How Maddy McDaniel is making the most of her minutes as a Gamecocks freshman
On a team stacked with veteran guards, it would be easy to overlook a freshman like Maddy McDaniel.
But the moment she touches the ball, it’s clear she’s no ordinary first-year player. Her ability to orchestrate an offense with the poise of a seasoned pro is impossible to ignore.
McDaniel scored seven points Thursday in No. 3 South Carolina’s 81-70 home win over No. 8 Duke. But it wasn’t her scoring that turned heads — it was the way she ran the show.
“She has a calming presence,” senior guard Te-Hina Paopao said. “She knows when to go, when not to go. She plays with really good pace, tempo.”
The poise McDaniel displays on the court has become a hallmark of her game. Through seven games, she’s posted a team-high 22:3 assist-to-turnover ratio — a statline that defies her freshman status.
And here’s the kicker: She still isn’t even fully healthy, according to Paopao. McDaniel missed the first two games of the season with a knee injury.
“I even asked her if she’s 100% yet, and she said no,” Paopao said. “I told her, ‘Ooh, it’s gonna be scary when you are 100%.’ ”
McDaniel’s skill set makes her an asset to any team, but she chose South Carolina for more than just basketball. With Dawn Staley — a Hall of Fame point guard herself — leading the program, McDaniel saw the perfect mentor to refine her game while competing at the highest level.
And their bond goes beyond the court. Staley can’t help but gush about the player McDaniel is — and the person she’s becoming.
“She makes me smile; she really does,” Staley said. “Her mother calls her ‘sweet girl,’ and she is. She’s really sweet. She’s smart. She’s quiet. She is a hard worker. She is a pleaser.”
McDaniel certainly pleases Staley with her play on the court. Staley likes her teams to play suffocating defense and get out in transition. McDaniel fits right in to that style of play.
Against Purdue on Nov. 30, McDaniel scored a career-high 10 points in a 99-51 blowout. In a season-high 23 minutes, she showed what happens when she’s let loose.
McDaniel has carved out a key role, making South Carolina’s already-deep lineup even more dangerous. Staley called her “a luxury” to have on the roster and wishes she could give McDaniel more minutes.
“As a coach, you look down the bench and you see her, and you want to play her more,” Staley said. “But, we’ve got to get Raven going, we’ve got to get Pao going. We got to get all these players going.
“And you know when you call her to go into the game, she’s going to be solid. She’s made me feel that way.”
It was expected for there to be a competition with the guard rotation for McDaniel coming in — especially with those more experienced players like Paopao, Raven Johnson and Bree Hall on the team. It could be intimidating, Staley said. Taking the risk to enroll in a program like USC where you may not play much was “the worst decision of her life” to some people.
But she is playing. And when she’s on the court, she’s making the most of those minutes.
“I’m happy because she’s proven them wrong,” Staley said. “A player like Maddie is always going to be successful with anything that she does because of her approach to everything that she does.”
