Sophomore forward has same maturity as last year
Rebounding is as natural as talking for South Carolina sophomore forward Aleighsa Welch.
Both the rebounding and the communication jumped out to women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley when she was recruiting Welch, but after losing four starters from last year’s team, Staley wanted more from Welch entering this season.
But Welch didn’t need Staley to challenge her. Welch challenged herself.
“Aleighsa was kind of taking notes last year,” Staley said. “We didn’t need her to be a scorer. This year, she knew from who we lost to that she was going to have to step up her game, and she’s done that.”
The second-highest rebounding freshman in the SEC last year, Welch has tallied five double-doubles this season and is tied for first on the team in scoring with 12 points per game. She leads with 10.2 rebounds per game.
Though Welch’s more aggressive approach to scoring has helped pushed the Gamecocks to a 9-0 start, it’s still a “work in progress” for her. She averaged 7.6 points per game last season to go with her 6.1 rebounding average.
“It’s just something I have to get comfortable with doing,” Welch said. “It wasn’t really something I actually came in with, so it’s something I’m learning to adjust to making it second nature. I just talked to (assistant coach Nikki) McCray about comparing it to my rebounding. It needs to be something that just comes natural to me.”
Welch said she benefited from teams not knowing what to expect from her as a freshman, but in her second season, she knows teams will look to limit her post presence and dare her to shoot.
Staley has talked to Welch about taking more midrange shots for the same reason. Eventually, Staley said she’d like to expand Welch’s range to the 3-point line.
“She can shoot the ball, but she just doesn’t shoot the ball,” Staley said. “We’re just trying to get her more comfortable to shoot the ball in practice and in games because we know what’s coming. Hopefully, we can kind of expand that out to 3 because we do want her to play beyond the University of South Carolina.”
Welch’s quick understanding of her shifting role as a sophomore wasn’t a surprise to Staley or Welch’s teammates. Staley said Welch was a “talker” during the recruiting process.
A military mother and a good high school program contributed to Welch becoming a disciplined and “cerebral kid,” Staley said.
Senior guard Ieasia Walker said Welch’s vocal ability was rare as a freshman.
“I think she articulates really well and knows what she wants to say and says it in a good way that everyone can be receptive to it,” Walker said.
Welch said last season was about a transition from high school basketball to the collegiate level, and she feels more confident and aggressive this season.
Though there’s been more confidence, Welch said there hasn’t been complacency. When she was named the Most Outstanding Player for the Reef Division at the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, she said she saw that as motivation.
“It does add fuel to the fire as far as knowing what I can accomplish,” Welch said. “For me, it’s not something that I can take and say, ‘Well, I won tournament [MOP], so I can just relax.’ I think with that it makes you have to step up your performance even more.”
As Staley coaches her through transitions and upcoming adjustments, some things have changed with Welch, while others have rightfully stayed the same.
“You’re not going to really see any jump as far as maturity,” Staley said. “I think she understands what we want. She knew that last year and she played like that.”