South Carolina women's basketball: No more "Yes, buts-"
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“Yes, but…”
After “Wait till next year,” that phrase, or some variant, might be the most-used phrase when discussing Gamecock athletics. Every time South Carolina experiences athletic success – and it isn’t that often – there is a “Yes, but…” attached.
The 1969 ACC Football Championship: “Yes but you left that conference 50 years ago.” Same for the 1971 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship.
The Black Magic football season: “Yes, but you lost to Navy.” Steve Spurrier’s three 11-win seasons: “Yes, but you never won the SEC.” or “Yes, but you lost to Tennessee.”
The 2017 men’s Final Four: “Yes, but Frank Martin never made another tournament.”
Even South Carolina’s women’s basketball success has been met with “Yes, but…”
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I wrote that over a year ago somewhere in Dallas (or perhaps, given the number of typos that still needed correcting, on the plane flying to Dallas). It was supposed to run on April 2.
You have probably already figured out it didn’t run.
The 2017 title: “Yes, but you didn’t beat UConn.” The 2020 season: “Yes, but Oregon had the best player.” The 2022 title: “Yes, but they couldn’t score much.”
And the painful end to the undefeated 2023 season: “Yes, but you lost to Iowa.”
I’d forgotten all about it until sometime during the championship parade. “They really did it,” I thought, “no buts about it.” And I remembered there was a story still sitting in the drafts somewhere.
South Carolina beat the other three Final Four teams plus five of the Elite Eight teams and eight of the Sweet 16. The Gamecocks beat teams with offense and with defense. They beat the player of the year and they beat the preseason number one. They beat everyone.
Every time it seemed like cracks might be showing – the occasional wave of turnovers, Kamilla Cardoso’s absences, minor injuries, suspensions, a two-point deficit with 1.1 seconds left, a benches-clearing scuffle – South Carolina took care of the situation and got better. After all, this was a rebuilding year.
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The Final Four loss in 2023 opened the door for naysayers – at worst, people who wanted to bash South Carolina for reasons unrelated to basketball, and at best, people who were just jealous.
That’s why beating Iowa for the championship was so sweet. It silenced all those same naysayers.
The Gamecocks are the favorites to win it all again next season. They haven’t lost a regular season game since 2021. In the past three seasons, they have been ranked atop every AP poll but one.
So while other players made the interview rounds last weekend, the Gamecocks were absent. They had a parade to attend.
The only debate that remains is where among the ten undefeated teams South Carolina ranks. But really, who cares? It doesn’t get better than perfect.
