South Carolina women's basketball: Ta'Niya Latson wants Dawn Staley to unlock her full potential

Since coming to South Carolina, Dawn Staley has had great success with transfers, especially guards. The list began with Valerie Nainima and includes Kaela Davis, Allisha Gray, Kierra Fletcher, and Te-Hina Paopao. It’s a list that includes national champions, All-Americans, and future WNBA stars. But Staley has never had a player like Ta’Niya Latson.

Latson won a high school national championship with Raven Johnson in 2021. A year later, Latson began her collegiate career at Florida State. She made an immediate impact, averaging 21.3 points and being named the national Freshman of the Year. As a sophomore, she led the ACC in scoring with 21.4 points, and last season she led the nation with 25.2 points.

But Latson got tired of playing in an empty arena and losing in the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. She wanted a chance to perform on the big stage and improve her game for the WNBA.

Latson has no ill will towards Florida State, but those are the facts. And at 5-8, she knows she needs to be more than a scorer to impress WNBA scouts.

“She does things extremely well from an offensive standpoint; she can score the basketball,” Staley said. “So we’re challenging her to, one, get mentally tougher, and to work on some things that she probably wouldn’t necessarily work on at Florida State because the scoring load is very heavy. When it’s heavy, you tend not to develop those other qualities that you need to take it to the next level. I don’t think it’s anybody’s fault, it’s just the way it happens.”

Staley heaped praise on Florida State coach Brooke Wyckoff for getting Latson to the point where she isn’t just a scorer. Latson also averaged 4.6 assists and 4.6 rebounds last season. She had talented teammates like Makayla Timpson and O’Mariah Gordon.

But ultimately, it was Latson’s job to put the ball in the basket because that gave Florida State the best chance to win. Now, Staley is trying to unlock other parts of Latson’s game.

“She’s challenging me on both ends of the floor, both defensively and offensively, just seeing things that I normally didn’t see at Florida State. Just continuing to grow my game and be the best player that I can be going into the draft.”

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The Gamecock coaches didn’t shy away from challenging Latson this summer. They only have one season together to accomplish their goals, so the kid gloves were off.

“It’s so new,” Staley said. “She’s like a freshman to us. Her hardest days are going to be in practice. Game days are just going to be natural. Do what you naturally do. Don’t think. Think in practice. Don’t think of the game. Just do what you naturally do.”

So far, so good.

“I think what she’s been able to do since June until now is remarkable,” Staley said. “I do see progress. She probably feels like it’s a heavy load, and that’s normal. But at the same time, she’s going to fly around for us once the season starts.”

The biggest challenge remains figuring out how to pick and choose her spots. Latson could easily take over games, but she would risk taking her teammates out of the game. But if she defers too much to her teammates, then Latson isn’t being effective either.

Staley compared it to the learning process Joyce Edwards went through last season. Edwards had the luxury of not being asked to do too much and ended up being named first-team All-SEC. Staley hopes the same works for Latson.

“Joyce was able to just be Joyce and not feel the extra pressure of performing at a high level because she was playing with so many other great players,” she said. “It’s the same with Ta’Niya. Ta’Niya’s going to play with other great players. Is she going to be able to score 20 tonight? Yeah, probably. But she also has to learn to protect that as well. Pass out, right?”

Latson was second-team All-America last season, but only second-team All-SEC this preseason. The vote reflects the lack of respect given to Florida State and reinforces why she wanted to play for South Carolina.

“Just the history of the program,” Latson said. “Playing with Raven Johnson and playing with Joyce Edwards, I played with them both in high school, so it was just familiar. And then playing under Coach Staley is one of the best experiences that a player could have. Just looking to grow and be the best player that I can be.”

Latson and the Gamecocks will make their public debut on Tuesday, October 21, with GarNET & Black Madness. Their first game is an exhibition against Anderson on Friday, October 24. 

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