South Carolina Basketball: Gamecocks headline Hall of Fame showcase

South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley after winning her first National Championship in 2017. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley after winning her first National Championship in 2017. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dawn Staley’s South Carolina basketball program has become one of the best in all of college basketball. The Gamecocks are the only team to have won two national championships since 2017, and they have produced more WNBA Draft picks in recent years than any other program. 4-consecutive Final Four appearances have made Staley’s unit one of the most well-watched groups in the country.

The gold standard, though, is still the UConn Huskies. Geno Auriemma’s squad is still one of the top teams in the game, and with UConn’s history, they could find themselves at the top of the mountain once again very soon. Auriemma’s 11 national championships with the Huskies are a women’s college basketball record.

As great as South Carolina basketball has been, the Gamecocks must continue its massive success for a little while longer to be considered in the same rarified air as the Huskies.

The two titans of the women’s game will be the main draws at the 2023 Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase on December 10th. The showcase will take place in Uncasville, Connecticut in the Mohegan Sun Arena (home of the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA).

The showcase will feature three big-time games: South Carolina will face Utah, UConn will play North Carolina, and Florida State will match up with UCLA. The games will each be part of a triple-header of contests that represent some of the top out-of-conference matchups in college basketball next season.

All six participants in the Women’s Showcase played in the 2022-2023 NCAA Tournament and are ranked inside of the top-20 of most offseason polls (South Carolina, UConn, UCLA, and Utah are generally viewed as top-10 teams for next season). Additional news about game times and television broadcast information will come at a later date.

South Carolina basketball will open up the season overseas on November 6th, playing the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Paris.