The South Carolina basketball season is just about two months away, but fans of Dawn Staley's team won't have to wait that long before getting a chance to watch a current Gamecock perform.
USC senior power forward Sania Feagin was chosen to represent Team USA in the U23 3x3 World Cup in Mongolia next week. From September 11th-15th in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Feagin will compete with her Team USA squad for a gold medal.
Feagin and Team USA will have their World Cup contests streamed live on YouTube at this link.
This will not be Feagin's first time being part of a Team USA squad as she was a member of the U19 World Cup team that won a gold medal in 2021. However, this will be her first 3x3 Team USA work.
Like pickup basketball, 3x3 at the World Cup scores by 1s and 2s: shots inside the arc are worth 1 point, while perimeter jumpers cause the scoreboard to tick upward by 2. As far as true post players go, the 3x3 style favors Feagin's game a bit as it offers her more room to operate on the block.
Last year, as a junior, Sania Feagin put up her best season as a Gamecock. With 3 starts and a lot of games as a prominent reserve, she averaged 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest and averaged a combined stock (steals plus blocks) with 0.6 blocks and 0.4 steals per game in just 15 minutes played per night.
Heading into her senior campaign, Feagin should play a big role again for Dawn Staley's South Carolina basketball squad. Exactly what her role will be is a bit of an unknown as the Gamecocks have lots of talent at the forward and center positions, and fellow power forward Ashlyn Watkins' status is unknown after a recent arrest.
Feagin and the Gamecocks will begin their 2024-2025 season on November 4th in Las Vegas against the Michigan Wolverines as part of the Hall of Fame Series.