It's just about 7 weeks from the first day of practice for the 2010 NCAA basketball season, so it appears that the "off" season is just about over. As such, it's time to start preparing for the upcoming season with previews, predictions and the like.
The current Gamecock recruiting class has been ranked as high as number four in the country, though some rankings have the South Carolina team ranked as low as number twenty. Frankly, either result is pretty good and easily surpasses recent classes.
South Carolina head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley has got a packed roster for this season–and for a couple more in the future, as well. The following is a breakdown of the players who have been added to the team during the past season.
There have been highs and lows. Landing the #2 recruit in the land (Kelsey Bone) who could have played for any university in the country, was a definite high point. Having an early signer (Monique Willis) spend months working to resolve legal problems, resulting in her not joining the team this season, was a low.
At this point, 6 of the 7 recruits will actually be joining the team this season and 5 of those 6 will be eligible to play, immediately. The Gamecocks lost only 3 senior players from last season, so the competition to find playing time should be very tight–and with no seniors on the team, it will only intensify in the following season. Any players who feel that they are on the bubble will need to produce sufficiently, this season, to convince Coach Staley that they should still be around next season.
Class of 2011
Valerie Nainima has been on the South Carolina bench for the past season, sitting out a year as required by NCAA transfer rules. Nainima is eligible, this season, as a junior. Nainima played two seasons at Long Island University and was the fastest player to ever reach 1000 points, in just her 53rd game. She was All-Northeastern Conference, having averaged 20.4 points per game on 34.3% shooting, including 41% from the 3-point line. She was the first player in conference history to be named player of the year and rookie of the year in the same season, her freshman year.
Valerie has played for the Fijian National Team and the U-20 team. She led Fiji to a gold medal at the 2007 South Pacific Games, averaging 25.7 points per game.
Class of 2012
Ebony Wilson is a strong, athletic guard who played for Rend Lake College last season, helping the Lady Warriors to a 23-10 record and a spot in the NJCAA Division I Region XXIV championship game. The 5-8 guard earned All-Conference and All-Region honors along the way. Wilson was also named Great Rivers Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year after finishing second on the team in both scoring (15.2 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg). She is eligible to play immediately and has three years of eligibility remaining.
Marah Strickland has transferred from the University of Maryland to South Carolina. She will sit out the 09-10 season, in compliance with NCAA transfer rules, then will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Prior to her Maryland career, Strickland was a Parade Magazine, McDonald’s and WBCA All-American. She was also the 2007 Gatorade Maryland Player of the Year and was ranked the USA’s third-best shooting guard in the Class of 2007 by the All-Star Girls Report.
In her two years with the Terps, Strickland started 59 of 70 games and was an Honorable Mention ACC All-Freshman selection. As a sophomore, she was 7th in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (.375) and 10th in 3-point field goals made per game (2.35).
Class of 2013
Ieasia Walker, a 5-7 point guard, who was named 2009 Miss New York Basketball, averaged 23 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists per game her senior year at Copiague High School. Walker played 6 years of varsity basketball and was named MVP of her team all 6 years. She scored over 2000 points in her high school career and also played for the national champion Silver Bullets Elite AAU team. The New York Miss Basketball award is widely viewed as the top award that a high school player in New York State can receive; among it’s past winners: Tina Charles, Sue Bird and Chamique Holdsclaw.
Scouts, Inc evaluation describes her as physically strong, aggressive and just a tough competitor. She is not considered a flashy player and because of that, may be overlooked at times. However, she has one-on-one skills that make her an effective penetrator and lets her create her own looks. She is fast and quick-footed, an effective defender, very polished off the dribble, has good court vision and the strength to finish inside in traffic. She is very adept at attacking the rim and getting to the free throw line. If that evaluation is accurate, she will fill a void that Gamecock guards had trouble with, last season.
Ashley Bruner is a 6-foot forward from Norman High School in Oklahoma. Bruner is described as a tremendous athlete with a high basketball I.Q. and a great work ethic. In her senior season, she became Norman’s career rebound record holder and finished ranked third in school history in scoring. She led her team in scoring each of the past 2 seasons, including a 15.3 points per game scoring average her senior year. Bruner was a two-time Oklahoma Coaches Association All-State selection.
Kelsey Bone created quite a stir in women’s NCAA basketball, when she announced that she would sign to play for the South Carolina Gamecocks. Bone was rated the #2 recruit in the country and most of the game’s watchers were certain that she would play college ball (somewhere) in Texas. Happily for the Gamecocks, she will not.
The 6-5 Bone has earned numerous honors, among them 2009 McDonald’s All-American Female Player of the Year, 2009 WBCA All-American, 2009 ESPNrise.com All-American first-team, 2008 District 23-5A MVP, 2008 first-team Parade Magazine All-American, 2008 USA Today All-USA second team, 2007 District 23-5A Offensive Player of the Year, 2006 Newcomer of the Year. Her senior year in high school, Bone averaged 19.2 points per game, 8.7 rebounds per game and 2 blocked shots, leading Dulles to a 36-3 record and the Class 5A Region III semi-finals.
Bone also won the 2009 Morgan Wooten Award, which recognizes the country’s top high school senior who demonstrates outstanding character, exhibits leadership, and embodies the values of being a student-athlete in both her schoolwork and community affairs.
Bone was named to the 2008 USA Womens U18 National team in June 2008 and helped the team to a 5-0 record in the FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women in July.
This summer, Bone played for the 2009 USA U19 team at the U19 FIBA World Championship in Bangkok, Thailand. The team had an 8-1 record and claimed the gold medal with a 87-71 win in the championship game against Spain. Bone scored 18 points and had 6 rebounds in the title game.
Class of ????
Finally, there is Monique Willis from Beach High School in Savannah, GA. She signed early with the Gamecocks and then her troubles began. Willis was involved in a shoplifting incident, resulting in multiple criminal charges, that kept her in jail from April 3rd through April 28th. Those charges were resolved in a July court hearing. Willis pleaded guilty to criminal damage (she ran through a plate glass door, attempting to escape from security guards) in return for a 4-year probated sentence. She also pleaded guilty to theft by shoplifting, simple battery and reckless conduct. Each carried a 12-month probated sentence, all to be served at the same time as the criminal damage charge, which is a felony. Willis will serve her sentence on home confinement in the first year, then on intensive probation for "at least" three to nine months after that, according to Assistant District Attorney Ann Elmore. The terms of her house arrest allow her to attend work, school and medical appointments.
Willis will also be paying restitution for damage to the door and injuries to a security guard involved in the shoplifting incident. The restitution must be paid in regular installments during the first 24 months of her sentence. Willis was sentenced under the First Offender Act, which means that if she completes her sentence without incident, her record will be wiped clean of the charges in this case.
Willis still faces trial in November on two armed robbery and weapons possession charges in unrelated incidents.
Following the July hearing, USC women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley released a statement about Willis’ status with the Gamecocks, "We are pleased that Monique has reached a resolution on some of her legal issues through Wednesday’s plea agreement. In talking with her and her family throughout this process, we have decided that it is best for Monique to attend a junior college until her remaining legal matters are concluded. Therefore, she will not be a part of our team for the upcoming season."
Gamecocks fans who were relieved that Willis will not be joining the team would do well to read that statement carefully. Willis will clearly not be a Gamecock in 2009-2010, but the statement leaves plenty of wiggle room for her to join the team when "her remaining legal matters are concluded." Frankly, the Gamecocks' current need (and projected for another 1-2 years) is for strong, reliable post players and one would hope that that need will override any temptation to invite Willis to join the team after her legal troubles have been "resolved."
