The Night I Knew: 2024 South Carolina Gamecock WBB Will be National Champions.
It’s Halloween night, October 31st, 2023: Head Coach Dawn Staley and the Gamecock Women's basketball team are hosting the #ParisSendoff at Colonial Life Arena. The team is leaving the next day to kick off the season with a matchup versus Notre Dame. I am running late, fresh off a meeting with Mayor Teresa Myers Ervin about growing girls basketball in Florence. The ride from Florence to Columbia adds 45 minutes to my trip back home to Charlotte, NC, but I am intrigued by the opportunity to see what this South Carolina team looks like. During the pre-season the experts and rankings have the Gamecocks on the outside looking in. ESPN has them as low as eighth and USA Today has them as high as fourth to kick off the 2023 - 2024 season. Coach Staley is coming off a 2022 - 2023 season where the team was ranked as the number one team in the pre-season and were the defending National Champions. South Carolina carried a 42 game win streak into the 2023 Final Four where they lost to Iowa and a hot shooting Caitlin Clark. The roster for the 2023 - 2024 team was decimated by the loss of eight players from the prior year, a top echelon group with 3 final fours & the 2022 National Championship to their credit. The send off was scheduled for 5 - 7 pm and with it being on Halloween night they scheduled a Trick or Treat session following the open practice with candy and pictures with players & coaches.
WHAT WE KNEW
Dawn Staley and her staff have done an excellent job of identifying the top players and consistently adding them to the Gamecock WBB roster over the last 14 years. Coming into the 2023 - 2024 season the roster was returning with talented players, but not as much experience as the prior season. Looking at the returnees, I expected Guard - Raven Johnson, Post - Kamilla Cardoso, Guard - Bree Hall and Forward - Ashlyn Watkins to be counted on to increase their production from the previous year. Kamilla Cardoso led all returnees in minutes (18.5), points (9.8), rebounds (8.5), and blocks (2.2/Game); Raven Johnson added 3.8 assists. The other returnees, Forward - Chloe Kitts and Forward - Sania Feagin will find themselves in the rotation as the coaching staff looks to fill a lot of lost production from 2022 - 2023.
Te-Hina Paopao’s arrival marked the first time that South Carolina got a major player from the transfer portal who could immediately impact the court. Note that Kaela Davis and Allisha Gray came through traditional transfers (pre-portal) and sat out a year before helping the Gamecocks win the 2017 National Championship. Paopao joined as a dynamic guard with proven ability to score the basketball and shoot from distance consistently. She played three years at Oregon after being a McDonald's & Jordan Brand All-American. While a student at La Jolla Country Day, in San Diego, she also won California Gatorade Player of the Year. During her senior high school season she led her team to a 32 - 1 record and number one overall ranking nationally. She continued to flourish at Oregon where she made consecutive All-Pac 12 first team honors along with a nod on the All Rookie team. Standing at 5’9” tall and versatile enough to play all three guard positions on the court, Paopao has the ability to be a vital shooter from the perimeter. If this team was going to make a run to Cleveland for the Final Four and National Championship, then Te-Hina Paopao would need to be a major part of what drives the 2023-2024 team.
THREE PIECES THAT CHANGED THE SEASON
College basketball can change immediately with the insertion of the right players onto the court, Freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley is the right player. MiLaysia will be playing in her hometown of Columbia, SC and for the coach that sees some of herself in Fulwiley’s game on the court. When Fulwiley picked South Carolina as her future destination (over numerous other high- level NCAA programs) - you knew there were going to be fireworks on the court; how soon and how often were the only questions. I have been able to watch MiLaysia on the court since 2018 when I started Carolina Girls Hoops Report in Charlotte, NC. She is a graduate of W.J. Keenan High School. During her six years of varsity experience, Fulwiley led her team to five SCHSL Upper State Championships and four SCHSL State Championships. She played for Six time SCHSL State Champion Coach Reggie Mclain.
The announcement from Fulwiley that she was attending USC gave Head Coach Dawn Staley: the last 3 McDonald's All Americans to come out of South Carolina on her campus ( Talaysia Cooper - East Clarendon/ Ashlyn Watkins - Cardinal Newman/ both Class of 2022) and the trend will continue as they are also getting 2024 McDAAG MVP - Joyce Edwards. All of the time that Dawn and her staff spent Courting Fulwiley at Keenan, Myrtle Beach Convention Center and other locations around the state of South Carolina and making sure they always catch her games has paid off with her commitment. During her legendary high school career, MiLaysia scored over 3,000 points (24.8/game), 854 rebounds( 7.0/game), 744 Assists (6.1/game) and 671 Steals (5.5/game). I have witnessed Dawn Staley and many of her assistant coaches get to Keenan and other locations to watch MiLaysia play throughout her high school career. On the night of the send off you can see coach Staley talking with Fulwiley, guiding her through the nuances of this complex South Carolina offense. I knew that once they were on the same page that the fireworks would be bouncing off the walls at Colonial Life Arena. The first piece is on the board….
Upon entering the #ParisSendOff at Colonial Life Arena on Halloween night 2023 I was unfamiliar with Tessa Johnson and her game, but determined to get a read on her abilities. During the workout, I paid attention to her shot form and consistency. All of the articles I have read mention that Coach Staley and her staff really needed her to stretch the floor. Tessa is a 6’0” - Guard that is coming off winning the AAAA Minnesota State Championship for Saint Michael of Albertville. She averaged 24.3/Pts - 6.6/Assists - 5.5/Rebounds throughout her final scholastic season. During her senior year, Tessa Johnson surpassed the 2,000 point scoring mark in her career while being honored as a McDonald's All-American and also bringing home the Gatorade State Player of the year in Minnesota. I really enjoyed watching her work on the court that night. Tessa was locked in to instruction being handed out by the coaches and acted quickly to get her shots off during timed drills. I was truly impressed with her size and quick feet. Going into the season with a shorthanded roster of 11 players available, Tessa’s abilities would be needed and it looked like she was prepared to contribute. 2 pieces are in place….
The coaching staff at South Carolina does not change often, but in 2023 Fred Chmiel received an awesome opportunity to become the Head Coach at Bowling Green in the MAC Conference. Dawn Staley brought on Assistant Coach Winston Gandy from the Duke Women’s Basketball program to fill the position. He spent three years in Durham working for the Blue Devils. Prior to Duke he worked at Rice and with the NBA’s Washington Wizards. My aunt ( Avid fan and Gamecock alum and Duke Alumnus) Cheryl Moore Adamson, called me one day after Coach Gandy was hired and asked what I knew about him. All I could say was he knew how to recruit because they had that Duke locker room loaded with talent. Throughout the open practice I noticed that Coach Gandy was involved in instruction and feedback with the players; he was in the mix along with all the other staff members. Coach Staley has built the top women's basketball program in the NCAA and having new staff members come in and immediately add to the team and atmosphere is always a good thing. I truly felt like coach Gandy was already locked into his role on Halloween night and was ready to make his mark with the players for the 2023-2024 season. All three pieces are locked in.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
The Gamecocks had a Trick or Treat and picture taking session with their young fans and families following practice. It was awesome seeing the players and coaches engage with the attendees. Seeing young players and families in attendance interacting with the current Gamecock Women players and coaches was like the end of a basketball game when the players stick around to engage the fans.
Leaving the arena, I started my one hour and 23 minute ride home. I had a feeling that I had just witnessed the beginning of greatness on that court. On my drive back to Charlotte I called Bob Corwin. “Basketball Bob” is a former AAU coach who has followed and written about girls basketball for over 30 years. If you don’t know Bob, let's just say that he is a person that is dedicated to girls basketball. I don't usually make a stance on who is going to win the NCAA National Championship, but I told Bob that this team was going to win the 2024 National Championship in Cleveland. I had closely followed the Gamecocks to Minneapolis and attended the 2022 National Championship game where Dawn Staley and the USC Women Gamecocks secured their second National Championship and had a good idea of what one of these teams should look like. Bob doesn't let stuff slide without asking for solid information to back it up. I spoke to him about Fulwiley and Johnson on the court and how much I believe they will be major contributors throughout the season. I continued to go on about my observation of new assistant coach Winston Gandy and shared his interaction with the team on the court during the open practice. I did not waver on my pick as I broke down some of the other contenders and how South Carolina matches up per their rosters to start the 2023-2024 season. A few weeks after attending the #ParisSendOff event Bob mentioned to me that he watched the South Carolina team play and made a friendly “wager” on the outcome of the NCAA National Championship with South Carolina as his pick per my pre-season choice. I cannot remember what the odds were at the time, but it was very advantageous for Bob to get in at that time so he placed this bet.
THE RESULTS
The University of South Carolina Women won the 2024 NCAA Division 1 National Championship with a 87 - 75 victory over the University of Iowa. This is the third National Championship for Head Coach - Dawn Staley, an accomplishment that she achieved over the last seven years. South Carolina finished the season with a perfect 38 - 0 record. Freshmen MiLaysia Fulwiley and Tessa Johnson both were major contributors throughout the season and both had impactful plays throughout the NCAA tournament. Assistant Coach - Winston Gandy is recognized by Dawn Staley in the postgame interview from the Championship game saying, “I have to give a lot of credit to Winston Gandy, Iowa was his scout, he works out our perimeter players every day. '' Coach was ready for his moment and prepared his players to the best of his ability to win this game.
Having the opportunity to attend five games this season including the SEC Championship game will always be special as I got to see all of the personnel that I noticed at the #ParisSendOff grew into their roles, but I will always look back to The Night I Knew….