South Carolina women’s basketball: Summer practice Insider Report
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South Carolina has finished its summer workouts and here’s what we’re hearing about how things went.
Ashlyn Watkins
I’m told Ashlyn Watkins looks “SPECIAL,” all caps. She’s dunking in scrimmages – and not just breakaway transition dunks. She’s dunking in traffic in the halfcourt. That requires more than athleticism, it requires intelligence and effort.
Watkins flashed potential last season but it was clear she was raw. Her development reminds me a little of Aliyah Boston. The key for each is getting her to understand how good and dominant she can be. It sounds like Watkins is starting to understand.
Watkins has always been very receptive to coaching (also like Boston), and that is a big part of her progress.
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Chloe Kitts
Chloe Kitts was one of Team USA’s best players at the U19 World Cup. There has been some debate about the level of competition Kitts faced at the World Cup, and that’s fair. Some opponents were clearly overmatched. But Spain was not one of those overmatched opponents and Kitts had 15 points and nine rebounds against them in the gold medal game.
The player we all saw in Spain is essentially the same player Kitts has been in practice. She played a little more in the low post at the World Cup than I expect her to for South Carolina, but she’s now strong enough to rebound and finish in traffic.
In high school, Kitts had a knack for finding the ball and being in the right place to make a play. We didn’t see that in her abbreviated freshman season, but it seems like she’s back to being that type of player.
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Assistant coach Winston Gandy
Gandy was a practice player when he was an undergraduate at Maryland and that was essentially where his coaching journey began. He’s put that experience to good use this summer. If you’ve seen the pictures from practice that the Gamecocks shared, you probably noticed that Gandy is always in the middle of the action.
Gandy was known for his work with guards at Duke, but he’s been very involved with Watkins this summer. He’s really pushed her in scrimmages and Watkins is responding.
Big recruiting week
Two Gamecock targets intend to announce their commitment next week. Forward Kennedy Ume will announce on Monday, August 7 at 1:00. Guard Madisen McDaniel will announce her commitment during the Under Armour Next Elite 24 game. The game is at 6:00 pm and is televised by ESPNU.
It’s not a make-or-break week, but both players are important targets.
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