The two South Carolina basketball programs are at very different places in the hierarchies of their own games. Dawn Staley’s team is one of the top groups in the country and is an annual national title contender. Lamont Paris, just in his second year in garnet and black, is working on rebuilding a program had to be torn down after years of mediocrity under Frank Martin.
The unofficial start to the season is SEC Media Days. This year’s festivitites will be held in Birmingham, Alabama on October 18th and 19th. Every team will bring two player representatives to the event along with their head coaches (except for Georgia women’s basketball, which will bring just one player).
On Wednesday, the SEC announced which players would be attending SEC Media Days.
For the Gamecocks, Bree Hall and Te-Hina Paopao will join Dawn Staley in Birmingham while Meechie Johnson and Ta’Lon Cooper will travel with Lamont Paris. Both teams followed the same plan for bringing players as Staley and Paris each chose a veteran returning guard and new transfer veteran guard to serve as the teams’ representatives at Media Days.
The rest of the SEC Media Days player representatives are listed below:
Alabama Men’s: Aaron Estrada, Sr. Guard; Mark Sears, Sr. Guard
Alabama Women’s: Sarah Ashlee Barker, Sr. Guard; Loyal McQueen, Sr. Guard
Arkansas Men’s: Trevon Brazile, So. Forward; Davonte Davis, Sr. Guard
Arkansas Women’s: Makayla Daniels, Sr. Guard; Samara Spencer, Jr. Guard
Auburn Men’s: Johni Broome, Jr. Forward; Jaylin Williams, Sr. Forward
Auburn Women’s: Taylen Collins, Sr. Forward; Honesty Scott-Grayson, Sr. Guard
Florida Men’s: Will Richard, Jr. Guard; Tyrese Samuel, Sr. Guard
Florida Women’s: Faith Dut, Sr. Forward; Aliyah Matharu, Sr. Guard
Georgia Men’s: Justin Hill, Sr. Guard; Noah Thomasson, Sr. Guard
Georgia Women’s: Javyn Nicholson, Sr. Guard
Kentucky Men’s: Trey Mitchell, Sr. Forward; Antonio Reeves, Sr. Guard
Kentucky Women’s: Ajae Petty, Sr. Forward; Maddie Scherr, Sr. Guard
LSU Men’s: Derek Fountain, Sr. Forward; Jordan Wright, Sr. Guard
LSU Women’s: Angel Reese, Jr. Forward; Flau’Jae Johnson, So. Guard
Ole Miss Men’s: Allen Flanigan, Sr. Guard; Matthew Murrell, Sr. Guard
Ole Miss Women’s: Madison Scott, Sr. Guard; Kennedy Todd-Williams, Sr. Guard
Mississippi State Men’s: Cameron Matthews, Sr. Forward; Tolu Smith, Sr. Forward
Mississippi State Women’s: Jessika Carter, Sr. Forward; JerKaila Jordan, Sr. Guard
Missouri Men’s: Noah Carter, Sr. Guard; Nick Honor, Sr. Guard
Missouri Women’s: Hayley Frank, Sr. Forward; Ashton Judd, So. Guard
South Carolina Men’s: Meechie Johnson, Jr. Guard; Ta’Lon Cooper, Sr. Guard
South Carolina Women’s: Bree Hall, Jr. Guard; Te-Hina Paopao, Sr. Guard
Tennessee Men’s: Santiago Vescovi, Sr. Guard; Zakai Zeigler, Jr. Guard
Tennessee Women’s: Rickea Jackson, Sr. Forward; Tess Darby, Sr. Guard
Texas A&M Men’s: Tyrece Radford, Sr. Guard; Wade Taylor IV, Sr. Guard
Texas A&M Women’s: Janiah Barker, So. Forward; Aicha Coulibaly, Sr. Guard
Vanderbilt Men’s: Tyrin Lawrence, Sr. Guard; Ezra Manion, Sr. Guard
Vanderbilt Women’s: Jordyn Cambridge, Sr. Guard; Sacha Washington, Jr. Forward