How South Carolina basketball transfers are filling Gamecocks’ leadership void
Te-Hina Paopao isn’t afraid to talk. She says as much during a pseudo-media day for South Carolina women’s basketball newcomers on Wednesday morning. Her voice echoes and bubbles for the gaggles of reporters around her barstool.
She flashes a wry smile when asked more specifically about that voice that feels destined to echo around Colonial Life Arena this winter.
“I think I am definitely the voice of the team,” she said. “I’ve been through some stuff. I’m a senior. I’ve transferred. I kind of know what I’m talking about.
“But I’ve really got to earn that trust and respect from my teammates to know that I’m leading and they trust me to put them in the right place, to put them in the right positions.”
It only takes a few minutes around Paopao to see why the Oregon transfer was so in demand — and why USC needed a voice like hers so desperately during this offseason of change. South Carolina is transitioning. Gone are Aliyah Boston, Zia Cooke, Brea Beal and Laeticia Amihere.
That leaves a physical and vocal void around Columbia.
Paopao, along with Northwest Florida State College transfer Sakima Walker, have only been on campus a few months. But they’re also the most obvious options to fill the leadership roles vacated via that vacuum.
“Leadership — I really found my voice there (in JUCO),” Walker said. “I like teaching and helping. I like teaching like my younger teammates.”
That Paopao is here in Columbia takes a some backtracking. She had a stellar career at Oregon over the last three years, starting all 35 games this past season, while averaging averaged 13.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game along with a 42.4% clip from 3-point range. Still, she sought a fresh start. Dawn Staley gave her that.
Terri Bamford, Paopao’s high school coach, gave her a heads up Staley wanted to give her a call. Paopao was thrilled at the thought, but she was en route to an 8:30 a.m. sociology class when South Carolina’s head coach gave her a ring. She pulled over and chatted with Staley for a few minutes. USC’s staff wanted to get her to Columbia for a visit, which followed soon thereafter. As did Paopao’s commitment.
That sociology class? Paopao made it on time.
“I think I knew in my heart that it was going to be South Carolina,” she said. “And it sealed the deal when I took a visit.”
Walker took a more circuitous route to South Carolina. She started her career at Rutgers as a four-star recruit but said she struggled with her mental health off the court. Her grades dipped. She didn’t have the marks to move to another Division I school, so she landed at Northwest Florida State, a junior college.
The Ohio native found a comfort at the JUCO level. She leaned on coaches and teammates in her transition. She took on 21 credits during the summer as a way to catch up. Walker smiles, proudly noting she made the President’s List, Dean’s List and graduated with honors.
Where she thrived in the classroom, her play on the court followed. Walker averaged 16.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game during her single season in Niceville, Florida. She also finished the year shooting 59.8% from the floor and hitting 74.6% of her free throws.
“I think at first I looked at it as stepping backwards,” Walker said. “But I think it helped really get me back to where I want to be. I was the oldest (on the team), so it allowed me to be put in a leadership role. And I (want to) just carry that over here with me.”
Paopao sighs a smidge when asked about last year’s Final Four team. She watched South Carolina fall two wins short of an undefeated national championship in a loss to Caitlin Clark and Iowa from home in California. Paopao felt connected to that team.
The Gamecocks shot a meager 31% from 3-point range, which ranked No. 170 nationally. No player with more than 65 attempts shot better than 38% from long-range. Paopao could help — and she knew it.
“Watching them in the Final Four, I was like, ‘Dang, that could really be me out there shooting the ball,’’ she said.
Now in Columbia, Paopao and Walker represent the old guard on a team that will skew young. Paopao isn’t shy in saying she feels comfortable being the “voice” of the team. Where others like sophomore Ashlyn Watkins and even Walker are more lead-by-example types, the ex-Ducks star has a flare to her.
South Carolina isn’t exactly devoid of talent. This year’s squad boasts six former McDonald’s All-Americans. Center Kamilla Cardoso is coming off a season in which she was named an honorable mention All-American despite Boston holding down the bulk of the minutes in the post.
But what the Gamecocks need is voices. Paopao will be one. Walker, too, should figure into that role on some level.
Meld that leadership and a roster oozing with talent, and the Gamecocks may well make noise in a year expectations are semi-muted externally.
