South Carolina Basketball: The biggest (early) questions for Dawn Staley’s team for the 2023-2024 season
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina basketball has been one of the top programs in the country in recent years as Dawn Staley’s squad has won two national championships and been to four Final Fours in the six seasons since 2017 (the 2019-2020 season did not have an NCAA Tournament, but the Gamecocks were also ranked #1 when the season halted).
The 2022-2023 campaign did not end with South Carolina basketball hoisting another national championship banner to the rafters of Colonial Life Arena, but the Gamecocks were undefeated heading into the Final Four where a superhuman effort from Caitlin Clark was too much to overcome for a Gamecock team that struggled to make shots from outside.
After the 2023 WNBA Draft, the Gamecock roster was five players lighter as Aliyah Boston (1st-overall), Laeticia Amihere (1st round), Zia Cooke (1st round), Brea Beal (2nd round), and Victaria Saxton (3rd round) were all selected. Two senior contributors (guards Kierra Fletcher and Olivia Thompson) are gone, as well, and former 5-star wing Talaysia Cooper has hit the transfer portal.
That means that Dawn Staley’s team will look very different in the 2023-2024 season as at least eight roster spots will be filled with different players than a season ago.
As July comes to a close, what are the biggest questions surrounding the South Carolina basketball team as they look to continue their run of excellence?