South Carolina has won 3 national championships. And two of them have come in the last three seasons. Hence, as the Gamecocks await a fine season ahead in hopes of clinching the Championship title for a consecutive time, the WNBA legend Lisa Leslie opines that the Dawn Staley-coached team might not have their best season this year.
On Thursday’s episode of Just Women’s Sports, Leslie spoke at length about South Carolina’s dreams and why they might not be able to fulfill their aspirations this season.
” They are coming off an undefeated season which is a lot of pressure. I don’t think that they will stay undefeated. Just being there watching… I think they have excellent chemistry, my goodness, which is key. I think they have excellent defense,” Leslie stated.
The South Carolina Gamecocks as mentioned before won a championship last season staying undefeated with a 38-0 tally. Even during the 2022-23 season, they had lost just one game, which was their last one in the NCAA tournament, signing off with a 36-1 margin. Then during the 2021-22 season, they had lost just 2. So while the Gamecocks have had exceptional seasons, Leslie suggests this time they won’t have an undefeated one, chiefly due to a major reason.
“I think they miss a lot with Cardoso not being there in the middle. She’s cleaned up a lot of you know misses and miss slips and chippies and things like that, where they’re going to have to really find a stronghold in the post. So I say that to say I think South Carolina will have another successful season. I just don’t think they will be undefeated,” Leslie added.
The Gamecocks had an exceptional season last year thanks in large part to Kamilla Cardoso. However, when she departed to the WNBA, being the third overall pick, it left a gap in the Gamecocks lineup. When speaking about the imminent loss to the Gamecocks, Dawn Staley admitted that “It’s hard” to replace the double-double queen and though they have some younger players they don’t have “enough experience in practice or in-game to really deem them that.” Last year, Cardoso averaged 14.4 points with 9.7 rebounds per game, and certainly, the South Carolina-based team will have to overcome that loss.
However, Leslie projects despite the problems, the Gamecocks will “still rise back to the top.” While they might not have an undefeated season, the 52-year-old also agrees that at times “you kind of need that loss to kind of just check yourself a little bit.” Meanwhile, talking about weaknesses, even Staley had pointed out an issue with her team.
Dawn Staley wants her team to get more experience
While the Gamecocks’ first game was against Memphis, the second one was against Clayton State. Though the team won both their games by blowout margins, especially the second one, as it came with an 84-point victory, Staley opined that the team needed “some more game experience.” She also stated, “It’s probably a little toughness and just playing faster more often. I think our players are really trying to play the right way. They are a pretty unselfish basketball team. So I think we just got to work out some.”
This clearly shows that the South Carolina head coach was also worried about lacking an experienced player like Cardoso whose 6 feet 7 inch frame was a major reason for the Gamecocks undefeated season last year. Plus, the 54-year-old had also shown concerns about the team handling jam-packed arenas. “I think what we’re lacking is getting out there in front of a crowd, getting out there playing somebody other than our… You know the highlighters… We just need more experience, and we probably won’t get that until next week this time,” the 3X NCAA winning coach added.
While concluding her talks, Staley also wished to “win a basketball game at a neutral site.” While not every aspiration of Staley has come a full-circle, she has certainly won their season opener at a neutral site against Michigan. And perhaps, if Leslie’s words come true, setbacks will only help them refuel and go for the title with rejuvenated enthusiasm.
The post Dawn Staley’s ‘Invincibility’ Questioned as Lisa Leslie Delivers Stark Reality Check on South Carolina’s NCAA Title Defense appeared first on EssentiallySports.
