We got our first real look at some rookies yesterday, and two really stood out. Former South Carolina teammates Raven Johnson and Ta’Niya Latson both made their presence felt in the WNBA preseason opener, finishing with the top two point involvement totals among rookies.
Johnson, the 10th overall pick in this year’s draft, either scored or assisted on 24 points in a preseason win over the New York Liberty. She finished with 6 points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting, along with 8 assists and zero turnovers. Defensively, she added 2 blocks and a steal, making her presence felt on that end as well. And she did all of it in just 17 minutes.
Latson, the 20th overall pick, wasn’t far behind. She scored or assisted on 23 points in a preseason win over Nigeria, putting up 7 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists—all in the fourth quarter—and a block off the bench. In that final stretch, she found fellow rookie Chance Gray for four baskets. She went 0-for-3 from deep, but consistently got downhill, beating defenders off the dribble and finishing at the rim—something that should be a huge strength for her throughout her WNBA career. ✨
shoutout to Chiney for calling it what it is that was super inappropriate and it’s so unfair that Dawn always has to take the high road. that was incredibly unprofessional of Geno.
If you're keeping score ...
Geno mad Dawn didn't shake his hand pre-game?
*Video replay shows she did.
Geno says South Carolina ripped his player's jersey?
*Video replays shows Sarah Strong ripped her own.
No. 3 South Carolina’s last five ranked games:
Beat No. 5 Vanderbilt, 103–74
Beat No. 19 Tennessee, 93–50
Beat No. 6 LSU, 79–72
Beat No. 25 Alabama, 76–57
Beat No. 17 Ole Miss, 85–48
Four double-digit wins. Three by 30+. South Carolina still runs the SEC. 🐔✨
Forget Ilia Malinin for two seconds.
This is Kazakhstan's first Winter Olympic gold medal since Lillehammer 1994, when Vladimir Smirnov won the men's 50km cross-country skiing.
That was 10 years before Mikhail Shaidorov was born.
star player on team plagued by injuries all szn suffers rhabdo @ game 5 of a playoff series bc of the physical stress she’s been under for months coming to a head.
at this point scheduling/roster size is a direct threat to player health and safety.