South Carolina Basketball: Top commitment dominates showcase

The South Carolina basketball team is replacing 7 players from last year’s roster as Aliyah Boston, Laeticia Amihere, Zia Cooke, Brea Beal, and Victaria Saxton all were selected in the 2023 WNBA Draft, and Kierra Fletcher and Olivia Thompson moved on after graduation. Coach Dawn Staley has started the process of revamping her roster with some big-time talents coming in via the transfer portal and the 2023 recruiting class.

One of the top newcomers on next year’s team is 5-star Columbia native Milaysia Fulwiley from Keenan High School. The electric athlete has extreme quickness and will provide some much-needed outside shooting to a team that struggled shooting the 3-ball last season. Fulwiley is also a skilled finisher at the rim and plays with an aggressiveness that is reminiscent of graduating All-American Zia Cooke.

Over the weekend, Fulwiley played in the Overtime Elite Women’s Basketball Takeover 5v5. Playing for Team Flau’Jae Johnson, Fulwiley scored from inside, scored from outside, and controlled the game when she was on the floor.

At 5’7″, Fulwiley is a smaller guard, but her elite athleticism helps make up for it. She has enough bounce that she has dunked twice in high school games, and she will immediately become one of the quickest players in all of college basketball when she arrives on campus. Fulwiley can play point guard or shooting guard, providing another versatile ball handler to pair with All-Freshman All-SEC player Raven Johnson and incoming transfer Te-Hina Paopao.

Dawn Staley has never been afraid to play freshmen if she feels they are the best option for her team, so Fulwiley will have every opportunity to earn playing time. She won’t be forced into action before she’s ready thanks to Johnson and Paopao, but Gamecock fans can expect that dynamic freshman will be ready to contribute sooner rather than later.