Sarah Imovbioh wants to be a part of something special at USC

South Carolina has gotten used to No. 24 rebounding every ball in sight.

It isn’t going to stop.

“After the season, I just knew that I needed a change, since I had just one more year to play,” Gamecocks power forward Sarah Imovbioh said on Monday. “When I decided to take my release at UVa, they were still at the Final Four. I decided to take a visit and try it out.”

She quickly found out it was where she wanted to be. The Virginia transfer should step right in as a replacement for Aleighsa Welch, former No. 24 and ace rebounder, as the Gamecocks attempt to repeat their Final Four success.

Imovbioh, the first transfer (and first of three ACC transfers) that Dawn Staley landed during the offseason, has been on campus all summer. A center at UVa, where she led the ACC in rebounding (10.8 per game), Imovbioh will slide to the four position at USC.

It was her idea. She gives up two inches to presumed starting center Alaina Coates and she feels the four gives her a better chance to flash her all-around game.

“At Virginia, I played center. Here at South Carolina, I’m looking forward to my true position,” Imovbioh said. “Which is to be able to shoot the 10-foot shot, to drive to the basket from the outside, just to show I have other areas of my game other than the inside, back-to-the-basket.”

Landing a proven talent who’s done it at the highest level is the best kind of recruiting, although Imovbioh only has a year of eligibility. In terms of immediate need, it’s even more of a bonus – the Gamecocks return a lot of pieces but lost one of the most vital of last year’s 34-3 season.

Welch was an amazing talent, able to score, rebound and block shots with the best in the country. Those skills can perhaps be equaled, even surpassed.

The leadership she displayed, the heart and hustle she provided every game, won’t be nearly as easy to replicate. It could be impossible.

Imovbioh will certainly try. She’s a senior, although a first-year senior. It’s her role to lead.

“Sarah is positive,” Staley said during the spring. “With young people, it could be a turn-off if it’s phony, but she’s not phony. She’s liked by all of our players.”

“I feel like the girls and the coaching staff make it a lot easier for me,” Imovbioh said. “They accept me, they listen to me. I fit in. This place feels like home.”

Imovbioh’s no stranger to the work it takes to succeed. After reporting to UVa from Nigeria, she was told she couldn’t compete as a freshman due to a gap in her high-school enrollment. The NCAA offered a caveat, though – she could regain the year if she earned 80 percent of her degree by her fourth year in school.

Imovbioh did, blossoming into a star while completing all of her degree. The NCAA delivered on its promise, but Imovbioh decided she wanted to play her final year elsewhere.

She wanted to play in the NCAA tournament. She wanted to display more of her game. Soon after her season ended, she was watching the Final Four and it hit her.

No Virginia player can walk 10 feet without seeing some reference to Staley’s tremendous career there. Imovbioh watched Staley’s team play and wanted to be part of it.

“It’s a great basketball program, they have my graduate major, which is criminal justice,” she said. “I love the team, I love their style of play. They use their post players a lot and that’s something I’ve always tried to be a part of.”

It didn’t take much convincing. Imovbioh visited and quickly committed. She’s worked with the team a few times since and knows she can make an impact.

Now to do it. The Gamecocks should enter the season as a preseason Top-5 pick. Imovbioh plans to show she’s a large part of that.

“I want it so bad. That’s one of the biggest goals, of coming down here, to make it to the finals,” Imovbioh said. “Just to make it to the NCAA tournament, just the experience, I want to be part of something special and coach Staley has something special going on here.”

This story was originally published August 24, 2015 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Sarah Imovbioh wants to be a part of something special at USC."