SouthCarolina Basketball

Columbia After Dark: South Carolina Men’s and Women’s Hoops Light Up Midnight Madness

Brandon Wagner
Columbia knows how to throw a party when basketball season comes around. Both South Carolina programs kicked off 2025–26 with a night that felt like a state holiday. The lights dropped, the music hit, and Colonial Life Arena turned into a celebration of what this city does best - community and competition. Dawn Staley owned the moment, hyping the crowd like a rock star, while her players showed flashes of
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The New Hotbed: How South Carolina EYBL Teams Are Changing the National Conversation

Brandon Wagner
South Carolina used to be the place college scouts drove through on their way to Georgia or North Carolina. Not anymore. From Columbia to Charleston, the state’s EYBL programs are flipping the script, producing elite talent that is showing up on national leaderboards and highlight reels. The grassroots scene here has become a full-on movement - a mix of hard work, culture, and community pride that is starting to reshape
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South Carolina Forward Chloe Kitts Out for Season with ACL

Brandon Wagner
South Carolina confirmed that forward Chloe Kitts will miss the entire 2025–26 season after tearing her ACL in practice, a major setback for a Gamecock squad that expected her to play a key role on both ends. Kitts had started to emerge as a steady, versatile forward who could stretch the floor and defend multiple spots - the kind of glue player every championship contender needs. With Ashlyn Watkins also
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The Dawn Effect: How Staley’s Culture Turned Columbia into a Basketball Destination

Brandon Wagner
Down here in Columbia, we’ve known it for a while - what Dawn Staley’s building isn’t just a basketball program, it’s a movement. The “Dawn Effect” runs deeper than recruiting rankings or banners in the rafters. Players aren’t just coming for minutes. They’re coming to grow, to be mentored, and to join something that feels bigger than the game itself. What makes Staley special is how she’s turned South Carolina
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Raven Johnson Is at Her Best – Staley Sounds the Warning Shot

Brandon Wagner
Every Dawn Staley era has had a floor general who set the tone. Ty Harris ran the show during the rise. Destanni Henderson brought championship composure. Now, the keys belong fully to Raven Johnson and Staley is making it clear this is her time to lead. After a breakout tournament run and an offseason spent sharpening her shot and decision-making, Johnson enters 2025-26 not just as South Carolina’s point guard,
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Inside Dawn Staley’s blueprint for 2025–26: Reload, retool, reign?

Brandon Wagner
Dawn Staley is not chasing noise. She is chasing execution. South Carolina came up just short in the title game last season, and instead of scrambling, Staley has put together a blueprint that leans on the same principles that got her program to the top: toughness, pace control, and defensive suffocation. The names change, but the system holds. When you watch South Carolina’s tape, you see how meticulous the rotations
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Lamont Paris’ Blueprint: Can the Gamecocks Finally Climb the SEC Ladder?

Brandon Wagner
South Carolina basketball has been living in the shadows of its own women’s program for years. Dawn Staley built a dynasty, and the men’s side has been grinding to find that kind of identity. Lamont Paris is trying to change that. He has got recruiting momentum, a stronger staff, and a roster that feels more SEC-ready than in past years. But here is the thing. In the SEC, ready means
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Inside South Carolina’s Recruiting Machine: How Staley Stays Ahead

JayWill Coleman
Dawn Staley don’t even recruit. She reloads. Every year it feels like another top-five class slides straight into Columbia, and everybody else just sighs and checks who’s left. Staley’s secret sauce isn’t just wins. It’s culture. She’s built a program where hoopers want to be more than players. They want to be part of a legacy. NIL deals, national TV shine, and a coach who’s as real on the sideline
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