Guru’s March Madness - I: An Elite Meeting in an Elite Tournament

By Mike Siroky

 

Dawn Staley knew all along her deep and talented team, led by an All-American, the likely best player in conference, was good enough to  be here.

 

And who should stand in her way but a recent coaching rival, Vic Schaefer in his first season with unranked Texas. 

His defection to the Big 12 is one reason the SEC coaching status took a hit this season. Staley is 12-3 against Schaefer.

 

The Gamecocks finished No. 6 nationally.

 

Look at the balance in women’s college basketball. 

The others still alive after Monday’s start of the Elite Eight represent  one from the Big 12. 

But singles join the SEC representative from the ACC, Big Ten, Big East, and ACC. Three No. 1s are here. One No. 2, one No. 3 and Texas is a No. 6. 

 

An Elite Eight win would tie Staley for most wins in conference this season. She is 25-4, Texas 21-9.

Schaefer, just starting his Texas legend, is obviously the coach of the tournament. His defense  held Maryland 40  below their  average, celebrating keeping a home state team in it with Baylor until the Lady Bears were dispatched by UConn in Monday’s thriller after Texas A&M flopped and went home.

 

Whether the lone senior, injured LeLe Grissett comes back under the NCAA waiver, is irrelevant as all the other Gamecocks do come back, aided by the best recruiting class in America.SC is already the favored team for 2022.

 

They are a top seed and the No. 6 team, in the nation, a day as No. 1. They survived one loss in conference costing them the regular-season title but came right back to win the conference tournament and start the current win streak.

 

Other conference coaches voted someone else the top coach and top player, but they were obviously wrong, as usual.

 

That’s why the popularity votes lose luster year after year. 

 

Staley is also the National Coach in case the Olympics come off.

 

She has Aliyah Boston, a 6-5 All-American again, so fundamentally solid it is easy to forget she is but a sophomore, the real best player in the league. Her teammates say just her court presence is reassuring. 

 

When needed, and she isn’t every game, she can lead in scoring (13.7 per game)  from either underneath or stepping out as far as a 3 shooter. She can certainly rebound (11.7, 74 blocks). 

 

A sophomore classmate is the court director, asked by Staley to take on the leadership, 5-9 go-to guard Zia Cooke (15.9 points per game). 

Other sophomores are  6-1 guard Brea Beal (7.5) and forward Victaria Saxton (8.7 with 33 steals ). Saxton and Beal have missed one start. It was sophomore Leticia Amihere who stepped up big time the Elite Eight win. The juniors are represented by 5-7 guard Destanni Henderson (12.1 with 139 assists) and 6-2 only one start. Cooke’s five 3s in the Sweet 16 game is her career high and the program’s tournament record high. 

 

Amihere’s 11.3 points per game in the tournament is double her season average. She is hitting 56 percent.

 

The Gamecocks have upped their paint shooting percentage to 55.5, against a 42.l3 all season long.

 

“We had our battles in the SEC,” said Staley of Schaefer. “I knew he’d be ready to play, that he’d have  a game plan. I always look forward to playing Vic because of what he puts into it.

 

 “It’s probably a great thing to have some familiarity with Texas and Vic because of our rivalry in the SEC, especially because you have one day to prepare.

 

“I don’t know if (SC has played) our best game. We are shooting the ball very well. .Defensively, we had to make adjustments. Zia Cooke shot the ball extremely well. We were pretty efficient offensively.

 

“We’re going to see how many Gamecocks are in Texas to come out and cheer. 

After South Carolina ands Texas tangle, the last spot in this weekend’s Finals of the Final Eliminations will be decided between No. 1 Stanford coached by the new all-time wins leader in Tara VanDerveer and No. 2 Louisville headed by Jeff Walz. That winner is who SC will face Friday night in the national semis if they get by Schaefer and the ‘Horns.

 

"Zia has so many other skill sets other than scoring, to do what we need to do each time out,” Staley said.

 

“Aliyah looks forward to the challenge. All you can do is what you have already done

 

“They (Texas) are totally different. They play beautiful basketball. It’s head-scratching. What do you take away. What do you allow. We have played against many styles this season. I credit our SEC season to to prepare us.

 

“Two or three of our players don’t get into games. But they embrace our roles and do what they need to do to prepare us to play winning basketball. They do it every single day. They only want to so what they do to help us play winning basketball.

 

“Our starters have roles, too

 

“The Elite Eight game is the toughest game because you are on the precipice.

 

“The message is keep your eyes open. 

 

“Our game is a beautiful game.” 

 

Charli Collier, a 6-5 junior already declared for the WNBA draft, leads Texas at 19.7 points per game, 11.6 rebounds, 11.6 blocks. She is the Boston challenge Staley referenced.

 

Collier is already projected as the first pick of the WNBA. She said, post-Maryland that hard work had got them here. “You don’t see our practices, how hard we work,  and that’s what paid off.”

 

She and her teammates obviously bought into Schaefer’s work ethic. 

It was a little weird to see his usual hugs all around and sideline salute to the hometown fans as that had been a regular imprint in the SEC, hanging around at courtside post-game. He brought the defense and rebounding to a program that had been crumbling. He rivals Geno Auriemma as the best man in the game. 

 

Knowing Schaefer so well can help SC but the Longhorns don’t know Texas.

 

He had willed his SEC teams to compete against them so well, sweeping the series with season and SEC tournament wins just two seasons ago. 

 

Celeste Taylor (12.4), a 6-11 sophomore, 5-8 sophomore Joanne Taylor (12.4), 5-9 junior Audrey Warren (10.2) are the other scorers. Kyra Lambert, a 5-9 senior, has the most assists (86), steals (33)  and 3s (35). 

 

She is from San Antonio, which delighted Schaefer for her chance in front of her homebodies.

 

“You have to be so proud of these kids and what they’re doing,” said Schaefer. “We really believe in our offense and on defense we have some areas we can explore. (For Maryland) I wrote on the board 10 or less turnovers. We had 10. All the experts had them hanging 100 on us.

 

“You go and say things like that and you better know what you’re talking about. This is typically what our teams (as coaches) do; we get better in March. My coaching staff has done wonderfully with each position.

 

“We talk about what we can do. If you’ll fight every position, there’s eight five-minute games.

“We won’t do it one-on-one, but we can win. They have finally bought in what happens when you go to work.

 

“The game will not cheat you. You will get out of it what you put in. Our guards are shooting so well right now, Giving God the glory for  No. 21 (Collier) this day. She carried us early in the season. But now, you cannot concentrate on any one player.

 

“Defense is nothing but teaching habits. Every day. They are all in. Junkyard dogs, y’all. To see their faces. That’s why we are in coaching.

 

“Engage the mechanism and you can shut out the noise. I got a lot of kids never been in the NCAA tournament for. I used the phrase a snowball’s chance in hell. I don’t care what people say.

 

“I have tremendous respect for Dawn and her staff. Our kids haven’t played them and they have to go play. This time of year you are paying the best. Dawn’s got a great team no doubt about it.

“We’ll show up and play. Praise the Lord and hook ’em Horns”