
South Carolina will bring in Milaysia Fulwiley, Sanyah Jah and Tessa Johnson next season in its freshman class.
Kitts was originally a member of that class before joining the team early, so she’ll come into next year with a season under her belt. She said she looks forward to joining next year’s group with the knowledge that the seniors have given her thus far.
“I feel like I’m taking in a lot, because there’s a lot of leaders around me,” Kitts said. “They’re all pretty good leaders and they’re all leaving. I know I’m not gonna be a freshman next year. ... So I know I have to lead.”
