2 days Ago
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — They know about it, because how could they not? The banners hanging in Colonial Life Arena, the reflected shine from the numerous trophies and rings in the basketball offices when they were all on their recruiting visits, let them all know that they were some of the lucky few to get this invitation, and could ensure themselves of receiving the same if they pledged to play for South Carolina. The three newcomers to the Gamecocks’ basketball program this year knew they would have this opportunity.
As Joyce Edwards, Maddy McDaniel and Maryam Dauda prepare for a March 30 Elite Eight game against Duke that sends the winner to Tampa, Fla., next week for the Final Four, they also know they must not lose what they’ve been presented. They’re the ones who will carry this forward.
They are the only players on the team who haven’t been to at least one Final Four, while seniors Bree Hall, Raven Johnson and Sania Feagin have never missed it in their three previous seasons. Nobody had to tell the three rookies what’s expected, just like they won’t have to say anything to the newcomers that follow them. It will be understood.
“I think it was ingrained to me when we had our first practice, how we’re expected to be here. Once you have a taste of it, it’s just, ‘Now we have to go win everything,’” Dauda said. “It was just a standard, and it was a standard that we all have to live up to.
” Dauda transferred from Arkansas where she got a look from afar at how the Gamecocks could tear up the SEC and then carry it into the postseason. Her playing time has steadily risen throughout the year to where she’ll play a tremendous role against Duke in the Elite Eight. In that first practice, nobody was flashing rings or pointing to the rafters, offering a Tim Tebow speech about how a Final Four was the bare minimum.
Nobody had to. That was covered well before anybody got there. “South Carolina wins.
I don’t remember the last time they haven’t been to a Final Four ...
it’s been a while,” said Edwards, the team’s leading scorer. “That’s the standard.” The answer is 2019, although there was no NCAA Tournament in 2020.
That’s one that still bites — that year’s Gamecocks squad had only lost one game all year and ripped through the SEC Tournament. Could have meant another banner in CLA; the big ones over the basket near USC’s tunnel, not the smaller “Final Four participant” flags. USC has been to the last four and won two.
The trio knew not just of the importance, but of the demand. Do any of them want to be on the team that breaks the string? “Coming here, I already know, we’ll be playing postseason,” McDaniel said. “Being here in this moment, we’re not thinking about going home.
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