LOS ANGELES — “USC” chants rained down on Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night. But it wasn’t for the University of Southern California, the school less than 2 miles away. Instead, it was across the country to South Carolina for 2,403 miles.
in second place gamecocks (4-0) defeated the No. 8 Trojans to capture “The Real SC”‘s inaugural title 69-52 The first of two showdowns between the programs over the next few years.
But more important than claiming the honor for South Carolina was what the performance in Los Angeles said about the team. Returning only one starter from a year ago, the Gamecocks are finding their identity. Saturday night brought them one step closer.
South Carolina coach Don Staley said, “We have seven players that have to take on a different role for us than their previous school or even with us. It’s tough.” “We are used to having a core group of players who have been playing together for a long time. This year, black crow [Johnson] He’s basically the only person who has been a part of that regime. …I thought we would put [good] “Plan a game together.”
Johnson is the only starter from last season, who saw South Carolina make it to the NCAA Tournament championship game. On Saturday, he had 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting with 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
With Bina Te-Hina Paopao, Bree Hall, Sania Feigin and Milesia FulvilleAnd with Ashlyn Watkins and chloe kitsch Out for the season due to injuries, Johnson is in a new veteran role with new responsibilities when it comes to leadership.
The Gamecocks are in a position where their guards, such as Raven Johnson and Tessa Johnson (14 points and five assists), is their most experienced player. South Carolina has long been a program driven by its big men.
Against USC, Transfer Center Madina Okot Finished with 15 rebounds. As a team, the Gamecocks defeated the Trojans 56–32.
“He’s a big presence,” Johnson said. “What, 6-foot-7? Who’s going to drive in the paint?”
“I’ll give Medina a lot of credit,” Staley said. “She was where she needed to be and just from a confidence standpoint, knowing we needed her and knowing she could execute a game plan — she’s a part of us finding our identity.”
As South Carolina is searching for its identity in the early part of the season, Staley is seeing small samples within individual games; He hopes the Gamecocks can expand on his DNA to give him a new look.
“As coaches, we’re trying to have those ideal moments and get them playing [those] Long term in the game… know that these are some things we want to work on,” Staley said after practice Friday. “This is what we want things to look like, and we will bring attention to it.”
“When you’re able to put those instances together over a long period of time, you go into the game knowing that you’re going to get those things early on.”
That’s what the Gamecocks were able to do against USC (2-1), and now they feel like they’re one step closer to finding out who they’ll really be and what they’re capable of this season.
