South Carolina women's basketball: Quick recap from the first day of practice

South Carolina held its first official preseason practice on Monday. Dawn Staley and Raven Johnson met with the media afterwards. Here is a quick recap of what they said.

Staley noted that because so many players were away over the summer playing with various national teams, they are behind where they normally are with their offensive and defensive install. However, she is happy with how quickly the installation has gone since they got started.

Both Staley and Johnson were asked who stood out over the summer and could be poised for a breakout season. They both answered, “everybody.”

Staley confirmed that Ashlyn Watkins, who announced in August she would take this season off, is not currently enrolled in school. Watkins is still in frequent contact with Staley and the team and has been around the team while she rehabs her torn ACL.

Johnson said she and Florida State transfer Ta’Niya Latson, her former high school teammate, have picked up like they are still in high school. She compared their connection to her connection with Kamilla Cardoso, whom she had played with since middle school.

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Staley said Latson is having to learn some new things for this season, but that the Gamecocks “needed” someone with her talent.

Both Johnson and Staley were impressed with the other newcomers. Johnson said Madina Okot has been vocal in practice. Staley was impressed with how talented Agot Makeer and Ayla McDowell are and how seamlessly they have adjusted to college. She joked that both are good shooters who are not afraid to fire away.

Staley praised Under Armour for being good to the Gamecocks, but said she is excited about the switch to Nike. She thinks it will help with recruiting because change always helps. Staley also joked that as a Nike athlete for 30 years, she won’t have to buy anymore new shoes because she can finally wear her closet full of Nikes.

Johnson said her biggest focus in the offseason was becoming more of a scoring threat. She believes that if she is a threat, it will open things up more for the rest of the team.

Staley said that this season’s weaker non-conference schedule had nothing to do with the NCAA tournament seeding last season. She said it is hard to get teams to play South Carolina, so she uses the schedule to uplift other programs, like HBCUs or those led by her former assistants, Fred Chmiel and Winston Gandy.

Speaking of Chmiel and Gandy, Staley said the selling point when she convinced Wendale Farrow to join her staff was that the last two people who had his seat are now head coaches.

Staley insisted she never doubted that the Rams would miss their game-winning field goal attempt against the Eagles on Sunday, although she didn’t know it would be blocked and returned for a touchdown.

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