The season just ended for the South Carolina basketball team, and some of its oldest players didn’t have long before they had to make a life-altering decision. Because of the WNBA’s summer schedule, the draft is in April, just days after the NCAA Tournament ends. This meant that five Gamecocks (Aliyah Boston, Brea Beal, Laeticia Amihere, Kamilla Cardoso, and Zia Cooke) had to quickly decide whether they would return for a final season of eligibility at the college level or take their talents to the professional ranks.
Over the weekend, Aliyah Boston made the announcement that most figured would come: the 4-time Lisa Leslie Award winner will enter the WNBA Draft and will likely be picked first. On Tuesday, fellow All-American Brea Beal announced she would also be entering the draft to pursue a professional career.
Shortly after Beal’s announcement came one more. South Carolina basketball senior Laeticia Amihere joined Boston and Beal in the pool of players declaring for the April 10th draft.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart🖤 pic.twitter.com/pr2mZZwIPd
— Laeticia Amihere (@_Theblackqueen_) April 4, 2023
Amihere was a Swiss Army knife of a player for Dawn Staley’s team the last four seasons. She played all five positions at different points of her career, sometimes even in the same game. An extremely athletic and aggressive player, Amihere averaged over 6 points, 4 rebounds, an assist, and a block for her career, despite never playing 18 minutes a game.
Amihere is most likely to be used as a versatile post player at the next level as her 6’4″ frame can best be utilized down low. However, her quickness and ball-handling ability allowed “point LA” to contribute at times in her career when the Gamecocks needed some help running the offense.
Her unique blend of size and athleticism creates a matchup issue no matter where she plays. When matched up with smaller players, her length is too much for them to defend, and she pokes away a lot of mis-dribbled basketballs when defending smaller players. When matched up with bigger players, she is usually too quick and too skilled as a ballhandler to be defended well but still has the necessary length and strength to fight in the post.
LA’s future role in the League will likely depend on whichever team drafts her. Gamecock fans are excited, though, to see her continue to excel.
Based on several WNBA Draft projections, Amihere will likely be drafted in the second or third round.