South Carolina women's basketball: Joyce Edwards has a quiet personality but a loud game

“What is something the FAMs can expect from you this season?” Tessa Johnson asked Joyce Edwards for one of her Tea Time with Tessa segments.

“To be present,” Edwards said, unamused. “To be at the games.”

That level of disinterest was an act, although if you saw her stone-faced reaction to Maddy McDaniel’s attempt at a jump scare in a later video, you might have doubts. But that’s Joyce Edwards.

Edwards has been compared to A’ja Wilson for years, since before she decided to follow Wilson’s footsteps and play for the Gamecocks. Both were highly decorated and highly sought-after recruits. Both stayed home, and ten years apart, they had strikingly similar freshmen seasons.

Like Wilson, Edwards came off the bench for the good of the team. Both players were named first-team All-SEC and led the Gamecocks to a Final Four appearance in Tampa (Edwards made it one game further than Wilson, but both seasons ended in a loss).

The comparisons aren’t always fair. Their personalities could be much more different. Wilson dominates every room she enters, while Edwards is understated. She’s not the sourpuss she sometimes pretends to be in social media videos, but Edwards would rather be the straight woman. Edwards is smart and polished when she speaks, but she isn’t going to take over a press conference like Wilson.

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Edwards and Wilson play the same position but have different skillsets. Plus, Wilson is arguably the greatest player ever, so it’s asking a lot for Edwards to also be the best ever.

That doesn’t stop Dawn Staley from prodding Edwards to be like Wilson. At the SEC Tipoff, Staley interrupted a conversation on the SEC Network about Wilson and pointed at Edwards.

“Joyce,” she said, pointing at the sophomore. “We need Joyce (to be like Wilson).”

There is a reason Staley wants Edwards to make a Wilsonian leap. In her sophomore season, Wilson won her first of three SEC Player of the Year awards, led South Carolina to an undefeated conference season, and a top seed in the NCAA Tournament (we won’t talk about what happened in South Dakota, though).

Great players want to be coached. They want to be challenged, and they want to get better. Staley motivated Wilson by constantly needling her, something that continues to this day. Wilson gave it right back, which might be why it worked so well.

With Edwards, Staley is more positive. She tries to build Edwards’ confidence. Staley gave Edwards a goal for the season that she isn’t revealing publicly, but Edwards challenges herself.

“She’s just got high standards,” Staley said. “Joyce is a star. She carries herself that way, she practices that way, and she expects nothing but to have the type of performances (at) the standard that she practices. I’m going to challenge her.”

The expectations are high. Edwards is preseason first-team All-SEC, preseason second-team All-American, on the Katrina McClain watch list, and she was ranked the 11th-best player in the country by ESPN. 

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As a sophomore, Wilson had guard Tiffany Mitchell, a two-time SEC Player of the Year, as running mate. Similarly, Edwards has guard Ta’Niya Latson, a preseason first-team All-American, to shoulder the scoring load.

But with Chloe Kitts out for the season with a torn ACL, Edwards becomes the most experienced player in the front court. Staley has preached to the team that nobody’s role changes without Kitts. Except for Edwards.

“I want to put a little bit of pressure on that she’s got to dominate,” Staley said. “Yeah, she does have to dominate because she’s capable of dominating. That’s our expectation for her.”

Edwards didn’t struggle often as a freshman, but she had trouble in the NCAA Tournament second round and the two games in Birmingham when opponents aggressively double-teamed her. It frustrated her because she felt she was letting the team down, and it frustrated her even more that she recognized on film what the defenses were doing but wasn’t countering it in games.

Edwards knew Texas wouldn’t double-team her in the Final Four and was determined to take advantage. She dominated and flirted with a triple-double, notching 13 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists against Texas. She also had 10 points and five rebounds against UConn and was named to the All-Tournament team.

Edwards knew she needed to extend her shooting range and improve as a ballhandler and passer, so in the offseason she played in a pair of 3X3 tournaments.

“3X3, you really just focus on the speed of the game.” Edwards said. “You have a 12-second shot clock. You don’t have time to think. All your instincts just kick in. It really shows you who is a dog and who’s not. You can’t hide.”

This preseason, the word has been evident. Edwards sank two threes against Anderson and scored off a crossover dribble, finishing with 26 points and eight rebounds. Against North Carolina, when Latson and Johnson got hot, Edwards was comfortable taking a backseat and had 12 points and nine rebounds.

“I just did what the game gave me and had fun with it,” Edwards said with a shrug. It’s not her personality to get excited, but she was pleased with the progress.

Last season, Edwards only had nine or more rebounds five times. She averaged 1.2 assists last season, but averaged 2.5 in the exhibitions. Those are the small but significant improvements great players make.

“Every team doesn’t have a Joyce Edwards,” Staley said. “We’ve got Joyce Edwards.” 

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