🤣🤣 I get superstition. I have worn my lucky Gamecock socks, t shirt, hat and soccer scarf to all the home games. Obviously it works
WBB GAMETHREAD: # 2 Stanford vs # 1 Gamecocks
- Thread starter sgacock
- Start date
Are you washing these items and you were wearing a scarf during this really warm Fall.
Final thoughts on the Stanford game after rewatching last night.
1. Littleton worked her tail off. She made her 3 and some key free throws but defensively she was the best I have seen her and helped cause some turnovers
2. Saxton is a beast on the boards. 8 of her 10 rebounds we're offensive and this was in game in which she often could have been only the 6th or 7th tallest person on the court.
3. Cardoso, even though she played briefly she had and amazingly time block on the full run to prevent Brink completing the layup. That block had some frustration in it. I hope we can bottle that up because I still think she plays too nice but that was amazing.
4. Speaking of nice young ladies, Boston shocked me with her block in the 4th quarter on Wilson (Russell Wilson sister)that became a shot clock violation for Stanford. She stared her down as she hit the floor. She definitely took last year's game personal.
1. Littleton worked her tail off. She made her 3 and some key free throws but defensively she was the best I have seen her and helped cause some turnovers
2. Saxton is a beast on the boards. 8 of her 10 rebounds we're offensive and this was in game in which she often could have been only the 6th or 7th tallest person on the court.
3. Cardoso, even though she played briefly she had and amazingly time block on the full run to prevent Brink completing the layup. That block had some frustration in it. I hope we can bottle that up because I still think she plays too nice but that was amazing.
4. Speaking of nice young ladies, Boston shocked me with her block in the 4th quarter on Wilson (Russell Wilson sister)that became a shot clock violation for Stanford. She stared her down as she hit the floor. She definitely took last year's game personal.
T shirt and socks... yes, I know that breaks the baseball standards but their is hygiene and other people to consider. Ball cap is new so, no.
Soccer scarf is versatile inside CLA it can be worn as a scarf or as a stole.
No set in stone meal like Wade Boggs but if the line is not too long KIKI’s chicken and waffles are great. As is their fried okra.
ALWAYS say hello to Brad Muller and wish him a good game
🤣🤣🤣 JUST SPOT ON X 4
DS Trusts Littleton and she had that look of intensity while she was in the game... Littleton May become this team’s Olivia Gaines. “I may not play often but when I do it’s damn important and you are going to get my all.”
When Saxton hit that 12 footer, I half expected her to flip the bird at the Stanford bench🖕🤣🤣🤣 and yell “DON’T GUARD ME” She is Rodmanesque in her pursuit of the boards.
Cardoso🤷♂️🤷♂️ The talent is all there but she does need an injection of something. After she missed two bunnies underneath she hustled back but was shaking her head and smiling. Like how did I miss that. We need her to be a force and a leader. Not this year but down the road.
The Block on Wilson AND on Hull as she had to eat it while on the floor and called for being out of bounds was classic. We played that second half with an intensity that was ??? bordering on anger and I am not going to be embarrassed in my own gym(fear?? inspiring fear, not freeze up fear)
Well, I dont believe you do it afterwards - unless it's Clempsun or Tennessee because they have either done it to us already or will do it the next chance they get.
Stanford WBB might not want to put her performance against Destanni on this year's resume.
Her biggest shortcoming in the game was ball handling and turnovers. Not that she did well when guarding Henny, but then Henny is in a whole different world. She is without a doubt the fastest player in WBB with the ball in her hands. Henny looks ahead better than anyone on the break. This year she has really added that change of pace, i’m Stopping, BYE BYE move.
Someone who follows recruiting more closely than I do can vouch for this but I believe Dawn was involved with every major player at both Stanford and UCONN, and there are probably several players she would have taken on a heart beat. Regionalism plays a part. Stanford has more West Coast and international players than we do and UCONN has more northern / Northeast players.
Dawn recruits anybody and everybody who she believes she can win with. Elissa Cunane at NC State, Haley Jones of Stanford, Samantha Brunelle of Notre Dame,Chennedy Carter formerly of Texas A&M, Breanna Stewart formerly of UConn, Christyn Williams , Olivia Nelson Ododa, Azzi Fudd and it widely believe that Paige Bueckers of UConn, heck even Kamilla Cardoso who went to Syracuse initially all were recruited by Dawn and staff. At the end of the day it's the kids who decide where they want to go. I hate this narrative that Dawn doesn't recruit certain types of players when she obviously does but you can't force players to choose. She misses out on talent from all backgrounds just like every other coach.
As you stated many of the misses have to do with location. We rarely have gotten top talent outside of the southeast, which makes the 2019 class so impressive, not only were they all top 10 prospects essentially but they were all from up north. We still have work cut out to try to get players from out west and such. Jolette Law is the best recruiter in the game and we'll see further divedends of that in due time.
Dawn
She should she coached and played in the Midwest. If you haven’t heard her story about being recruited with her dad and the radio station, it is hilarious.
DS will go anywhere to get top talent. The only things that matter are talent and are you coachable.
When she goes out of region it is only for elite players. Well guess what?? Everybody in that region has been HOT on them and there may be several “hometown/family favorites”.
The fact that we got Aliyah is amazing, she had been going to UCONN games all through HS.
I honestly think getting Wilson and Boston has changed the trajectory of WBB for more parity. If they both go to UConn, you're likely adding 3 if not 4 more championship (due to Covid) champions to the UConn dynasty.
You're totally right. Can you imagine Boston at UCONN? They would be dominating everyone. That was a huge "get" by Dawn. I forget Boston played her HS ball in Mass, but it helped us that she was an A'ja and Dawn fan.
Outstanding. Was unaware this took place. The world could use more of it,
I would add "not a thug" to the criteria. Not quite the same as "are you coachable."
A lot to sell recruits on: winning games, coached by a legend, 10,000+ fans, national television appearances and, now, endorsement deals.
I’ll definitely stick with coachable. Thug is an ugly word that has been used as a code word for other things. How about saying no Assholes allowed
How about "good character." That works too. Goes back to my mantra of wanting athletes to represent USC well, and I think USC WBB has done that.
This whole thing riding Dawn about the diversity of her roster is bogus and is coded is some very negative things in my opinion. Who is the last American born white male star basketball player have we had? Chuck Eidson? .....and we have gone through several coaches. Yet, we have to hear this nonsense about roster diversity every year usually during the rare time our girls are losing a game. Some people need to just keep their issues to themselves sometimes.
Agree. You never hear this brought up with men's sports. Get the best athletes that you can get. Dawn does that and I think the men coaches do as well.
I believe the only white guy who starts for Bama's football team on offense or defense is Slade Bolden. No one would complain if all those guys played for Carolina and we were ranked #1 in football. Not sure why it should be any different in WBB. But, whatever. I think it's just a few cranks on the message board who probably don't like women's sports in general or coach Staley in particular. They definitely don't not respresent the fan base as a whole.
Evidence:
Anyone have an idea if any recruits were at the game. Would have been a good showcase for those 2023 and 2024's.
A hypothetical question for you Counselor. If our Coach were white and she signed a mostly white team, with the few minority players ( I hate people of color, we are all people of color, just to different extents) rarely played, what would the comments be? If white people said, she is playing and recruiting the best players, she offers black players but they don't sign here. How would that be taken by the black community? Would it be seen as the coach not recruiting black players? Just something for you to think about.
I think players go where they feel comfortable and where they feel they can have playing time. I think Boston felt comfortable with CDS. Maybe Bueckers felt comfortable with Geno. Who knows. I think coaches tend to recruit geographically. Rosters will tend to reflect demographics to a large degree. I am thankful for our coach and what she brings to the University. Rarely do we hear any off the court stuff like we do with other sports and teams. She wins and wins with class. Our players compete with class. I do love "Mad Kiki " and her play. even Mad Kiki let her play speak for her. I am glad we gave Coach an extension and will have her for a while.
and you are correct, some people should keep their issues to themselves. Merry Christmas my friend
I think this has some credence. However, the issue in Men's and Women's Basketball in my opinion is the talent pool. In the Top 50 of Women's Basketball class, generally the level that we recruit at, you may have 5-10 white players. After UConn, Stanford, Notre Dame, and Iowa get through there is nothing left for roster diversity unless you go overseas. Personally, I don't think many people would have an issue with roster diversity the other way around if you are getting the best players and winning. Personally, I would take Stanford's roster in a heartbeat if we couldn't have ours. I think the rumblings you hear about roster diversity is more about someone's dislike for Dawn Staley. The reasons have been rehashed on here enough. Finally, I think it is disrespectful to the two white players we have the roster. They work hard and are scholarship players. Wesolek even helped us in one of the tournament games last year. It's not their fault that we have a talented and deep roster of 5 star level kids that play in front of them. They love Carolina and are willing to take a back seat when they could go somewhere else and play. It's unfortunate that some people act like they don't exist just to push forward a narrative.
In your hypothetical, I’m not sure what the response would be. I THINK the biggest part of the response would be the same: the white coach offers and pursues black/Asian/Hispanic players, but they don’t sign…presumably because they are more comfortable with a coach who looks like them. You can’t fault the coach.
However, I also think that in your hypothetical, there would be more of an institutional/main-stream-media opinion that perhaps that white coach needs to look at how she is doing things. Has she created an atmosphere and culture where these kids don’t feel at home? Can she not relate to these kids?
I’m not condemning or condoning CDS’s recruiting. She’s getting great players and seeing great results. Maybe the white recruits don’t feel at home in her program…I have no idea. Maybe CDS feels like she does what she can to attract all players, but if they won’t come, so be it. The fact is, if she keeps winning the way she’s been winning, the issue won’t be important.
To be honest, It would be hard for anyone to get much PT with our first 10. Kudos for them for working hard but it must suck to almost never get in the games
Jon
That's kind of what my hypothetical was about. None of us know who CDS offers or why they don't sign. Can't argue with her results. I just want her to keep it up
I'm a big fan of Olivia. Hometown girl who stayed home when she probably could have been a starter or at least someone who could play significant minutes at a smaller school. (I'm biased because I grew up in Cola Town myself.) No one on the bench cheers harder for the team than she does. I'm hoping she gets more minutes as a sharp shooter during her senior year.
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No knock on her, but she can't keep up with the faster girls on defense. I applaud her for being a good bench team mate.
I would add that a major reason we are so good is that we have such talented players who are unselfish and willing to play as a team. It is amazing watching Bama Football and their five stars and UNC Basketball and their McDonald's All Americans riding the bench, waiting their turn. That is what Dawn has built for us in WBB at South Carolina.
That’s true. She really can shoot it though. I wish she was about 3-4 inches taller so she could get away with being a step slow in lateral quickness. Wesolek had to play in the tournament though as our frontline was a little thin with LeLe being hurt.
When things are good, it's foolish to poke around until you puncture something.
Pretty good numbers, especially on an eventful night like Tuesday with both NBA and NFL games occuring simultaneously. Peaking at over 560k.
