COLUMBIA — South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley knows an instrumental part of the 2024 national champions’ offense is gone.
Kamilla Cardoso, the 6-foot-7 center who averaged a team-high 14.4 points, is now in the WNBA. When Cardoso missed games last season, junior forward Ashlyn Watkins took her place.
Now Staley is without both, as Watkins, arrested Aug. 31 on charges of first-degree assault and battery and kidnapping, is suspended from team activities. Watkins is scheduled for a court appearance on Oct. 25, and the season opener is Nov. 4 against Michigan.
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Staley said Tuesday that it’s been hard so far to replace Cardoso.
“We’ve had go-to post players for the past 10 years,” Staley said. “I don’t necessarily think we have that right now. We have some younger players that have some potential to be but they haven’t had enough experience in practice or games to really deem them that. We don’t want to put that on them. Collectively I think we have incredible talent and right now it’s going to have to be a collective effort.”
Returning at forward is 6-foot-2 Chloe Kitts, who started 31 games last season. Kitts and Watkins worked in tandem to replace the true center style of play without Cardoso last year. They played more forward-based basketball, rather than flowing the offense through a center camped out in the paint. It was expected that Watkins would do the same this season.
Staley didn’t specifically name any players when talking about filling the void of Cardoso.
South Carolina has 6-foot-3 senior Sania Feagin, who averaged 15 minutes, and who Staley said has been vocal throughout practice so far. Cardoso was a clear leader on the team, another layer that is challenging to replace.
Adhel Tac, who is 6-foot-5, redshirted her freshman year after missing the 2023-24 season with a knee injury. South Carolina’s only true center is 6-foot-5 Sakima Walker, who averaged seven minutes last season.
Even the guards have to adjust and contribute heavily given the loss of Cardoso, Staley said.
“It’s going to be the strength of an entire roster,” Staley said.
The Gamecocks added two freshmen Joyce Edwards and Maddy McDaniel in addition to Arkansas transfer Maryam Dauda, a 6-foot-4 forward, who may be involved in a lot of the offense without Cardoso. Dauda is a bit more guard-like than Cardoso was, and shoots the 3-point shot more frequently than Cardoso did.
Edwards, the No. 2 recruit in the 2024 class, is a 6-foot-3 forward from Camden, South Carolina. McDaniel, the No. 14 recruit, is a 5-foot-9 guard from Maryland.
“We really don’t take in consideration that they’re freshmen,” Staley said. “If you separate them from the rest of the pack then they’ll feel a little different. We are going to treat them like any other player, like they won a national championship and I think it helps, they keep up with the pace of what we’re doing … they fit right in.”
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
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Publish date : 2024-09-24 08:36:00
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