South Carolina women's basketball: Predicting next season's rotation after Justine Loubens committed

Earlier this week, Justine Loubens committed to South Carolina. How does the French player fit into the Gamecocks’ rotation?

Loubens gives South Carolina 14 players signed for next season. Ashlyn Watkins is expected to rejoin the team in May, but until she makes it official, I am leaving her out of the projections.

As with my earlier projections, I am splitting the roster into two groups: backcourt and frontcourt. 

(Starters in bold. Heights are from FIBA when possible)

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BACKCOURT
Point guard: Maddy McDaniel (JR, 5-9)
Guard: Tessa Johnson (SR, 6-0), Jordan Lee (JR, 6-0), Jerzy Robinson (FR, 6-2) 
Wing: Agot Makeer (SO, 6-2), Ayla McDowell (SO, 6-1), Justine Loubens (FR, 6-1), Kaeli Wynn (FR, 6-2)

Adding Loubens should not change the top of the rotation.

South Carolina did not add a transfer point guard to compete with McDaniel. That tells me that Dawn Staley is confident that McDaniel is ready to start. 

Johnson, Lee, and Makeer will play the bulk of the minutes in the backcourt, regardless of who starts. I slotted Makeer in as the starter because she is bigger than Lee, and I want to make sure either Lee or Johnson is always on the floor. 

Johnson and Makeer played backup point guard last season in short spurts, but they will have to play more this season. Lee has never been a primary ball-handler, and bringing her off the bench makes it easier for Johnson and Makeer to slide on-ball.

It’s hard not to give Robinson a bigger role. She is a physical scorer who can defend and rebound. She might be the third option at both guard spots, but I think Loubens takes her spot as the depth piece at the wing.

Outside of Brea Beal’s career, when the wing position was more of a small forward, there isn’t much distinction between the guard and wing positions. The wing is usually the bigger and better defender of the two.

That being said, Loubens clearly fits the mold of a wing. She is definitely a perimeter player, but she doesn’t seem to be enough of a ball-handler to play guard.

Right now, I’m not sure where Ayla McDowell fits, unless Loubens is more of a project than expected. Wynn will probably get a de facto redshirt season.

FRONTCOURT
Forward: Chloe Kitts (R-SR, 6-3), Alicia Tournebize (SO, 6-7), Oliviyah Edwards (FR, 6-3)
Post: Joyce Edwards (JR, 6-3), Kelsi Andrews (FR, 6-3), Adhel Tac (R-JR, 6-5)

Loubens doesn’t change anything in the frontcourt.

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Using the “don’t overthink it” theory, I’m slotting Kitts and Joyce Edwards as the starters. After all, they are the Gamecocks’ only two former All-Americans.

Joyce Edwards can play the post in a small-ball lineup, as she did against TCU and UConn. But against bigger teams, she struggles. That’s where summer workouts will come into play.

As a freshman, Tournebize didn’t have the strength to consistently defend the post. After a summer in South Carolina’s strength and conditioning program, that could change. If Kitts isn’t fully recovered from her torn ACL at the beginning of the season, Staley could look to start Tournebize at the five.

That would move Joyce Edwards to the four and make Kitts the top reserve (similar to what Joyce Edwards did as a freshman). Kitts is also a good enough shooter to slide to the wing in a jumbo lineup.

Oliviyah Edwards is the best athlete on the team and has the biggest upside, but her game is pretty raw, and Robinson is probably more college-ready. Edwards will likely start out as the third forward, and possibly the third post.

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