South Carolina Basketball: 6 thumbs up from a historic national championship win

South Carolina Basketball vs. Iowa Hawkeyes
Thumbs Up 2: Raven Johnson and Winston Gandy

South Carolina point guard Raven Johnson almost gave up basketball after last year's Final Four. Caitlin Clark's viral "wave off" caused so much anxiety and so many emotional struggles for Johnson during the offseason that she only had two choices: she could quit, or she could dedicate herself to becoming a player who could never be disrespected again.

She chose the latter.

Johnson had a much better year shooting the ball and was one of the top point guards in the country. Against Iowa, though she didn't show off her improved shooting, she was one of the top players in the game in the other facets of the game.

After not starting the game as the primary defender on Caitlin Clark, Raven Johnson made the National Player of the Year's day miserable the rest of the way. Clark broke the quarter scoring record in the 1st quarter with 18 points on efficient shooting. After the 1st quarter ended, Clark shot 6-21, had 4 turnovers, and didn't get to the foul line a single time.

Defending Clark in 1-on-1 situations, Johnson held her to 2-10 shooting (and one of those makes came behind an egregious moving screen that went uncalled), blocked her shot twice, and picked her pocket three times.

After the slow start for the defense against Clark, Bree Hall and Tessa Johnson were much better guarding her than they had been in the 1st quarter, as well.

After the game, Coach Staley shouted out assistant coach Winston Gandy, giving him tons of credit for helping come up with the game plan the team used against Clark. No matter who was on #22, the Gamecock defender had a hand almost in her eyes, and most of the time, had her shaded left so that she couldn't take her patented step-back 3s on the left side of the court. For the game, she did not make a 3 from the left side.