#te hina paopao

[thankyouforthememoriesworld]

Te-Hina is like me, her whole face lights up when she sees Azzi 😄

[l-l-lefttteyeee]

one of my roman empires is knowing Te-Hina Paopao and azzi fudd were on the same team at one point

[respectmyfrench]

Personally, I think this trade between Conneticutt and Chicago isn't bad. Chicago is rebuilding and are focusing on the future. Two first round picks next year and potentially 2 first round picks in 2026 is great considering all the talent coming out within these next 2 years. The chances of sky grabbing paopao, the 3 point shooter they need, just increased

[ih3artkitty]

♡

Heyy! I’m kitty (that’s like my actual name) ♡

Birthday:

2/16

favorite song atm:

If you let me - Alina baraz

I just wanted to make an official post because I’m gonna try and be on here a lot more. I will say though, I absolutely adore women’s college basketball and just sports in general. I can not get enough of UConn wbb. They are and will be forever be my all time fav, but I’m also very biased towards sc as well!

I hope to find out more about what I wanna do on here, but in the meantime bye bye!

P.s I’m also very country

[fiercynn]

SOUTH CAROLINA YOUR NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

[latenighttalkinqwp]

PAIGE AND LILI!!! also she is not 6ft yall😕🙏🏾

azzi x angel x kamilla is going to be lethal

georgia going to the aces 👀

also te-hina going to the storm???

thank the lord

[tndaqlifwy]

YAY

[myrebelancestorsdiedforme]

Te-Hina Paopao Gamecocks nation

[fruitbasketball]

I want to know your thoughts on the mock draft !!!

LEMME GET INTO ITTTTT

why this guy paige at #1 she’s so mid bro

nah 1 and 2 solid

but after that it gets kinda dicey

if y’all seen olivia miles play, you know she’s a DAWG like… we’re talking second team all america, preseason watchlists, like she can HOOP

but that injury bug… there’s people ahead of her in this draft in my mind, like 3 is crazy - i think olivia, azzi, and rori in that order at 5,6,7 ish

and imma explain about azzi before y’all get too tight like CHILLLLLL you know azzi’s my girl

i think that 3 spot should be aneesah’s… she’s so stupid underrated even after going to lsu, and i think w angel in the league she’s going to be a more prioritized scoring option for them. this girl is a PURE HOOPER; the fact that mulkey lowk had mikayla williams as the second/third option over her is nuts - esp when she literally averaged a double double on a team WITH ANGEL REESE

idk ab this french girl like who knows overseas is not my circus but te-hina paopao is EASILY a top 4-8 pick. this is NUTS. this girl LED THE COUNTRY in 3pfg we NEED some respect here like godDAMN

i put raven at 8, bc yes she’s a DAWG but putting her OVER te-hina paopao is luuuudicrous to me

saniya rivers is also way too low, and bro imma be SO FUCKING FR: georgia amoore is not a first round pick imo. maybe literally dead fucking last but anything other than that is… nah bro. that’s nuts. high second round sure. but first round OVER SANIYA RIVERS?? fuck outta here.

lemme speak on rori and azzi rq

coming out of high school: both of them, i would’ve said t5 easy, azzi goes first (paige out of the picture ofc)

but there’s that injury bug again and when you’re not paige bueckers, it fucks with your draft stock.

now rori only has one year of injury, and she’s recovering fast (or forcing a speedy recovery, which is just stupid, but we’ll see which one it is) but azzi on the other hand… she’s never even played a full season of college basketball

but i still take azzi over rori, even after the way rori shut down uconn’s defense this past season, because a healthy azzi fudd is just that good

if she stays healthy this season, and she’s playing as good as i KNOW she can, azzi’s a top 3 pick easy

as it stands RIGHT NOW THO - azzi sitting at a healthy 5-8 is fair

and if she waits another year, and she goes with flau’jae’s class - i can see her fighting flau or lauren or cotie for that number one spot and winning out

but i’m thinking from like a cost benefit analysis standpoint - if azzi plays a full season of college basketball, absolutely smokes bitches, brings home that natty… the 3 spot is hers. if i’m azzi - i declare right after the natty, or even before depending on how my season’s going. imma keep it a buck - i wouldn’t risk the extra season of college ball when i know i’m essentially guaranteed a roster spot in the w

[thankyouforthememoriesworld]

Azzi for the U19 tournament

[bballlvr8]

1. Dallas: Paige Bueckers

2. Sparks: Olivia Miles

3. Sky: Sonia Citron

4. Mystics: Te-Hina PaoPao

5. Valkryries: Kiki Iriafen

6. Mystics: Lauren Betts/Aneesah Morrow

7. New York: Rori Harmon

8. Fever: Sedona Prince

9. Storm: Dominique Malonga

10. Sky: HVL/Georgia Amoore/Shy Sellers

11. Lynx: ^^^^^^^^

12. Mercury: Janiah Barker

I like Sonia to the sky I feel like she’s very underrated.

i’d probably put Te-hina to the sky as well (but who’s to say she’ll still be available)

I also think lauren is staying in college, but I guess aneesah could be used for depth, being that they already have a forward that they just drafted so.

I like Kiki to the Valkyries. She’ll still be in Cali, but I don’t think the Sparks need her.

I also think Rori is coming back to college 

my thing with the Sedona is, she gives me lazy and I wouldn’t take her in the first round. I would probably take her if she’s still available late second round.

I haven’t watched Dominique so I don’t really have any thoughts on that 

honestly, if I’m the Mystics, I might take Shyanne at four which sounds crazy, but I think she could be valuable.

I think Georgia to the lynx might be good because they do need a traditional point guard or her to the liberty

if I’m the mercury, I may take HVL 

I don’t see Janiah coming out in this draft

[news4usonline]

Dawn Staley leads South Carolina to title

(News4usonline) - Greatness speaks for itself. For head coach Dawn Staley and her South Carolina women's basketball team, the word great will always be tagged along with what they achieved during the 2023-2024 season. And they did it their way. "I'm super excited to share this moment with our team," Staley said after South Carolina beat Iowa in the national championship game. "They are incredible human beings and young people who trusted, believed and figured out a way to help each other, learn and grow, and ultimately become champions." Most Outstanding Player, @Kamillascsilva! @GamecockWBB#WFinalFour x #NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/YWImUlkGyu— NCAA Women's Final Four (@WFinalFour) April 7, 2024 The Gamecocks believed in what Staley was telling them all season. The journey for Staley and South Carolina took place months ago with sweat and wrapped up with a celebration. To do what Staley and South Carolina did is remarkable. When people discuss lifting women's basketball to another level, LSU and Angel Reece did it last season. Without question, Staley and South Carolina winning the national title and staying undefeated for the entire season is another example of this type of greatness. You don't go out and win 38 games straight (38-0) without greatness being attached to your name. You can go ahead and put that label right next door to Staley and South Carolina's legacy. "It means a lot to do it with this group of girls," South Carolina guard Raven Johnson said. "If you guys would have seen us, just the stuff we went through in the summer and the hard work we put in, we deserve this honestly. Coach, she gives us so much leeway. She let us be loose. She just let us be who we are. It's just so much stuff that we go through." In last year's Final Four, it was Iowa that was doing all the smiling and celebrating after beating the Gamecocks. A year later, Staley and South Carolina are now the ones smiling after beating Iowa, 87-75, to win the national title. Johnson talked about what it's been like playing for Staley. "The GOAT, you mean the Dawn Staley? It means a lot just to play -- just to learn from her," Johnson remarked. "She's like a mom. I mean, I don't know, I go to her about everything. I could joke around with her. I could do anything, just anything." "She's like a mom, like a home away from home. It's a home-away-from-home feeling." There's no better way to have a coach like her and be so comfortable around her. And I take pride in what she do for us, on and off the court, not just basketball," Johnson added. Te-Hina Paopao echoed her teammates' thoughts about Staley. Dawn is a whole mood! @GamecockWBB #WFinalFour x #NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/dXWSfFGuAY— NCAA Women's Final Four (@WFinalFour) April 7, 2024 "Man, she's so important to have in people's lives. She's amazing," Paopao said. "God has put her in my life, and she's impacted it so much, not only me, but my family. She changes lives for the better. I wish you guys could experience that and just how much she's helped me as a player and as a woman." The accolades can't come enough for Staley. South Carolina. The Gamecocks are the 10th women's basketball team to go unbeaten in a season. This is the third national title the Gamecocks have won under the watchful eye of Staley. This championship, however, carried a little bit more weight to Staley than the other two, she said. "Well, it was emotional for me because of how it ended last year. I'll leave that there," Staley quipped. "And I was emotional at the beginning of the game because I didn't want what happened last year to happen this year. So I was handling things in real time, not afterwards." "I'm going to move to handling things in real time and not having to wait until there's an ending that shouldn't be. I was like that throughout the entire season, but for this one I wasn't going to allow what I felt happened to us last year to happen this year. So I had a little bit of PTSD, and I addressed it in real time. I mean, it's heavy, it's heavy. You carry the burden of every single one of your players, all the coaches and staff members that put so much into our team. And it's a heavy load to be undefeated, to finish the job," Staley added. Staley and the Gamecocks started off dominating the SEC Conference and concluded with an unblemished mark, going 16-0. 2024 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS ? @GamecockWBB #WFinalFour x #NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/Ns40zsUaua— NCAA Women's Final Four (@WFinalFour) April 7, 2024 South Carolina went undefeated in conference games while they battled and played against formidable opponents like Angel Reece and LSU. Staley and the Gamecocks rolled through one opponent after another throughout the season. Then came the NCAA Women's Tournament. It proved no different. Staley and South Carolina pushed right on through, advancing to the Final Four. South Carolina took care of business against North Carolina State before reaching the title against Iowa. Another challenge. Another obstacle standing in the way of greatness. Individual achievement is wonderful, but winning a championship is what you're measured by in team sports. South Carolina has a group of talented individuals who came together collectively as a team to make all of their dreams come true, and that is to win a national championship. Staley views herself as a caretaker. She is going to make sure things are done right. The success she and South Carolina have achieved on and off the court can be attributed to doing things decently and in order. "Well, it means that we have quietly done things, in my opinion, the right way," Staley said. "We find the right pieces to help us. We really do things the right way. We're very disciplined in how we approach basketball." She continued, "I am one that, I'm forever indebted to basketball, so I'm always going to take care of it. I'm always going to make sure that our players are respectful. I'm always going to make sure that they know the history of our game. I want to make sure they are always respectful to our opponents." Top Image Caption: South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley during the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament between the Tennessee Volunteers and the South Carolina Gamecocks March 9, 2024 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire) Read the full article

[bongaboi]

South Carolina: 2023-24 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball National Champions

With undefeated South Carolina jolted onto an unfamiliar backfoot, coach Dawn Staley looked toward her bench to remedy an early 11-point deficit to Iowa — more specifically, she looked toward Tessa Johnson.

The freshman guard outshone her six-point scoring average all tournament long and was a revelation in relief for the Gamecocks. With a team-high 19 points and three triples, Johnson led South Carolina to a slim halftime lead and a dominant third quarter, helping the Gamecocks claim their second national title in three years, 87-75, and cap off a perfect season.

The role players were rolling from the opening tip, as Kate Martin and Sydney Affolter gave Iowa a quick 7-0 lead, but Caitlin Clark scored 13 in a row from all over the court. The newly crowned AP Player of the Year drained a pair of 3s, was fouled on two more attempts and converted at the rim to give her Hawkeyes a 20-9 lead by the first media timeout. Clark finished with 30 points (10 of 28 shooting), eight rebounds and five assists in her last college game.

Iowa's centers Hannah Stuelke and Addison O'Grady admirably limited star Gamecock post Cardoso to just 2 of 6 shooting in the first quarter, but the Brazilian behemoth partnered with Johnson and inevitably found her opening. Johnson — who led the Gamecocks' 36-0 bench scoring advantage — took up the mantle for South Carolina and its top-ranked defense. The freshman guard poked away a pair of steals, turning each into transition baskets, before Cardoso finished through contact to tie the game at 27.

That top-ranked defense also took exception to Clark's early mastery, and a savvy defensive play from Raven Johnson dispossessed Clark and gave the Gamecocks an easy two points before halftime.

South Carolina bottled up this late-half momentum for a roaring start out of the locker room. Chloe Kitts ensured her spot on the floor with two straight baskets out of the intermission, and Te-Hina Paopao nailed a pull-up jumper to give her Gamecocks a 55-46 lead and force Iowa coach Lisa Bluder to burn a quick timeout.

Cardoso also hauled a career-high 17 rebounds, leading an overwhelming South Carolina rebounding effort that started to wear on the Hawkeyes. The Gamecocks enjoyed a 24-11 rebounding advantage in the second half, including six offensive boards, and a plus-6 advantage in second chance points helped South Carolina maintain its lead.

Paopao nailed a 3 to begin the fourth quarter, one of her three long-range bombs Sunday, and a familiarly balanced South Carolina scoring attack — seven Gamecocks made at least three field goals — proved too much for a late Hawkeyes rally.

[fiercynn]

[nicky35]

Thoughts????

1. Dallas: Paige Bueckers

2. Sparks: Olivia Miles

3. Sky: Sonia Citron

4. Mystics: Te-Hina PaoPao

5. Valkyries: Kiki Iriafen

6. Mystics: Aneesah Morrow

7. New York: Georgia Amoore

8. Fever: Dominique Malonga

9. Storm: HVL

10. Sky: Shyanne Sellers/Saniya Rivers

11. Lynx: Sedona Prince

12. Mercury: Ajsa Sivka/Janiah Barker

(#3 and #4 are interchangeable/#8 and #11 are interchangeable)

sky need to prioritize a pg more than anything. i also just don't see kiki falling that low despite a lot of those teams having so many forwards. i think a lot of those teams could possibly do some trading in anticipation for her. also hvl is putting up good stats but she's too small and is playing against lower level teams. she's gonna go second round. georgia is also a little high but still first round pick.

[kashicloud]

[ad_1] Te-Hina Paopao’s heart was set on transferring to TCU.After Oregon missed the 2023 NCAA Tournament, she entered the transfer portal as a junior seeking change. Mark Campbell, a former Ducks assistant and the new Horned Frogs coach, had recruited Paopao to Oregon years earlier, and they thrived together before he left for another job after her freshman season. She thought she had a plan. A reunion was forthcoming.But as Paopao was driving to an early morning class last spring, she received a call from her high school coach, Terri Bamford. “Hey, South Carolina wants to talk to you,” Bamford told Paopao. “Dawn Staley wants to call you — like right now.”Paopao pulled over immediately to focus. “South Carolina? South Carolina? Dawn Staley? The best program in the nation wants to hit me up?” she replied. “Absolutely give them my number. You can tell them to call me right now.”For hundreds of recruits around the country, that’s what happens when Staley reaches out. You stop what you’re doing. You hit your car brakes and veer to the roadside. “I couldn’t believe that I was on the phone with Dawn,” Paopao said. “Dawn Staley of all people.”There is Dawn Staley, the South Carolina women’s basketball head coach and winner of two national championships. The Naismith Hall of Fame player. The teacher, the leading advocate for Black women, the dancer (play Mary J. Blige and see what happens), the trash-talker. The fashionista whose sideline outfits — Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Balenciaga — are headlines in blog posts. The star in commercials for major brands. Dawn Staley is a MOOD ✂️💃@dawnstaley | @GamecockWBB pic.twitter.com/IVIHCcpgZH — ESPN (@espn) April 4, 2022But before her players experience the many facets of Staley, they first commit to learning from her (and her staff’s) tutelage.Her blueprint looks foolproof as top-rated high school recruits such A’ja Wilson (No. 1, 2014) and Aliyah Boston (No. 3, 2019) come to South Carolina, win national championships and graduate to become WNBA stars. Unsurprisingly, many of the most sought-after recruits (four of the top 11 in the 2019 class, three of the top four in the 2021 class) make their way to Columbia, where Staley has signed every top-35 rated in-state recruit since 2014. That includes incoming No. 2 recruit Joyce Edwards.Ty Harris became an All-American and won a national championship at South Carolina (2016-2020). She committed to the Gamecocks largely because she was drawn to Staley’s authenticity. Allisha Gray transferred to South Carolina before the 2015 season believing — knowing, really —that playing for Staley was her best chance to win a title. (She won one.) “I committed right away. I didn’t even have to think about it,” Gray said. Others join the Gamecocks for pro preparation, to learn from a former player and a Black female coach, or to build a culture. “She’s a truth-teller,” longtime Staley assistant coach Lisa Boyer said. “We are who we are, and you either like it or you don’t.”GO DEEPERAnonymous women's college basketball players survey: Favorite coach? A landslide resultStaley’s approach is often central to players committing to her. The Staley recruiting experience, however, can be more involved than the mere phone call that sent Paopao and her family into ecstasy. Players for this season’s top-seeded Gamecocks, who begin their NCAA Tournament quest to complete an undefeated season on Friday at 2 p.m. ET, know that. So do her former players at South Carolina and Temple, where Staley coached from 2000-2008.“It’s like winning the lottery,” said Keisha Hunt, who coached Gamecocks center Kamilla Cardoso in high school and on the grassroots circuit. “It’s a dream.”Consider the following tales from Staley’s recruiting trail to explore how and why so many join Staley.Steakhouses, jollof rice and samba dancingSo much has changed in the landscape of college recruiting since Staley arrived at South Carolina in 2008, but the official visit remains a crucial part of the experience for most top prospects. In addition to X’s and O’s, all successful coaches must know how to entertain in some capacity.“You know when a school is really interested in you,” Gray said. “If a school will go … out of their way to do things for you, that just shows, they really want you.”Staley has that down.She knew Zia Cooke’s family was tight-knit and Cooke might be homesick if she chose to play so far from Toledo, Ohio. So on her official visit, Staley hosted an intimate cookout at her house for Cooke, who would return there many times as a player for Staley’s signature burgers and salmon. What's it like for point guard @zia_cooke to play for hall of fame point guard @dawnstaley? We'll let her tell you. @abc_columbia pic.twitter.com/aOvFww28cj — Mike Gillespie (@MikeAGillespie) July 2, 2019On Harris’ visit, Staley took her and her family to Ruth’s Chris Steak House. When Ashlyn Watkins, a McDonald’s All-American and Columbia native, visited the Gamecocks on her official visit as the nation’s No. 12 prospect in the Class of 2022, it didn’t matter that she grew up as a local and had been familiar with the program since attending camps as a girl. Staley still pulled out all the stops — complete with laser tag and any type of food Watkins wanted. She picked Chinese.Laeticia Amihere, a ’23 South Carolina graduate and current forward with the Atlanta Dream, grew up in Canada but remembers Staley and her staff bringing in catering from a local African restaurant for her official visit as a nod to her father’s Ghanaian and mother’s Ivorian roots. They dined on jollof rice — a popular West African dish — as well as chicken, fish and plantains. “When you go away from home, it’s kind of hard to get that homey feeling, whether it’s food or even the people,” Amihere said. “(It was) just a lot of stuff that my mom cooks, so I was definitely very happy.”And when Cardoso, who grew up in Brazil, visited South Carolina after transferring from Syracuse, Staley went even further.In addition to serving Brazilian steaks, rice, beans and french fries, the Gamecocks had one more surprise for their future 6-foot-7 center. “We had a line-dancing day,” Cardoso said, explaining that Staley brought in a samba teacher to dance the traditional Brazilian number with her. “It was really fun.”‘Yeah, Mom. She’s a pretty big deal’Dee Alexander, ESPN’s top recruit in the Class of 2025 and a two-time Ohio Ms. Basketball winner, is naturally reserved. Purcell Marian (Ohio) High School coach Jamar Mosley said she doesn’t tell him every time she receives a call from a college coach.“But when Dawn called her phone,” Mosley said, “she was pretty ecstatic about that phone call.”Cooke, now a guard with the Los Angeles Sparks, remembers meeting Staley. She was playing in a grassroots tournament and had performed well, but didn’t know that Staley would be sitting courtside. After the game, Cooke was telling her dad how much it would mean to her if South Carolina recruited her. That’s when Staley tracked her down.“​When we were walking out, (Staley) was like, ‘You will be getting a call from me,’” Cooke said. “That was by far one of the best moments. … A lot of people look up to her in so many different ways.”When Amihere arrived on campus for her official visit, Staley took her and her family to Soda City Market — a staple in Columbia with food trucks and local goods. It didn’t take long for fans to swarm Staley. As a two-time national champion coach, Staley has become the face of South Carolina athletics. (Grant Halverson / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)“I don’t even know how she steps outside. … It was hard to walk through (the market),”Amihere said, recalling that her parents were struck by how famous Staley was. “And I’m like, … ‘Yeah, Mom. She’s a pretty big deal.’”It’s a similar scene when Staley walks into a high school gym to watch a recruit play.Will Eudy is the athletic director at Cardinal Newman School in Columbia, where Watkins played. He remembers coaches from nearly every major program walking through the doors to see her games — Notre Dame, Duke, Baylor, Texas, North Carolina and more. But when Staley and her assistants came through?“Everybody understood when she was in the gym. It was another level,” he said. “It’s a vibe when they walk in. It’s totally different.”“People were cheering, trying to take pictures,” Watkins said, “trying to come up to her.”Staley sat in the front row to watch Watkins and was happy to sign every poster and smile for every photo asked of her, Eudy said.Her star power helps others at South Carolina, too. In spring 2022, the Gamecocks football team needed help at wide receiver. When one of their targets, Corey Rucker, visited campus, coach Shane Beamer’s recruiting department asked if it could do anything to make his visit more memorable. The one thing Rucker mentioned was meeting Staley. She invited him to her home and introduced her to her almost-as-famous pup, Champ. you see the excitement! i met the 🐐. #WBBvsEverybody pic.twitter.com/GptuICBGnF — Corey Rucker🎸 (@coreyrckr7) March 24, 2022 “Whether it was Dawn Staley or Champ, people turned heads,” Amihere said. “Just to see her stardom and how much she means to South Carolina is insane.”But even as her fame has grown, those who know Staley insist her humility hasn’t changed. Eudy watched Staley sit through more than one Cardinal Newman blowout victory, just to show face with Watkins.“How do you tell her no when she’s sitting front row at a SCISA (South Carolina Independent School Association) high school basketball game and they’re winning by 60?” he said. “This is what she’s doing on Tuesday night.“It’s kind of like getting an offer from (Steve) Spurrier or getting an offer from Dabo (Swinney) or getting an offer from (Nick) Saban. That’s gonna be something cool when they come into your school.”The ‘awe factor’Staley was 29 years old in April 2000, when Temple hired the Philadelphia native as its head coach. Squarely in the prime of her playing career, that summer the Charlotte Sting’s point guard was preparing for her second of three Olympics. Prior to her coaching debut that fall, Staley told the Philadelphia Daily News that the toughest part of coaching was “having to talk so much.” “I’m better at accomplishing things on my own instead of telling others how to do it,” she said. “But I’m getting better.”Staley’s accomplishments — two national Player of the Year honors at Virginia, three trips to the Final Four, an Olympic appearance and a budding WNBA career — were appealing to recruits, even if she was still finding her voice on the sideline. “I was very aware of who Coach was as a player,” said Cynthia Jordan, a member of Staley’s first recruiting class. Jordan wanted to play in a city and help build a budding program, but learning from a pro like Staley was a draw, too. “This is the best point guard in the country,” she said. “There was an awe factor.” Staley’s success in the WNBA as a first-round draft pick in 199 has impressed recruits through the years. She played for the Charlotte Sting until 2005. (Garrett Ellwood / WNBAE / Getty Images)As both a head coach and active WNBA player, Staley was different from most other coaches recruiting players. “There was a connectivity there, because the player is seeing their coach play,” said Boyer, who joined Staley’s staff in 2002. “I think on the floor, when she was with Temple, she was a player’s coach.” Or sometimes more literally a playing coach. Jordan recalls Staley competing against Temple players in a series of one-on-one games. “I’m not going on record to say how it all went down,” Jordan said when asked who won those contests.Even after Staley’s professional playing days ended in 2006, her credibility remained. When Staley arrived at South Carolina, she again needed to convince recruits to buy in to the change she sought to create. The Gamecocks had missed the NCAA Tournament five consecutive years (and made the field just twice since 1991). Tiffany Mitchell, a Charlotte native, grew up idolizing Staley from her time with the Sting. She later committed to South Carolina, helping lay the groundwork from 2012-2016.Staley’s on-court success still matters, even though fewer current players are as aware of her resumé specifics. When Amihere received her scholarship offer, she immediately researched more about Staley, diving into her playing career. “She’s just an icon in women’s sports, and in sports in general, because of her advocacy,” Amihere said.‘She challenged me’Paopao knew she would fit into South Carolina’s offense. The Gamecocks needed a 3-point threat after shooting just 31 percent from beyond the arc last season, and Paopao, a 42.4-percent shooter from deep at Oregon in 2022-23, could certainly help.Still, at the end of Paopao’s visit to Columbia, Staley made no promises.“She said, ‘You’re gonna come in and compete. I’m not gonna give you any favors or none of that. You’ve just gotta come in here and compete for what you want to work for and become the player that you want. And if you’re not on the court — that’s your fault,’” Paopao recalled. “I thought that was so real. That resonated with me so much.”She is a go-to deep threat, knocking down a career-high 47.1 percent of her 3-pointers this season, as South Carolina’s overall long-range accuracy has risen nearly 9 percentage points. LESSSSS GOOOO ‼️‼️thankful for the opportunity . new beginnings 🙏🏽🤙🏽 https://t.co/KecBDBAIM8 — 👑🇦🇸🇹🇰 (@tehinapaopa0) April 26, 2023It stands to reason that, of course, Staley knew Paopao could come in and make a significant impact. But playing at South Carolina is different than playing elsewhere, said Hunt, who coached Cardoso. Staley’s recruits cannot fear competition.“There’s two types of athletes,” Hunt said. “There’s the ones that, they might be really, really great basketball players, but they don’t want to go where there’s seven, eight, nine really great basketball players.”And there’s the ones who go to South Carolina.“You’re not gonna get the experience that those girls who choose to go to South Carolina are gonna get,” Hunt said.Like Paopao, Amihere remembers a blunt discussion with Staley during the recruiting process about expectations. During one phone conversation, Staley asked her “What can you do for us?” Amihere thought about her response for a second, then replied: “I want to attack the rim.”Staley went on to explain what they needed from Amihere and described what she thought Amihere could add to her game. “She challenged me,” Amihere said. That appealed to the former five-star forward.Staley doesn’t hold back in practices when recruits are around, either. Harris remembers a session when Staley wasn’t pleased with players. “She got so mad at us. She started yelling at us, saying stuff,” Harris recalled. “(I was thinking), ‘Hold on. We’ve got a recruit (here) now.’ But they need to see that.”Her honesty is refreshing. Her standards remain high.“When you hear South Carolina, it’s like, ‘Whoa. You play for the Gamecocks,” Paopao said. “‘You play for Dawn Staley.’”(Photo of Dawn Staley and Ashlyn Watkins: Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images) !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments); if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)(window, document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '207679059578897'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); [ad_2] Source link