The Gamecocks were hit hard by graduation in 2006-2007. A total of seven players either graduated, or were on track to do so, during 2007. Of those, forward Melanie Johnson had a year of playing eligibility remaining, but chose to pass it up in favor of an early start on a professional playing career. Four guards (Stacy Booker, Lea Fabbri, Shannel Harris and Lauren Simms) were among those graduating, leaving very little experience returning at that position. Forward Iva Sliskovic had played in every game during her career and started in most of them. She takes a tremendous amount of experience with her, as well as leaving a legacy as one of the most statistically-balanced players in the history of South Carolina women's basketball: Sliskovic fell just 24 points short of becoming the first player in program history to score 1,000 points, grab 650 rebounds, dish out 175 assists and block 110 shots. Also graduating was forward Larissa Kulscar, who saw fewer minutes of playing time as her career progressed, but could always be counted on to come in and play intelligently, and aggressively, as a backup. Six experienced players return for the 2007-2008 season.

Senior guard Ebony Jones is a walk-on player who served as team manager in 2003-2004 and the beginning of the 04-05 season. A 5-6 guard from Aiken, South Carolina, she suited up for the first time in December 2004, against Middle Tennessee State, but did not play. She has played in only 15 games in her career and is not likely to see significantly more action in her senior year. She is crucial to the team, however, as a positive, upbeat, inspirational presence on the bench. When she does get into a game, she is not afraid to step up and shoot and she displays a very nice 3-point shooting touch. However, with 4 freshman guards joining the team, Ebony will probably continue to play the same role that she has played for the last 3 seasons.

Redshirt senior Lakesha Tolliver is a 6-3 forward from Columbia, South Carolina. Tolliver played in the season opener of her freshman year, then tore her ACL the next day, in practice, and was redshirted for the remainder of the season. Her playing time has increased each season; next year, she should be starting every game. Last season, the Gamecocks boasted a wealth of experienced players and only 3 Gamecock players averaged more than 20 minutes per game, with all but 2 players averaging at least 10 minutes per game. Veterans like Tolliver will need to play a lot more minutes in the coming season and be productive, as well.

Occasionally brilliant on offense, Tolliver is a strong rebounder and a proficient and intimidating shot-blocker. Tolliver set a new single-season school record with 60 blocked shots, in 2006-07, breaking the previous record of 58, set by Teresa Geter in 2000-01. She blocked five shots at Mississippi State on Jan. 21, 2007 to match a career high and come just one block shy of matching the single-game school record. Tolliver has blocked 130 shots in her career and is just 18 blocks away from the school record of 148, set by Michelle Murray from 1989-93.

Senior center Ilona Burgrova came to South Carolina from the Czech Republic. A 6-5 center, Burgrova has played in every game since she enrolled at South Carolina, starting a majority of them. She is a major presence in the paint, although that presence is not always reflected in the game’s statistics.

A highlight of the 2006-2007 season occurred at the start of the game against LSU, when Burgrova stuffed a Sylvia Fowles shot, and recovered the ball, on the opening play of the game. Burgrova’s playing time and statistics have stayed fairly steady, over the last 3 years, with an average of 5.6 points and 4.6 rebounds during the 2006-2007 season. With only 2 other experienced post players to help out in the coming season, she will likely see a significant increase in playing time and she may need to focus more energy on her offensive game. She leads returning players in shooting percentage, at .514, so it’s time to start taking more shots.

Burgrova is, apparently, the last of the European Wave of recruits that began when Coach Susan Walvius arrived at South Carolina and found domestic recruiting for big post players less productive than across the Atlantic. We love the local girls, but we like the diversity (and talent) the Europeans have brought to the team, too. It may be time to take another trip to Eastern Europe...

Junior Demetress Adams is a 6-4 forward from Bishopville, South Carolina. Adams averaged 8 points and 5 rebounds per game, her freshman season. This year, her statistics dipped just a little bit, to 6 points and 5 rebounds per game, but she is the leading returning rebounder on the team with 174 in the 2006-2007 season. She added 30 blocked shots and had 52 steals. Unfortunately, she also led the team in personal fouls, with 91, and fouled out of 4 games. She will need to avoid foul trouble in 2007-2008 and stay in the game to provide experienced post play. Front line players boast the most experience for next season, but the least depth. Like Burgrova, she gets a lot of high percentage shots and hit at a .503 rate, last season. She will also need to look for her shot, more often, in the upcoming season.

Junior Brionna Dickerson is a 5-9 guard from Columbia, South Carolina. Dickerson averaged 40 points a game during her junior year at Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, so you know she can shoot. She missed her entire senior year, due to a knee injury. She was not 100% at the start of her freshman year at USC, but came on strong, towards the end of the season. She definitely surprised Florida, by coming off of the bench and leading the way for a Gamecocks win with 8 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals in the 16 minutes that she played. She continued to make progress during her sophomore season, doubling her playing time from the previous year and raising her averages from 1.8 points and 1.1 rebounds per game to 6.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. She also contributed 37 assists and 22 steals for the season and has a nice pull-up jump shot. The guard positions are wide open for the 2007-2008 season and her experience and toughness should make her hard to beat for one of the starting roles.

Sophomore 5-11 guard/forward Kellindra “Taz” Zackery, from Newark, New Jersey also returns. Zackery didn’t see extensive action this year, but a couple of performances have got the fans eagerly anticipating her sophomore season. Zackery scored 28 points and had 11 rebounds in just her third collegiate game, against North Carolina A & T, the first double-double for a freshman since December 2005. She also had 7 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals against Alabama. Taz (as in the whirlwind Tazmanian Devil of Looney Tunes fame) had some problems getting her shots to fall, this season, with a .384 shooting percentage, but continued to show the energy that got her nicknamed “Taz” in the first place and displayed some nice moves in the paint. When the shots start to fall, she will be dangerous.