South Carolina WBB transfers explain what drew them to Dawn Staley, Gamecocks
Dawn Staley added two players to the South Carolina women’s basketball roster this offseason from the transfer portal in Ta’Niya Latson and Madina Okot.
Latson comes to Columbia after three seasons at Florida State, and Okot joins the team after playing at Zetech University in Kenya and at Mississippi State.
Both of Staley’s new Gamecocks have been on campus for a few weeks now and during their first media availability on Tuesday shared their reasons for transferring to South Carolina, which lost to UConn in the national title game last season.
Why Latson chose the Gamecocks
Latson was coming off a season in which she led all of Division I basketball in scoring with 25.2 points per game at FSU.
Naturally, that made her a hot commodity in the transfer portal. Latson said she heard from several schools but the program at South Carolina — and Staley in general — still stood out.
“I talked to a lot of schools,” Latson said. “LSU, UConn, Tennessee … But ultimately, I knew my goals and I knew my vision, and South Carolina had that.”
Latson said name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation was brought up during her talks with teams while she was in the portal, but she did not get to talk with teams about specific dollar amounts. Instead, she emphasized she has goals outside of money now.
Like winning SEC Player of the Year, something only three Gamecocks have done.
“That’s the name of the game now,” Latson said. “NIL is such a huge thing now, especially with women’s basketball now. That was going to be the thing in the portal, and I knew it was going to come. I have goals outside of just money and things that are being thrown at me. I know my vision, like I said, and all that’s going to come.”
Having one of her former high school teammates in Raven Johnson on the team is another reason Latson decided to transfer to South Carolina.
Johnson and Latson overlapped for three years at Westlake High School in Atlanta before Latson played her senior year of high school in the greater Miami area and Johnson moved on to the college level at USC. The duo won three straight Georgia high school state championships and won GEICO Nationals in 2021.
“That’s my sister,” Latson said. “I knew, me talking to her, she was going to definitely convince me to come here. It made the decision way easier for me.”
Latson added that South Carolina’s resources outside of basketball were another thing that led her to Columbia.
“I mean, the student life, I really felt like they had everything I needed for my major,” Latson said. “They’re making sure I’m OK with tutoring, academic coaches and everything. I feel like that’s a big part for me, too. I feel like a lot of schools don’t really have that support on that side. I feel like that was a shocker for me.”
Latson lauded the people she’s met in her short time in Columbia and said she was impressed by South Carolina’s roster made up of “talented, talented dawgs.” She added she’s looking forward to playing in front of big crowds at Colonial Life Arena.
“The atmosphere is crazy, from what I’ve heard,” Latson said. “I’ve never played at South Carolina and they say it’s like 17,000 fans a night. And I’m like, ‘Ooh, wow, we did not have that’” when she was playing at Florida State.
”But that’s something that’s going to be an adjustment for me, for sure, because that plays a part into your play. I just got to go out there and be me.”
Why Okot chose the Gamecocks
Okot committed back in late April shortly after she went on a visit at South Carolina. Nearly three months later, the impression her now-teammates made on her during the visit played a role in her deciding to come to South Carolina.
“From the first day I came to visit, the love that they have showed me — they’ve just been so nice,” Okot said.
Outside of that visit, Okot said the main reason she chose to transfer to the Gamecocks was their style of play.
“I like their playing style and I like Coach Dawn’s coaching style,” Okot said. “… I also chose USC because (it’s) a better opportunity for competition.”
Okot averaged 11.3 points and 9.6 rebounds during her lone season at Mississippi State this past season. She was third in scoring for a Bulldogs team that went 22-12. Okot led Mississippi State in rebounding and blocks (1.1 per game).
Her field goal percentage of 64.9% also led the SEC.
Before Mississippi State, Okot, who is a native of Mumais, Kenya, in East Africa and is one of eight siblings, played college basketball in her home country.
Okot checks in at 6-foot-6 and boasts an 8-foot-8 standing reach and a 6-foot-10 wingspan. One reason she decided on South Carolina was Staley’s ability to develop pro talent, especially in the frontcourt (A’ja Wilson, Aliyah Boston, Kamilla Cardoso).
“(Staley is) nice and if you reflect on her history she’s been able to produce forward players and center players that are doing very, very good in the WNBA,” Okot said.
The center said she was impressed with South Carolina’s facilities, and combining them with Staley’s coaching prowess will help her improve on her weaknesses.
“I just want to be able to make sure that maybe I’m dominating more than I did last season,” Okot said. “I also want to be able to work with my teammates. We have good shooters. I just want to be able to make sure that I’m working with them.”
What would that look like?
“I just want to be able to make sure that I’m getting out to rebound and being able to read the flow,” Okot said. “Maybe when I’m being double-teamed, I’m going to be able to kick out to somebody. … I want to get better in communication both on and off the court. I also want to build very strong relationships.”
