South Carolina Basketball: Gamecocks reunited in unique professional league

Four former South Carolina basketball stars will play in a unique professional basketball league that starts this week. Guards Zia Cooke, Allisha Gray, Tiffany Mitchell, and forward Laeticia Amihere will battle it out in the Athletes Unlimited Basketball League, a women's pro league that will run for four weeks.

The league is one-of-a-kind as teams change each week. Players earn "points" based on both their individual efforts and their team's success. Each week, all four teams will face each other before switching things up for the next week.

In week 1 of AUSports Basketball, however, there will be some Gamecock reunions. Zia Cooke and Laeticia Amihere, who were part of the same recruiting class at USC, will get the opportunity to play together again as part of Team Mitchell (captained by Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell). Allisha Gray and Tiffany Mitchell, who were on the same team in Columbia for one season, will play on Team Gray (captained by Gray).

Team Sims (captained by Dallas Wings guard Odyssey Sims) also features Te'a Cooper, who spent a short time with the Gamecocks. She began her career as a Tennessee Volunteer, transferred to Columbia, and then finished her college days with the Baylor Bears.

Cooke and Amihere played for four seasons with the South Carolina basketball program before spending this season apart as rookies in the WNBA. Mitchell and Gray were only together for one year, but Gray could not play that season as she sat out as a transfer redshirt (back in the prehistoric days before the transfer portal).

The opening weekend schedule can be seen below.

Team Gray will start off the festivities with a Thursday, February 29th game against Team Hull (captained by Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull). The game will begin at 6:00 PM EST and can be watched on Bally Sports and the WNBA app. Team Mitchell will take on Team Sims right after at 9:00 PM EST. The game will be available on some local CBS stations and the WNBA app.

Team Gray and Team Mitchell will face off on Saturday, March 2nd at 3:00 PM EST. The game will feature all four of the Gamecock greats and will be available to watch on Bally Sports and the WNBA app.

To round out the opening weekend of the competition, Team Mitchell then will take on Team Hull on Sunday, March 2nd at 3:00 PM EST, and Team Gray will face Team Sims at 5:30 PM EST. Mitchell-Hull will be viewable on Bally Sports and the WNBA app, while Gray-Sims will be broadcast on some local CBS stations and the WNBA app.