Everyone who has paid attention to women’s basketball at all over the last two years has known that Aliyah Boston would be picked first overall in the 2023 WNBA Draft. The question then became “Which Gamecock would be next?” The answer to that question was Laeticia Amihere. Next up? Zia Cooke to the LA Sparks with the tenth pick.
Zia Cooke is an aggressive offensive player who wasn’t very efficient most of her career due to her shot selection. As a senior, however, she put together her most efficient season when she took more open shots created by her teammates and more shots at the rim. Bouncing back and forth between point guard and shooting guard at times during her career, Cooke’s best role seems to be as a secondary ballhandling shooting guard who is allowed to move off the ball to get open but can break down a defense with her own ballhandling when the offense is stagnant.
Cooke was recognized as an All-American her final year and brought home the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the country’s top shooting guard. Her quickness and aggressive offensive game will translate well to scoring in the WNBA.
Cooke was, at times, the main offensive engine for the Gamecocks and “The Freshies” from the 2019 recruiting class.
The 2019 class at South Carolina went 129-9 (with just one loss at home at Colonial Life Arena), they were ranked inside the top-10 their entire careers, they made 3 Final Fours (there were only 3 NCAA Tournaments because of the 2020 Covid pandemic), they won 3 SEC Tournament Championships and 3 regular season SEC Championships, and they won a national title. They also won 42 games in a row, a number only beaten by two other programs in history.
Cooke will begin her professional career with a Los Angeles Sparks team that is loaded with veteran guards. Cooke will be able to learn from those vets and provide some energy to their offense.