Lady Gamecocks enter 2011-12 aiming for NCAA Tournament bid
South Carolina’s women’s basketball team wasted no time informing its six new players exactly what the goal for the 2011-12 season is.
“Every year, we strive to get to the NCAA tournament,” coach Dawn Staley said. “I think this year is no different. I do like our team. We’ve added some skill. We’ve added some athleticism. We’ve added some height to our basketball team. With already a core of players that understands how we like to play, they understand how we need to play in our league, and how we need to play in the preseason as well.”
The team began official practices Monday with a month to prepare for its season-opener against Limestone on Nov. 4. Although the Gamecocks return all three of their leading scorers from last year, the newcomers have added talent in many aspects of the game.
“I’m excited about the season,” senior guard La’Keisha Sutton said. “Ever since last season ended, I’ve been looking forward to coming together with new people. They bring a lot of energy to a lot of different spots on the floor. You’ve got shooters, drivers, defenders, rebounders; so, I’m excited. It should be fun.”
Height is one area of concern the new players have helped to fix. At 6 feet 3 inches tall, freshman Elem Ibiam brings an inside presence that USC has lacked since Kelsey Bone left the program at the end of the 2009-10 season. Though Staley still looks for improvement from Ibiam, the Gamecocks expect her to have an immediate impact on the team.
“I think people have to play her honestly,” Staley said. “We don’t have a problem putting the ball out on the block to her. We feel very confident that she can make something happen. She can give us a good shot [by] being a low-post presence. Hopefully she’ll get a little stronger and quicker so she can have a lot of success.”
The new players are still getting used to the high expectations that come with playing college basketball, but veteran leadership has already helped the Gamecocks build strong team chemistry.
“Our newcomers have yet to go through more than a two-hour workout with us,” Staley said. “We’re adding new stuff every single day, so they have to get used to the pace that we’re going at and the pace that we need to go at in order for us to be successful. I think the next couple of weeks they should settle in and know what to expect.
“In any team, or any corporation, you’ve got to have some chiefs and you’ve got to have some Indians. All of them are playing their part right now, which is a good thing. I think that’s probably the reason why our chemistry is so good at this point.”
Although expectations for this year’s team are higher than last year’s, the focus is on constant improvement for both new and returning players.
“We’ve got a lot to learn, so I think if we just keep the mind-set of coming in here and working hard and learning, that pressure really won’t get to us,” said senior guard Courtney Newton. “But we’ve got to continue to work and continue to learn day by day.”
Staley said the Gamecocks still have kinks to work out, but the players are prepared to rise to the challenge of competing at an elite level.
“We already feel a bit of pressure,” junior forward Ashley Bruner said. “[The new players] are catching on. We’re already telling them we want to be a championship team. We tell them how hard practice will be. They’re ready. The girls are ready.”